Chicken Tikka Masala

We tried this Serious Eats recipe for "The Best Chicken Tikka Masala". It did make a very delicious curry, but I think we can make some adjustments to make this a little easier. The original recipe has you use bone-in chicken, char it, and then take the meat off the bone partially cooked. I found this unnecessarily difficult and don't think we'd lose much flavor by going boneless, so am recommending that change to simplify.

Below is the recipe with notes for revisions for next time.

INGREDIENTS

• 5 pounds bone-in chicken pieces (breasts, legs, or a mix), skin removed
  ~2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 3 tablespoons toasted ground cumin
• 3 tablespoons toasted paprika
  We used 2T smoked paprika and 1T sweet paprika and liked the blend
• 2 tablespoon toasted ground coriander seed
• 2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 12 cloves garlic, grated on the medium holes of a box grater, divided
  or replace with equivalent garlic paste if available. I crushed garlic in the press.
• 3 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated on the medium holes of a box grater, divided
  or replace with equivalent ginger paste. I grated some and minced some.
• 2 cups yogurt
  if using 2lb boneless chicken, reduce to 1 cup yogurt
• 3/4 cup fresh juice from 4 to 6 lemons, divided
• Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use about half as much by volume
• 4 tablespoons butter or ghee
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  or chopped. it gets blended into the sauce at the end so works either way
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, roughly mashed
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems
• 1 cup heavy cream
  we used half and half and it was fine

METHOD

1. Place the chicken pieces on a cutting board. Score deeply at 1-inch intervals with a sharp knife. Place in a large rimmed baking dish.
2. Combine cumin, paprika, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside 3 tablespoons of spice mixture. Combine remaining 6 tablespoons spice mixture, 8 cloves garlic garlic, 2 tablespoons ginger, yogurt, 1/2 cup lemon juice, and 1/4 cup salt reduce by half to 2T in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Pour marinade all over chicken pieces, using hands to coat every surface. cover loosely and refrigerate. Refrigerate and allow to marinate for at least 4 hours and up to 8, turning occasionally.
3. Line a broiler pan with heavy duty aluminum foil and preheat the broiler to high with the rack set 6 inches below broiler element. Wipe excess marinade off chicken and place on foil-lined pan. Broil until charred and blackened on surface, about 8 minutes (chicken will not be completely cooked through—this is ok). Transfer to cutting board and allow to rest 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat butter or ghee in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until melted and foaming subsides. Add onions, remaining 4 tablespoons grated garlic, and remaining 2 tablespoons ginger. Cook, stirring frequently, until dark and beginning to char in spots, about 10 minutes. Add reserved spice mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and half of cilantro, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan with a spoon. Simmer for 15 minutes, then puree using a hand blender or by transferring to a tabletop blender in batches.
5. Stir in cream and remaining quarter cup lemon juice. Season to taste with salt if needed.
6. Cut chicken into rough bite-sized chunks. Transfer chicken chunks to pot of sauce. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until chicken is just cooked through, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro. Serve with rice or naan.