Chicken tikka curry or chicken tikka masala is widely considered the national dish of the United Kingdom. There are different ways to make it and whilst many recipes call for fresh produce, I believe that convenience and flavour can be achieved.
Frozen/canned vs fresh
If you live in countries where they have to export most of their produce, then you might be surprised to hear that frozen or canned is often better-tasting than fresh produce. The reason is simple: frozen and canned produce is created at peak freshness and it is normally easier to mantain it. I know that living in the UK, I would prefer to use canned tomatoes because tomatoes here lack any flavour :).
Onion and garlic also taste very similar compared to fresh. For garlic I would even argue it tastes better because it does not have that “earthy” flavour that comes from chopping fresh garlic.
Variations
The Creamy base
- Double cream. I love using double cream. Yes, it has more fat, but it is in my opinion the better-tasting version of this recipe.
- Single cream. Favorite second option.
- Coconut milk. Full-fat coconut milk is also a good dairy-free option.
- Full-fat yogurt. Some people enjoy it with yogurt, in my opinion, it is not the best option, it changes the flavour of the spice. It might be a good idea if you want to ‘reduce’ the heat of the spice, though.
The spice
- Tikka spice paste. Is the easiest and, in my opinion, the most flavorful, but there are other options.
- Tikka spice powder. Some stores sell the powder itself. If you use it you also need to put at the same time and let it release the aroma before adding the wet ingredients.
- Make it from scratch. There are some recipes with the recipe for the powder version. I believe the store-bought are good enough, and unless you have a super developed sense of taste, you will not be sacrificing on flavour if you use the tikka spice paste.
The vegetables
I personally like to keep it simple, orange peppers are in my opinion best suited for this recipe. But I have seen recipes with a mix of: bell peppers, peas, cauliflower, and carrots.
The meat
I strongly recommend using cubed chicken thighs; they are the best option for achieving the best flavour. You can use chicken breast as I did because they did not have chicken thighs but it will not be as tasty.
Some people use turkey, and it seems to work well, but I have not tried this. For a vegan option, I recommend marinating cubed tofu, but that’s something I will try in another recipe.
Looking for a dessert to go with this recipe? why not trying a delicious peanut butter brownie or the viral vegan cheesecake.
If you are looking for a vegan meal option, maybe try this spicy tofu recipe with ground almond.
I hope you enjoyed this recipe!
If you try this recipe, let us know! leave a comment, rate the recipe or tag a photo on our Instagram or Facebook with the tag #naturalGoodness! Get creative and make it unique, I love to see what you get up to when trying our recipes 🙂
Chicken tikka curry
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds Cubed chicken
- 1/2 bottle Tikka spice paste See other options in notes
- 1.3 cups Double cream
- Coriander
- 1 Onion Medium size or big one
- 2 cloves Garlic I use frozen choped garlic
- 1 small bag Coriander
- 1.6 cups Basmati rice
- 1 can Chopped tomatoes
Instructions
- Boil a kettle with double the amount of rice (3.2 cups if you follow the measurements). Spray with a little bit of oil the pot where you are cooking the rice to avoid sticking
- Add the boiling water to the pot and heat it until it starts boiling again
- Add the rice, cover with a lid, reduce the heat to the minimum and set a timer for 10 minutes. Then turn it off, keep the lid on, and the rice will be ready in another 10 minutes
- Add the frozen onion to the pan, chop the pepper and 3-4 minutes in add the chicken and the pepper and let it cook for about 5 minutes
- Add the garlic, and coriander, let it cook for about 2 minutes and then add the tikka paste
- Let the tikka release its aroma for 1-2 minutes and then add the double cream
- Let it simmer on low heat for about 5 minutes
- Enjoy
Video
Notes
- Tikka spice paste from Sainsbury’s if you are in the UK is my favorite main ingredient, but you can use tikka curry powder or make your own
- I love how this recipe taste with double cream, but feel free to use coconut cream or single cream
- If you buy coriander bags, you don’t need to chop it. Freeze it and once frozen use your hands or a tool to crush it. Because it is frozen, you will find it wasy to do it. I don’t mind the “stalks” and it is generally easy to remove them when adding it to your dish, but feel free to first remove the stalks and then freeze it
- Whilst it looks like this recipe does not use “fresh” stuff, frozen food is actually picked when it is at its best and given that I live in the UK, trust me, canned tomatoes taste better. If you want to use fresh “everything” go ahead, but I promise you, that using frozen and cans does not sacrifice flavour and in fact, it could improve it, unless you have access to really good produce