It took me years, but I have finally found a way to make Lighter Chicken Tikka Masala that tastes just as complex and creamy as it does at my favorite Indian restaurant! And even better–I was able to cut back on some of the richer ingredients to make this popular dish a little easier on the waistline.
I’ve tried so many variations of this recipe, but none of them quite get there. The curry either comes out too bland or too heavy on the tomato flavor. After lots of research and tons of failed attempts, I figured out some key steps to a better tikka masala at home.
How to make lighter chicken tikka masala
Step One: Marinate your chicken for at least two hours, but preferably overnight. This will tenderize the chicken breasts and impart a lot of flavor.
Step Two: Broil the chicken until you get a dark char. This will add a layer of flavor that you can’t mimic by just sauteing the pieces. If you must saute them in a skillet, make sure they get very dark around the edges, like this:
Step Three: Caramelize your onions, probably longer than you think you should. Notice all of those browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Those are going to add tons of flavor to the tomato sauce that we add next.
Another important part of this step is to add the ginger, garlic, and spices to the onions towards the end of cooking them. This way the spices will toast and release their flavor before adding the liquid.
I’ve also added an unconventional ingredient to add depth of flavor in a short amount of time–chili powder. The same stuff you’d add into a Mexican dish. It deepens the flavors even more!
Step Four: Reduce your tomato sauce A LOT. It should be almost the consistency of tomato paste before you add in your half and half.
This will make the curry taste like it has been cooking all day, but we’re only cooking it for 45 minutes, tops!
As for lightening up the recipe, I wanted to make sure this tasted as close to the restaurant version as possible, so I decided to use regular half and half instead of something that would cut the calories a lot more, like greek yogurt or fat free and half half. I’ve tried it with those ingredients and just don’t like how it comes out.
I think half and half is a good compromise, though, since most authentic recipes include heavy cream and a lot of butter. Half and half provides just the right amount of richness–I couldn’t even tell the difference without the butter.
This all might sound difficult at first, but I promise this is a very easy recipe to follow. These are just minor steps that will result in one of the best Chicken Tikka Masala dishes you’ve tasted!
Print Recipe
5 from 27 votes
Lighter Chicken Tikka Masala
A slightly lighter version of the classic dish that tastes just as good as any you’d get in an Indian restaurant!
2lbsboneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into one-inch cubes
1cupplain nonfat greek yogurt
3clovesgarlic, minced
1tbspginger paste (I find tubes of this in the produce section of my grocery store)
2tspgaram masala
1tspturmeric
1tspground cumin
1tspchili powder
1tspkosher salt
FOR THE MASALA
1largeonion, diced (about 2 1/2 cups)
3clovesgarlic, minced
1tbspginger paste
1 1/2tspgaram masala
1tspground cumin
1tspturmeric powder
1tspground coriander
1tspchili powder
1/4-1tspcayenne pepper, depending on how spicy you like your curry
15ozcan tomato sauce
1tspkosher salt
1 1/2cupshalf and half
1tspsugar
Instructions
Mix marinade ingredients in a medium bowl, then add chicken and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours, but preferably overnight.
On the day you want to cook, preheat your broiler and place marinated chicken on a lined cookie sheet, greased with nonstick spray. Broil chicken for 10-12 minutes, or until you see some charred bits (see recipes notes).
Spray a large pan with nonstick spray. Cook the onions until soft and lightly browned, about 7-10 minutes. Scrape up any browned bits stuck on the bottom of the pan.
Add garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant, then add garam masala, cumin, turmeric, coriander, chili powder, and cayenne. Cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant, stirring constantly.
Pour in the tomato sauce and salt. Let simmer for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until sauce thickens and deepens in color. It should be about the consistency of tomato paste.
Stir the half and half and sugar into the tomato reduction. Add the chicken and its juices back into the pan and simmer for an additional 8-10 minutes until chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick and bubbling.
Notes
Click hereto determine your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe (if you are logged in to your WW app, it should calculate for you automatically).
WW Green SmartPoints: 7 for 1 1/2 cups, or 5 for 1 1/4 cups
WW Blue SmartPoints: 4 for 1 1/2 cups of the recipe
WW Purple SmartPoints: 4 for 1 1/2 cups of the recipe
Is Chicken Tikka good for weight loss? Chicken Tikka's main ingredients are lean meat, spices, and yogurt, making it ideal for consumption even if you're on a weight-loss diet plan. To make it healthier with low-carb content, do away with extra oil and salt, and exclude heavy cream.
It's one of the most-ordered entrees at Indian joints. But like many Indian dishes that were originally low fat, the modern recipe for chicken tikka masala is anything but. An average portion has whopping 1,249 calories and 90.8 grams of fat. A lot of that comes from the ghee and heavy cream.
Butter chicken will often look very similar to chicken tikka masala; the difference is that tikka masala has more of a complex, layered flavor from the spices, while butter chicken tastes like, well, butter, with a milder, sweeter gravy.
Vegetarian options are often lower in calories and saturated fats while providing ample protein and fiber. Consider trying dishes like Palak Paneer (spinach and cottage cheese), Baingan Bharta (roasted eggplant), or Daal (lentil curry) for a satisfying and healthful dining experience.
The spices used in Chicken Tikka Masala can help with gut health, skin conditions, irritable bowel syndrome, and oral health, making it a pretty healthy dish!
Regarding nutrition, Butter Chicken and Tikka Masala are high in calories, fat, and sodium. Butter Chicken has more fat and calories than Tikka Masala due to the use of cream and butter in the sauce. However, Tikka Masala has more sodium than Butter Chicken due to the use of canned tomato puree.
Saturated fat can increase your risk for heart disease and raise your cholesterol levels, and each serving of chicken tikka masala contains 28 grams of saturated fat, or 138 percent of the daily value.
Serve chicken tikka masala with Tandoori Roti, Butter Naan, paratha, roti or over Jeera rice or plain Basmati Rice. This meal goes well with kachumber salad, onion salad and Sweet and salt lassi or Mango Lassi. Vegetarian dishes like Aloo Gobi, Cabbage stir fry and Bombay potatoes go well.
Originating in Northern India and Pakistan, the Korma is traditionally made up of yoghurt, coconut milk and almonds, making it one of the mildest curries available.
Masala is a sauce made with cream, yoghurt, tomatoes, or spices to add flavour to the food. Butter Chicken contains shredded, nugget-sized pieces of chicken heated in the tandoor, and it tends to be creamier and sweeter than regular chicken curry with heavier spices. On the other hand, Tikka masala is smoky and spicy.
Adding dairy is an ideal way to dull down the heat in hot spicy food. Try serving spicy curries with a dollop of plain yoghurt or serve that spicy soup with a hearty pour of cream or sour cream. Another method to counteract spiciness in a dish is to add a squeeze of acid such as lime or lemon juice, even vinegar.
Tikka Masala is a mildly spicy, earthy, curry dish with a creamy tomato sauce. Traditionally, it contains Kashmiri chili, which is a type of chili pepper grown in the Kashmir region of India. It's bright red in color and has a very mild spice level. Many restaurant versions, however, offer mild, medium or spicy curry.
The average entrée (with sides like rice or bread) had roughly 1,300 calories. At Greek restaurants, the researchers found that a Greek salad has 960 calories and Moussaka had 1,440 calories. At Indian restaurants, Lamb Vindaloo had 1,170 calories and Chicken Tikka Masala had 1,430 calories.
Regarding nutrition, Butter Chicken and Tikka Masala are high in calories, fat, and sodium. Butter Chicken has more fat and calories than Tikka Masala due to the use of cream and butter in the sauce. However, Tikka Masala has more sodium than Butter Chicken due to the use of canned tomato puree.
Introduction: My name is Duane Harber, I am a modern, clever, handsome, fair, agreeable, inexpensive, beautiful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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