This lightened up Chicken Tikka Masala will bring your neighbors to your door. Or at least your husband and kids to your table.
Living in Asia with all my food allergies can be challenging. It means I can never eat out at local restaurants, which makes me a not-so-fun, and expensive, dinner date. It’s always Western. And I hate to admit how often that “Western” is TGI Fridays, since it’s pretty much the only Western restaurant in the area I live. And one of the only restaurants that serves American-sized salads- and this girl can eat some salad.
And the smells of local cuisine! The smell of a good Indian restaurant always makes me sad I cannot partake. There is a lot of Indian food here in KL– about 15% of Malaysia’s population is Indian.
However, a blessing in disguise: my dietary restrictions have made me a better, and more versatile cook. Since I can’t go have Tikka Masala at the restaurant downstairs, I had to learn to make it. Alex (who’s British) loves Indian– where Chinese is the quintessential take out cuisine in the States, he has always relied on Indian takeout for busy weeks. Well– he did– before he met me! We tried it a few times, but I either got sick, or was too scared to eat it after we ordered it.
A couple of weeks ago, determined to finally use the 5,000 packets of Indian spices I’ve collected over the past year, I looked up a recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala.
Contents
Lightened Up Chicken Tikka Masala
Two tablespoons of peanut oil, 1/4 cup whole milk yogurt, 1/2 stick of butter, and a 1/2 cup of heavy cream. (<– “Traditional” take-out version of Chicken Tikka Masala)
Yikes! Okay, so maybe there are TWO blessings in disguise that I can’t eat Indian food out.
Although I do think healthy fats are an essential part of any diet, Â — but that amount is really unnecessary, and too much fat to be a regular part of anyone’s diet.
The lightened up version was a success! Alex said he preferred my version to the ones he eats out. It’s still chocked full of all the aromatic spices that makes Indian cuisine so alluring, but the fat content is reduced by more than half!
Serve it with rice, if you prefer. Or choose to serve it with cauliflower “rice” —
Lightened Up Chicken Tikka Masala with Turmeric "Rice" {Low-Carb, Paleo}
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast (3 large breasts)
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 3 tablespoons plain, low-fat yogurt
- 2 tablespoons lime
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil (for browning)
Tikka Masala Sauce
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 large onion (minced)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1/4 cup freshly grated ginger
- 2 tablespoons coriander
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (more or less - to taste!)
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 cups tomato puree
- 1/2 cup light coconut milk (canned)
- cilantro (optional, garnish)
Turmeric Cauliflower "Rice"
- 1 large head of cauliflower (riced)
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (or more, to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
Instructions
Chicken
- Cut the chicken into large chunks, and season with sea salt. In a storage container (or I use a plastic ziplock bag), add the chicken, yogurt and lime juice. Marinate for 1-6 hours (the longer, the more tender the chicken will be).
Tikka Masala
- In a large skillet, melt butter over medium high heat. Add the minced onion and garlic, and saute until translucent (about 7-10 minutes).
- Add the garlic, and all the spices and salt. Saute together for a couple of minutes.
- Add the tomato puree. Bring to a low simmer, and reduce heat.
- In a separate frying pan, add 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, and add the chicken. Brown the chicken. It doesn't need to be cooked through.
- Add the browned chicken to the large skillet with the sauce. Continue to cook on medium low for about 15 minutes, until flavors have combined and chicken is fully cooked.
- Add coconut milk.
- Serve over rice or cauliflower rice, and garnish with cilantro.
Turmeric Cauliflower Rice
- Chop the head of cauliflower roughly. Add the cauliflower to a food processor (small batches work the best- don't fill the food processor more than ½ way full), and process until the cauliflower is broken up into pieces and resembles rice.
- In a skillet, heat up sesame oil. Add the riced cauliflower, and saute until heated through. Add the sea salt and turmeric. Rice should be cooked until soft, but not mushy or browned.
Nutrition
 
What are your favorite take out dishes?
 What restaurant dishes have you given a healthy makeover to?
Other Lightened Up Chicken Tikka Masala Recipes:
- Lightened Up Chicken Tikka Masala, by Home Sweet Jones
- Low Fat Chicken Tikka Masala, by Lose Baby Weight
- Chicken Tikka Masala (Light), by Bees Baking
This looks so good! Your pictures are incredible. I can’t wait to try your Turmeric Cauliflower “Rice.”
Thank you Maggie! The turmeric rice turned out great- nice to have it infused with Indian flavor 🙂
You weren’t kidding! Your food photography is great! I know I’m a little late to the party, but I’ve been dying to try something fun like this with cauliflower. This meal looks amazing!
Thanks Natalie! Cauliflower is a great versatile ingredient- I have recipes for friend rice, a creamy soup, mashed “potatoes” — all made with cauliflower. I love using it because it’s light, but still has that comforting effect of the actual recipe.
looks AMAZING!! & i’m pretty sure it tastes just as it looks in photos (;
is there nothing you can’t do, Miss Miller?
No. Actually, I can fly too.
What an awesome idea to have cauliflower rice with a curry… next time I cook Indian I definitely will be eating cauliflower rice instead of normal basmati. Thanks for the idea Michelle!
Girl, this is such a delicious looking meal and I absolutely love the idea of cauliflower rice!!
Hey Michelle- so I’ve spent the last hour or so just relishing your blog and it’s recipes- they are amazing and delicious!
PS Big props for doing all these while in Malaysia- I’m half Malaysian and I think your doing amazing at staying healthy over there- I know first hand it is NOT an easy task (and damn expensive!)
Arman, Thank you! What a nice compliment. Yes, it’s difficult in Malaysia! It’s taken years to figure out where to buy stuff, and where to buy stuff for the best price/quality. The selection and availability here has greatly improved since I moved here 4 years ago. How long has it been since you lived here? Or have you just visited?
Just bookmarked your blog- so I can look through it when I get a chance this weekend! Thanks for stopping by and leaving such a thoughtful comment.
Hey Michelle! 🙂 Firstly, it’s so refreshing to have a blogger on our side of the hemisphere haha! We’re both awake at the same time!
I’m so glad to hear things have improved- I hadn’t visited since 2010- and then cold storage (I think that’s the supermarket name?) was stocked with some American/Australian products but so expensive! Really excited to be following your blog and inspired by all your capabilities there- no hawker food here! 😉
Ha! I’m safe from the Mamaks– allergic to peanuts, soy, and gluten intolerant! So, I have to be creative, and I have to cook.
Cold Storage isn’t much better. We have some new grocery stores that are much, much better though! Even the produce is improving a lot. Finally getting locally grown kale, squashes, amazing tomatoes and corn. I was just in Aus for a holiday last week, and I have total produce envy! I love the freshness of the veg there, and all the options everywhere!
Hi!
My daughter coocked this meal today an it eas llovely!
However we had to use a full can of coconut milk and some.water to get the sauce.to be a sauce and not a paste. When you write tomato puré, do you mean the sauce you get if you crush fresh tomatoes in a blender/ italian passata? Or the paste you .get when a pound of tomatoes is reduced to app. 100 grams?
We will definately browse trough your recipes to look for more good food 🙂
Thanks for sharing Kirsti. I should add a descriptor to the tomato puree I use. It’s very liquidy – like a watery tomato sauce with tomato chunks in it. This is a delicious dish — we really enjoy it!