Chicken Tikka Masala - Tried and Tasted

Chicken Tikka Masala is one of the most popular dishes eaten in this country. Our panel, all self-confessed curry fiends, eagerly awaited the dishes for judging.

Remember, the Tried and Tasted Team don’t know which product is which, so there’s no bias involved!

Table 1: Chicken Tikka Masala Compared

Product	Chicken Tikka Masala, Medium, Tesco*	Tikka Masala with Basmati Rice, Quorn, Sainsbury's*	Chicken Tikka Masala, Healthy Eating, Tesco*
Ranking	1	2	3
Taste/Texture	Generous portions of chicken, great flavour, attractive colour and a good texture. You definitely knew you were eating a Tikka Masala.	Two of our panelists live with vegetarians and immediately recognized this as a Quorn dish. However, our other panelists did not realise this was a vegetarian dish with one panelist extolling the virtues of the 'delightful chicken'. Generous portions and very palatable. Declared one of the better dishes on offer.	The panel immediately agreed this dish was a milder version of the Tesco Medium dish (remember they are not shown the brand they are eating).  Good colour and very generous portions of chicken again. A reasonable taste and a good low fat alternative to the full fat versions of this dish.
Serving Size	1 Pack (350g)	1 Pack (450g)	1 Pack (350g)
Calorie Content per Serving	532kcal	567kcal	332.5kcal
Fat Content per Serving	34.3g	17.1g	7.7g

Table 2: Chicken Tikka Masala Compared

Product	Chicken Tikka Masala, Organic, Tesco*	Chicken Tikka Makhani with Pilau Rice, Be Good to Yourself, Sainsbury's*	Chicken Tikka Masala with Rice, Bird's Eye*
Ranking	4	5	6
Taste/Texture	Looked a good colour and received positive praise for its sauce which was thick and creamy.	Our panel decided this was not an obvious Tikka Masala; you could have been eating chicken in tomato sauce or a thick stew. No real flavour or tastes.	The panel agreed it was difficult to find something positive to say about this dish. Very little chicken and a non-descript flavour - the general comment was 'What am I eating?'
Serving Size	1 Pack (340g)	1 Pack (450g)	1 Pack (375)
Calorie Content per Serving	418kcal	427.5kcal	506.3kcal
Fat Content per Serving	12.9g	6.3g	13.9g

Conclusion

With the exception of the Birds Eye dish, it was difficult to distinguish between the other dishes, with most of them receiving positive comments. The different portions of chicken in each dish were noticeable and flavour and texture differentiated the 'good' from the 'bad'. After the panel had been told which brands they were eating they were pleasantly surprised with the Tesco Healthy Eating dish which, as an alternative to the full fat versions, faired well. Good points for the vegetarian Quorn dish.

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