Chicken tikka masala
Works in the UK and the US. This version uses UK words and measures (hob, grams, gas marks); the US version uses stove, cups and °F. · US version of this page
Yoghurt-marinated chicken in a gently spiced tomato and cream sauce, with fluffy rice – a British-Indian favourite that teaches safe handling of raw chicken.
- Serves 4
- About 1 hr 10 min
- Hob
- Best for: KS3 (ages 11–14)
Ingredients
- 400 g skinless chicken breast fillets
- 100 g natural yoghurt – contains milk
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp mild paprika
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp mild chilli powder, more if you like it hotter
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion
- 1 tin of chopped tomatoes (400 g)
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 100 ml double cream, or leave it out for a lighter sauce – contains milk
- 250 g long-grain rice
- 600 ml water, for the rice
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped (optional)
Need a different amount? Use the recipe finder to change the servings.
Equipment
- red (raw meat) chopping board
- second chopping board for vegetables
- 2 knives
- mixing bowl and a plate to cover it
- measuring spoons
- garlic crusher
- grater
- tin opener
- sieve
- saucepan with a lid (for the rice)
- large deep frying pan
- wooden spoon
- food thermometer
Safety first
- Wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds, tie back long hair and put on a clean apron.
- Ask about allergies before anyone cooks or tastes. This recipe contains: milk.
- Keep raw meat away from ready-to-eat food: use a separate board and knife, and wash hands, boards and knives in hot soapy water after touching it.
- Never wash raw chicken – it splashes bacteria around the kitchen.
- Carry knives pointing down, put them down flat, and never leave one in the washing-up water.
- Turn pan handles inwards and keep the area around the hob clear.
- Rice safety: cool cooked rice quickly (within 1 hour), keep it in the fridge, use it within 24 hours and only reheat it once, until steaming hot.
Allergens: Milk. Always read every label and ask about allergies before anyone cooks or tastes.
Method
- In the bowl, mix the yoghurt with half the garlic, half the ginger and half of each spice.
- On the raw-meat board, with its own knife, cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Do not wash raw chicken. Stir it into the marinade, cover and put it in the fridge. Wash your hands, the board and the knife in hot soapy water. (15 min)
- On the vegetable board, peel and finely chop the onion with the bridge hold and the claw grip.
- Teacher-led: Rinse the rice in the sieve until the water runs clear. Put it in the saucepan with the water, bring to the boil, then cover, turn the heat right down and cook without lifting the lid. (12 min)
- Teacher-led: Heat the oil in the frying pan over a medium heat. Cook the onion, stirring, until soft and golden. Add the rest of the garlic, ginger and spices and stir for 1 minute. (8 min)
- Teacher-led: Tip in the chicken and all its marinade. Stir-fry until the outside of every piece has turned white. (5 min)
- Teacher-led: Open the tins carefully – the lids are sharp. Add the tomatoes and tomato purée, stir, cover and simmer, stirring now and then. (15 min)
- Teacher-led: Cut the biggest piece of chicken in half: cook until there is no pink meat, the juices run clear and it is steaming hot all the way through – a food thermometer in the thickest part should read at least 75 °C.
- Teacher-led: Stir in the cream and heat until steaming. Fluff up the rice with a fork, then serve with coriander scattered over.
What this recipe teaches
Mixing, Handling raw meat and fish safely, Knife skills: the claw grip, Boiling and simmering, Shallow frying and stir-frying, Checking food is cooked safely, Tasting and seasoning. Steps marked “Adult” are always done by an adult; steps marked “Teacher-led” are done by an adult for primary-age children and closely supervised for older pupils.
Nutrition per serving
| Energy | 2371 kJ / 567 kcal |
|---|---|
| Fat | 23.4 g |
| of which saturates | 9.7 g |
| Carbohydrate | 62.4 g |
| of which sugars | 8.7 g |
| Fibre | 3.1 g |
| Protein | 32.1 g |
| Salt | 0.28 g |
Worked out from the raw ingredients (optional ones and pinches not counted) using CoFID 2021 (McCance and Widdowson’s Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset, Public Health England). Brands vary – check labels.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0: McCance and Widdowson’s The Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset 2021, Public Health England.
Eatwell Guide groups in this recipe: Fruit and vegetables; Potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and other starchy carbohydrates; Beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins; Dairy and alternatives; Oil and spreads. Learn about the Eatwell Guide.
Curriculum links
- KS3 D&T – Cooking and nutrition: “cook a repertoire of predominantly savoury dishes so that they are able to feed themselves and others a healthy and varied diet”
- KS3 D&T – Cooking and nutrition: “become competent in a range of cooking techniques [for example, selecting and preparing ingredients; using utensils and electrical equipment; applying heat in different ways; using awareness of taste, texture and smell to decide how to season dishes and combine ingredients; adapting and using their own recipes]”
Try the interactive lesson
Step by step: a quick safety check, questions marked by Classfern, timers for each cooking step, then an honest look at how it went – a teacher or parent judges the cooking, and learners rate their own work. Photos of the finished dish stay at home.
Use the code your teacher gave you – never your name. Progress is kept on this device.