Air fryer chicken tikka masala
Easy, creamy tikka masala, ready in less than 30 minutes. Air fryers are brilliant at getting the tikka chicken spot on: succulent with lovely charred edges. The sauce is very generous, so see the recipe tips for making it go further.
This recipe is part of an air fryer meal plan for one.
Each serving provides 928 kcal, 52.7g protein, 9.4g carbohydrate (of which 7g sugars), 75.2g fat (of which 38.4g saturates), 1.8g fibre and 0.53g salt.
Ingredients
- 1 chicken breast, boneless and skinless (around 150–175g/5½–6oz)
- 1 tbsp tikka paste (from a jar)
- 2 tbsp full-fat Greek-style yoghurt
- 1 tsp sunflower oil, for greasing
For the sauce
- 20g/¾oz butter
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 2 large garlic cloves, finely grated
- 10g fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 1 tbsp tikka paste (from a jar)
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 2 large pinches ground turmeric (optional)
- 75ml/5 tbsp double cream, plus extra for drizzling
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
- freshly cooked rice
- fresh coriander
- lemon or lime wedges
Method
Cut the chicken breast into nine or 10 similar-sized chunks. Transfer to a large bowl with the tikka pasta and yoghurt, then mix well.
If necessary, preheat your air fryer at 200C for 3 minutes, or until it reaches temperature. Brush the crisper plate generously with the oil to help prevent the chicken sticking.
Arrange the chicken pieces on the crisper plate, leaving space between them for the air to flow. Cook at 200C for 6–8 minutes (turning after 5 minutes), or until thoroughly cooked and lightly charred in places.
While the chicken is cooking, make the sauce. Melt the butter with the oil in a small frying pan over a very low heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for about 30 seconds, or until softened but not coloured, stirring constantly. Add the tikka paste, tomato purée and turmeric, if using, then cook for 15–20 seconds more, stirring. Do not allow the ginger and garlic to burn.
Pour the cream and 4 tablespoons cold water into the pan and bring to a simmer. Season with a little salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Add the cooked chicken to the sauce, return to a simmer and cook for 1–2 minutes more, stirring regularly.
Serve the curry drizzled with a little extra cream, lime or lemon wedges for squeezing over and freshly cooked rice tossed with chopped coriander.
Recipe tips
Most of the calories are in the sauce and it's a generous amount for one person. If you wish you can save half the sauce to use later. Or add an extra chicken breast and double the marinade if you’re cooking for two. To further reduce the calories use low-fat yoghurt and a tikka spice mix for the marinade and go easy on the cream in the sauce.
You can find tikka paste in the ‘world food’ aisle of the supermarket. Swap for any medium curry paste, if you like.
It’s not essential to marinate the chicken for this curry. But if you have the time, prepare ahead, cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours before cooking.
Check the chicken is cooked by testing one of the larger pieces. Cut into the middle and ensure it’s fully cooked throughout and no pinkness remains. Return to the air fryer and cook for 1–2 minutes longer if necessary.
For a vegetarian version, try using 125g/4½oz paneer instead of chicken. Cut into 2.5cm/1in chunks and air fry as above at 200C for roughly 4 minutes before adding to the sauce.
You don’t have to use turmeric in the sauce, but just a little lends authentic colour. If you like a hotter curry, add some chopped fresh chilli or a small pinch of chilli flakes to the sauce at the same time as the turmeric.
Any leftover curry can be cooled and kept in the fridge for up to two days. Reheat in the microwave on a medium setting until hot throughout, or put into a small pan with an extra splash of water and reheat gently over a low heat.
If you don’t fancy rice, serve with warm naan breads instead.
This recipe was tested using a 4–litre capacity air fryer. If yours has a much larger or smaller capacity, you will need to adjust the cooking times.
