Tesco Chicken Tikka Masala

What a shame that we British people spoiled a true Indian dish; the dish in question is Chicken Tikka.

Chicken Tikka is small pieces of boneless chicken that had been marinated overnight in herbs and spices and then barbecued or put in a tandorri oven. Very tasty, with the added bonus of something to chew on, not a load of slop.

Chicken Tikka Masala was created in Britain, Sorry to say………..

When we are eating Masala we conjure up visions of Moghul emperors or the great Raj enjoying their meal off golden platters. Wrong.

The masala part comes from us British. Us British who are so used to having everything swamped in gravy.

Chicken Tikka was once served as it was supposed to be served, after complaints of lack of sauce the Bangladesh chef who cooked the meal for a group of people introduced it with a sauce, now commonly known as masala.

I have never read a true Indian cookbook, which gives recipes for chicken tikka masala, only chicken tikka.

You may want to contradict me now if you have a modern cookbook as Masala is now well known, but I am talking about true Indian cooking.

So we finally arrive at mass produced tasteless crap, which is Tescos Chicken Tikka Masala 350g costing £2.98

The little red oblong box with the tantalising picture on the front displaying lots of chicken in a delicious looking sauce looks tempting. I was tempted.

On the front of the red box the description of it really tempts your taste buds. Char grilled pieces of chicken breast marinated in herbs and spices in a creamy masala sauce enriched with fragrant spices and coriander.

Yes it sounds exotic and tasty. This is also a medium spiced meal so you have no worries about drinking a gallon of water to soothe your taste buds.

You can pop this meal in the microwave for 5 minutes (approx) or put it in the oven for 25-30 mins (approx)

So you are sorted, until it is cooked and ready on your plate.

What have you got in front of you?

A lot of watery insipid juice a few pieces of anaemic chicken, when I say anaemic, I mean anaemic, I know chicken is white meat, but heck this is whiter than white, and a few specks of green flakes from dried herbs /spices etc.

The taste alone is non descript, the colour looks good but heck, where is all the meat that is depicted on the cover of the box.

Okay enough said, I would never ever buy it again, but that is my choice. If you like instant unfulfilling crap eat and enjoy, but don’t blame me.I

ngredients of this unsatisfying meal are as follows...Chicken, Tomato Puree, Cream, Onion, Low Fat Yoghurt, Garlic Puree, Tikka Powder, Soya Oil, Ginger Puree, Coriander Leaf, Salt, Modified Starch, Colours (Capsanthin, Beta-Carotene, Cochineal), Lemon Juice, Ground Coriander, Garam Masala, Ground Cumin, Green Chillies.

As in most mass produced foods this dinner might have nuts in it, so for anyone who is allergic to certain things I would suggest reading the outer packet before purchasing.

Would i buy it again......No way.....I enjoy a spicy meal and I think about me having to go home after the supermarket shop and having to start to marinate meat etc.

I would rather go home and marinate meat take my time and prepare a meal that I will thouroughly enjoy, rather than go home put a meal in the oven for half an hour, try it and bin it.