Biz from My Bizzy Kitchen has been taunting me with her chicken tikka masala for months. And months. It’s my favorite Indian dish of those I’ve had the opportunity to try at restaurants, so I’ve been meaning to make it at home for quite some time. When Biz changed her recipe to lighten it up, replacing the heavy whipping cream with Greek yogurt, I knew it was time. And I could not believe that it was even better than what I’ve had at restaurants! Just like with the dal makhani, it was so good I couldn’t move on and had to bring it back to our menu a second week in a row. Except this recipe is actually better than the dal makhani, IMHO. Thank you so much, Biz, for sharing your wonderful recipe with us. I’m paying it forward to you, my readers, so that you can enjoy it as well. And you will–it’s simply divine!
Lighter Chicken Tikka Masala
Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
3/4 cup (6 oz) nonfat, plain Greek yogurt, divided
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 teaspoons ground cumin, divided
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 small jalapeno, cut in half, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
6 dried red chili peppers
2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
1/4 teaspoon sriracha chili sauce (I use a full teaspoon for more heat)
Mix half the yogurt the chicken, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper. Refrigerate and marinate for one hour. Melt butter in a skillet and add jalapeno pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons ground cumin, garlic, paprika, curry powder, sriracha sauce and stir for 2 minutes, until nice and fragrant. Add chicken and cook for five minutes, turning pieces half way through. Add tomato sauce and dried chiles and simmer for 15 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked. Remove from heat, stir in remaining 3 ounces of Greek yogurt. Serve over brown rice and garnish with cilantro.
Makes 4 servings. Per serving: 205 calories; 2.5 g fat; 13.7 g carb; 3 g fiber; 29 g protein
Recipe source: barely tweaked from My Bizzy Kitchen
Veronica's Cornucopia 
This sounds wonderful and pretty easy to make too. Thanks for sharing!
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Love Indian food. I cannot wait to make this!
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Woman… this look absolutly delish… i wish i had the ingredients on hand right now, i would rush to the kitchen!!!
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I’ve been trying to expand my cooking to try new seasonings and flavors- this would be a great recipe to try, especially since it is healthy!
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Your pictures look great Veronica!!
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Thanks, Biz. I could never get them as pretty as yours but I tried. :)
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Mmmm, looks great! I love the PW’s version of Tikka Masala (by Pastor Ryan). Now I’m curious to see how the two recipes are different (besides the ‘lighter’ factor =).
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Oh mans, I forgot she had a recipe-I def should have consulted that. I will put some of those elements into this version next time, like the coriander and the onion. Biz hates onion so of course there was none in her recipe.
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Chicken Tikka Masala looks yum and mouth watering. my fav dish.
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Definitely one of my fav Indian foods! Love this lightened up version…looks delicious, Veronica!
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Brillant!!! Love the greek yogurt part.
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brilliant* ~Brain is asleep this morning… Stayed up too late reading books. :)
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Biz tempts everyone with her daily eats. She is the non-oatmeal conforming food blogger who eats well and nutritiously. :-)
Now I have Indian in the brain. Damn you both! ;-p
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Lighter tikka masala….I’m all over it! I love love love Indian food but rarely eat it because everything I love is horrible for my health….haha.
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I know, girl! When I ate it at the restaurant, I could tell that it was made with like a gallon of heavy cream…which is probalby why I liked it so much. I think this will surprise you–I liked it even more than the fattening stuff!
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This looks sooo good! My wife promises she’s going to make it.
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Great! I hope you guys like it. :)
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mmmm, you know me and Indian foods! I gotta give this spin a try.
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I have been snooping around the internet trying to figure out if I can get away with replacing the cream with yoghurt (an ongoing struggle between months of healthy eating and a staggering craving for this dish) and after a lot of uncertainty from other sites I must say that your pictures absolutely convinced me to try! Thank you, it looks wonderful.
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OH yes, you should definitely try it! It is just delicious. I’m so glad I could help! Let me know how you like it.
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Thanks Veronica! I tried it out tonight and it worked wonderfully. The dish wasn’t lacking in depth or flavour despite the exclusion of cream. I served it with steamed peas and zucchini instead of rice. I am definitely going to make this again and can’t wait to look at more of your recipes. Thank you again!
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I’m so glad you liked it!
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I just made this! It’s delicsious and so easy to make! Amazing!
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Thank you, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
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