{"id":267,"date":"2023-08-06T22:00:59","date_gmt":"2023-08-06T22:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/squarespace.joannawhiteart.com\/wp\/2023\/08\/06\/sukhis-indian-cuisine-chicken-tikka-masala-costco-review\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T13:33:39","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T18:33:39","slug":"sukhis-indian-cuisine-chicken-tikka-masala-costco-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snarklesauce.com\/blog\/2023\/08\/06\/sukhis-indian-cuisine-chicken-tikka-masala-costco-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Sukhi\u2019s Chicken Tikka Masala Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A solid 80-90% awesome.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re like me, you\u2019ve probably tried dozens<\/em> of jarred or frozen or bagged Indian food options from the grocery store, and they\u2019ve probably all been at least slightly<\/em> disappointing. There doesn\u2019t seem to be anything comparable to the unbridled deliciousness available in actual Indian restaurants. This Chicken Tikka Masala from Sukhi\u2019s Indian Cuisine<\/a> comes closer than most<\/em> of the others, in my opinion, with a few significant caveats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not Indian, so I will only<\/em> be reviewing this from the perspective of my ignorant Caucasian taste buds. I won\u2019t be discussing how authentic it is, because I wouldn\u2019t know.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is a fresh<\/em> product, although Sukhi\u2019s also sells frozen<\/em> versions<\/a> of their chicken tikka masala. In the 36 ounce box, you get TWO individually-sealed plastic pouches of the curry. The twin pouches are much more convenient for me than a single large pouch, because I don\u2019t have to gobble it up all at once. My box had an expiration date approximately 3.5 months in the future, so that gives me tons of time to work this into my hectic schedule. For that reason, I consider this an excellent buy for couples or single people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(If you’re looking for a similarly quick, refrigerated meal, check out my review of Kevin’s Cilantro Lime Chicken<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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I weighed one pouch on my kitchen scale, and it was 1.25 pounds, so slightly more than the promised amount.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Heating & Serving Instructions for Sukhi\u2019s Chicken Tikka Masala<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I cook mine in an 8-inch skillet on medium heat until it simmers slightly, which only takes a few minutes. My picture shows the contents of a single pouch in the pan, or 1\/2 the entire 36 ounce box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The heating instructions offer either microwave <\/strong>or stove top <\/strong>directions. It\u2019s extremely quick to heat this on the stove, so I always choose that method. I also like to add additional spices or water to my curry, and the pan makes it easy to do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(For another convenient, pre-made Indian meal, check out my review of this Quicklly Butter Chicken<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Why would I add additional spices?<\/strong> Well, this is remarkably<\/em> mild curry! Bewilderingly mild. The front of the box says \u201cMedium,\u201d but it\u2019s got almost zero spiciness. I can feel the slightest<\/em> tickle of warmth at the back of my throat after eating an entire bowl, but otherwise, no heat. I enjoy this curry enormously more if I add some additional ginger and cayenne (or even Kashmiri chili), and let it simmer for a few minutes. I don\u2019t really think of myself as a spicy-food-fanatic, but this is just a few steps up from ketchup, in mildness. The good news is, you could serve this to almost anyone, even people who are entirely spice-intolerant, and they\u2019d still be your friends afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(For another mild curry, check out my review of this Butter Chickpeas & Veggies<\/a>, which is imported from India.)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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On the up-side, the sauce has a wonderful aroma and savory taste. I wouldn\u2019t describe it as bland. There\u2019s a satisfying tension between the zing of the tomatoes and lime peel, and the buttery richness of the real cream. In fact, Sukhi\u2019s creamy texture is lightyears ahead of any jarred simmer sauce I have tried thus far. I personally<\/em> prefer a much more aggressive garlic and ginger taste, but this is still quite yummy in its subtlety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(For a much more spicy option, check out my review of Deep Indian Kitchen Chickpea Samosas<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Typically, I cook 1 cup (dry) plain white basmati rice for each pouch of the tikka masala. My bowl here has 1\/2 my pot of rice and 1\/2 a pouch of the tikka masala. Yes, this is a much larger serving than the box recommends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you don\u2019t like to cook rice, the Sukhi\u2019s package suggests eating this with their own brand of Sukhi\u2019s Lemon Rice<\/a>. I\u2019m way too frugal to ever buy pre-cooked rice, but it sounds tasty.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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As you can tell from my pictures, there is more chicken than gravy. Tons of chicken. I appreciate this. The gravy is thickened with chickpea flour and caramelized onions, so it coats the chicken in a rich layer of yum. There\u2019s a little more sweetness to the sauce than seems necessary, but not at all unpleasant. You can adjust the thickness of the gravy by adding water or cooking some of it out, depending on how you like the texture. I sometimes add a little coconut oil to mine, just to get some extra fat in my diet.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Meat Quality Issues<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The meat chunks are large pieces of white chicken breast. It\u2019s mostly<\/em> tender, juicy, and delicious. Mostly. When the meat is good, it\u2019s excellent. When it\u2019s bad, it\u2019s terrible. Alas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have gotten a couple packages with terrible<\/em> meat<\/strong> \u2014 grisly, jiggly, tough, etc. Once, I ended up spitting out nearly 1\/3 the chicken because it was so awful and un-chewable. It was so bad<\/em>, I contacted Sukhi\u2019s customer service to tell them about it. They listened graciously to my complaints and promised to correct the issue. I haven\u2019t had a really<\/em> bad batch since then, but there are still some small stringy bits of skin or gristle or tough meat that pop up. I pretty much always spit out at least a little<\/em> bit. So, the meat is 80-90% awesome, and only minimally terrible. I can\u2019t tell if this is because mine comes from Costco, and I\u2019m getting bargain meat, or if this is the MO for all of Sukhi\u2019s products. They are so close<\/em> to excellence, I would think they\u2019d just nip that in the bud and make sure all the chicken is high quality. But nobody asked my opinion, did they?<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Anyway. Here\u2019s a fork-full of the excellent chicken. Succulent, moist texture. It\u2019s not as deeply flavorful as what I buy from restaurants, but it\u2019s still pretty dang yummy.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Ingredients<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ingredients in Sukhi\u2019s Chicken Tikka Masala<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re a long-time fan of Indian food like I am, you\u2019ve probably experienced some tikka masala that has red food dye<\/a> added to achieve the rich color. And perhaps that knowledge haunts you at night. Fortunately, that is not the case here \u2014 there are no artificial colors in the ingredients, just richly colored natural spices. Whew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the ingredients, from the label:<\/p>\n\n\n\n