Sukhi’s Chicken Tikka Masala

Most of the Indian cuisine you’ll find at Aldi is sold under the grocer’s Journey to India house brand. There is at least one exception to this rule, though. Occasionally, I find Sukhi’s branded Indian dishes at Aldi.

Sukhi’s was founded by Sukhi Singh, who was born in India and was inspired by her grandmother’s cooking. She moved to the U.S. in 1985 and began selling products at farmers markets in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her business grew, and now Sukhi’s products are sold at Costco, Safeway, Whole Foods, Albertsons, and other grocers. The product line includes frozen “naanwiches,” frozen samosas, and complete frozen meals that include rice, naan, and curry.

Suki’s also produces several refrigerated entrees, which is what I’m mostly likely to find at my local Aldi store. Aldi sells Sukhi’s products as limited-time Aldi Finds, which means these are only at Aldi for a short time, and once they sell out, you can’t order them online from Aldi. (You might be able to buy these from other stores, though.) The good news is that these seem to return to Aldi a couple of times per year, so you’ll want to keep an eye on the weekly ad.

I recently picked up refrigerated Sukhi’s Chicken Tikka Masala and Sukhi’s Chicken Coconut Curry at Aldi. I served them both as a quick, easy dinner during the busy back-to-school season.

Here, I’m taking a closer look specifically at Sukhi’s Chicken Tikka Masala.

This cost $9.79 for a 15-ounce package at the time of publication. That’s about 65 cents per ounce. With three servings per package, that comes out to $3.26 per serving. It’s a bit on the pricey side, but it’s less than getting takeout from a restaurant.

I found this selling for $9.49 at Kroger, so you might find it slightly cheaper elsewhere, but not by much.

This is a product of the U.S. It is preservative free and gluten free. It’s also certified halal by the Islamic Services of America.

This had a use- or freeze-by date of more than three months from my date of purchase, so these are sealed in such a way that they’ll last a while in the fridge. I like these enough that I usually eat them well before that date.

If you’re looking out for allergens, this contains milk (cream).

The ingredient list includes mostly whole, easily recognizable foods. The full list is white chicken, tikka sauce (tomato paste, water, cream, cane sugar, ginger, expeller pressed canola oil, vinegar, garlic, chickpea flour, onions, spices, butter [cultured cream, salt], and 2% or less of rice flour, salt, jalapeno, caramelized onion [onions, expeller pressed canola oil], curry paste [garlic, lemongrass, spices, salt, shallot, kaffir lime peel, turmeric], paprika oleoresin, cilantro, onion powder, xanthan gum, turmeric powder, fenugreek leaves, garlic powder, lemon juice concentrate, and cardamom oleoresin), water, sugar, salt, and baking soda.

One package has three 5-ounce servings. One serving has 180 calories, 8 grams of total fat (12% DV), 4 grams of saturated fat (20% DV), 490 mg of sodium (20% DV), 7 grams of total carbohydrates (2% DV), 1 gram of dietary fiber (4% DV), 5 grams of sugars, and 21 grams of protein.

The package has directions for microwaving this or heating it on the stovetop. This is fully cooked, so all you have to do is warm it up.

To microwave, remove the paper sleeve and empty the plastic bag into the included plastic tray. Cover and heat on high for 2 minutes. Stir, cover, and heat for an additional 1 minute or until hot. Stir again. Let stand for 1 minute.

To heat on the stovetop, remove the paper sleeve and empty the bag into a medium-sized saucepan. Cover and heat on medium heat for 5-7 minutes or until hot. Empty the contents into the included plastic serving tray.

I heated this in the microwave. Because these meals are fairly small, I also made the Sukhi’s Chicken Coconut Curry so there would be enough food to satisfy the whole family. Plus, we had fun sampling smaller amounts of both entrees.

The directions recommend serving both entrees with Sukhi’s Lemon Rice, but I simply served them with some basmati rice I purchased from Aldi. I also served Aldi naan and Trader Joe’s veggie samosas.

The chicken tikka masala is good. The package labels it as medium spicy, but I think it’s more mild. It has authentic Indian flavor that is not always easy to find outside of restaurants. It doesn’t skimp on the chicken, but it also has plenty of sauce that’s great for mopping up with a piece of naan. This always finds its way into my shopping cart when it happens to be in stock at Aldi.

The Verdict:

Sukhi’s Chicken Tikka Masala is not exclusive to Aldi, so you might find it at other stores such as Kroger or Costco. It features white meat chicken in a creamy tomato curry. It’s made in the U.S., and we appreciate the fairly wholesome ingredients list. It is a bit on the expensive side, and one package won’t easily feed a family unless you serve it with some sides as well. If you like Indian cuisine, though, this is well worth trying.