Chicken Tikka Masala: Why It's Our Best-Selling Dish
At the farmers market, at the Monrovia Street Fair and in online meal boxes, one dish outsells everything else. Chicken Tikka Masala is the best-selling dish at Channi's Kitchen, with more than 3,700 bowls and meals served since March 2025. If you're looking for chicken tikka masala delivery in Los Angeles, here's what makes ours worth the line.
What's in our Chicken Tikka Masala
It's a simple promise done carefully: tender pieces of chicken simmered in a smooth, creamy, tomato-based masala sauce, seasoned with aromatic Indian spices. We serve it the classic way, with a generous 12 oz portion of curry and 8 oz of fragrant cumin basmati rice.
What we leave out matters just as much:
- No added sugar. Many tikka masala recipes add sugar to get that sweet, restaurant-style flavor. We don't, in this or any of our dishes. Our sauce gets its gentle sweetness from naturally sweet, ripe tomatoes.
- No nuts. None. Many restaurants thicken their sauce with ground cashews, which add extra fat and calories and make the dish off-limits for anyone with a nut allergy. Not at Channi's Kitchen.
- No seed oils. We cook mostly with olive oil, and ghee occasionally.
- Gluten-free. The curry and rice contain no gluten.
- Mild heat. All the warmth and depth of the spices, without the burn.
Contains dairy.
Why it's everyone's favorite
Chicken Tikka Masala is often the first Indian dish people fall in love with, and it's easy to see why. The sauce is rich but not heavy, the spices are aromatic rather than fiery, and the tomato base gives it a comforting, familiar sweetness. You can order it for a picky eater, a first-timer and an Indian food lover, and all three will be happy.
It also holds up beautifully as meal prep. The sauce keeps the chicken tender through reheating, so lunch on day three tastes as good as dinner on day one. Meals keep up to 4 days in the fridge or up to 2 months in the freezer.
How to make it a full meal
- Swap the rice. Choose garlic naan or roti in the meal builder to scoop up every bit of sauce.
- Add a drink. A cold, creamy Mango Lassi is the classic partner.
- Go bigger. Upgrade to a 16 oz portion for big appetites.
- Feed the vegetarians too. Paneer Tikka Masala is the same creamy sauce with soft paneer instead of chicken, and it's a favorite in our online boxes. Plenty of households order both.
Where does Chicken Tikka Masala come from?
Is it Indian? British? Both? The answer involves a Glasgow restaurant, a famous political speech and a court case in Delhi. We're digging into that story in our next article, out this Wednesday.
Frequently asked questions
Is Channi's Kitchen Chicken Tikka Masala spicy?
No. It's mild: full of flavor and warm spices, but not hot.
Is it gluten-free?
Yes. The curry and rice are gluten-free. If you swap the rice for garlic naan, the naan contains gluten.
Does it contain nuts?
No. We never add nuts. Many restaurants thicken tikka masala with ground cashews, but our recipe is nut-free.
Is there added sugar in your Chicken Tikka Masala?
No. Its natural sweetness comes from ripe tomatoes, not added sugar.
What's the difference between Chicken Tikka Masala and butter chicken?
They're close cousins. Both feature chicken in a creamy tomato sauce. Butter chicken is usually richer and more buttery, while tikka masala tends to be more tomato-forward and spiced.
Where can I try it in person?
At the Monrovia Street Fair, every Friday from 5 to 9 pm.
How do I heat it?
Most meals heat in under 10 minutes. See our heating and storage instructions.
Get the favorite delivered
Build your box → and add Chicken Tikka Masala. Free delivery on every box across Los Angeles and Orange County. Want another award-winner? Try our five-time cook-off champion Chicken Masala Chili.
