Product: Savory Skillets Chicken Tikka Masala
Specs: A one-pound bag of flash-frozen, precooked white chicken meat and vegetables in a light cream sauce spiked with Indian curry spices, tomato paste and dried garlic. It is from a line of multi-ethnic savory meals by Open Nature.
Preparation summary: Empty contents of bag into a non-stick or stainless steel skillet, cover with a lid, and cook over medium heat for 8 to 9 minutes.
High points: The sauce tastes exceptional as it captures the complexities and myriad spices of classic tikka masala. A judicious measure of cream listed in the ingredients gives it clinging power while evenly distributing the heat factor, which on a 1-to-10 scale rings in at around 4. The meal yields enough excess sauce to mop up with rice or naan bread if you have it on hand.
Low points: Get those pesky peas out of here! They don’t belong in tikka masala. And there’s too many of them, even after we expelled a couple dozen from the skillet. It would also be nice if the chicken wasn’t so finely chopped.
Average retail price: $8.99
Availability: Albertsons, Safeway, Jewel-Osco, Vons, Tom Thumb, and Pavilions.