Name: Air Fryer Chicken Tikka Masala Curry
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: British Indian Curry House
Ingredients: 225g (1/2 lb.) chicken thighs or breasts cut into bite sized pieces or tandoori chicken tikka; FOR THE SAUCE; 2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil or ghee or oil spray; 2 medium onions (approx. 250g/9oz), thinly sliced; ½ red bell pepper, thinly sliced; ½ tsp salt; 1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste; 1 tsp sugar (more or less to taste); 1 tbsp ground almonds; 1 tbsp coconut milk powder or 3 tbsp thick coconut milk; 125ml (1/2 cup) passata; 1 tbsp mixed powder or curry powder; 1 tbsp tandoori masala; 1 tsp paprika; 375ml (1 ½ cups) chicken stock, stock cube stock is fine; TO FINISH; 70ml (1/4 cup) single cream, plus more to garnish; 1/2 tsp red food colouring (optional); Juice of 1/2 lemon; 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi); 1/2 tsp garam masala; Salt to taste; 3 tbsp coriander (cilantro) to garnish

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This air fryer chicken tikka masala curry recipe gets restaurant quality results.

Some people have asked recently if I am only cooking in air fryers these days. Fair question and the answer is a big no. This air fryer chicken tikka masala recipe will show you why I like cooking in an air fryer though.

I started cooking air fryer curries a while back when our kitchen was being worked on and I didn’t have a stove. So I developed many curry recipes like this air fryer chicken tikka masala so that I could still enjoy my curries without having to spend a lot of money going out for one.

Who would want to make air fryer chicken tikka masala?

If you like air frying and are looking for a new recipe to cook in your air fryer, you will want to try this or one of my many other air fryer curries.

The great thing is, it really does taste like a takeaway CTM. You aren’t limited to air frying on my site though. Try this curry house style chicken tikka masala or make it in one pot as I did for my cookbook The Curry Guy One Pot.

When you cook CTM using traditional methods you will get excellent results but I have ensured that this air fryer version is right up there with the best of them!

The cleaning up is a lot easier too!

Is cooking curry in an air fryer messy?

I have been asked this question a lot lately and the answer is no! You will see from the photos below that splatter is not a problem.

In my method of air frying curries, you simply heat the sauce for about 15 minutes until it is hot enough to serve. You don’t need it to be splattering and spitting to do that.

I have personally tried three different air fryers of different sizes and have never had any issues. And… I can assure you that you will love Chicken tikka masala cooked this way.

So is cooking liquids in an air fryer okay?

Remember that you are adding a prepared, rather thick curry gravy when you make air fryer chicken tikka masala.

Air fryers were not developed to cook liquids so you should never try to cook a thin beef stock or soup in it. There are other appliances that are better for that.

If you were to try to make a soup or stock in an air fryer, you would need to cook it hours longer and that would not be good on the elements. A curry sauce, however is perfect for air frying.

I’m still not convinced.

Okay. Try this. Make your air fryer chicken tikka masala exactly as the recipe. You can always open the cooking chamber and check the progress.

If by some unexplained miracle the sauce is steaming and spitting like crazy, then it’s hot enough to eat so job done.

Will you get restaurant quality results with this recipe?

You probably aren’t going to find many restaurant chefs trading in their stoves for air fryers but then they need to cook for a lot more people

If you enjoy cooking curries the restaurant way, then continue doing that. I do all the time because I love the buzz of cooking at high temperatures and standing over my pan adding ingredients.

That said, you will get amazing results using this air fryer method. If I didn’t think you would love this air fryer chicken tikka masala, I wouldn’t have posted the recipe.

Can you adjust this recipe for your air fryer?

Yes. I have developed this recipe to use in a simple air fryer. If you have an air fryer that also has a sauté function, feel free to use that instead of air frying the base curry ingredients.

You could also slow cook the sauce but then that wouldn’t be air frying which this air fryer chicken tikka masala recipe is all about.

Personally I love the air fryer version as the sauce darkens and caramelises on top. The can be stirred into the sauce for more flavour and it’s something that won’t happen in a slow cooker. By the way… If you want to try cooking chicken tikka masala in a slow cooker, I have that on the blog for you too.

How do you cook the chicken?

For this recipe, you can add pre-cooked air fryer chicken tikka or you can simply air fry some chicken tikka when you begin cooking.

The air fryer chicken tikka is great in a lot of different curries, not just air fryer curries. It also adds another delicious layer of flavour.

Think of your air fryer as a small tandoor. Air fryers don’t actually fry at all. They are much closer to a tandoor oven then they are a frying pan.

How long can you store leftovers in the fridge?

This recipe is for a curry that serves one to two people. If you make it and have leftovers, you can store them in your fridge for up to three days.

Then to reheat, simply place the curry back in your air fryer to heat through at about 200°C/400°F or easier, place the curry in your microwave for a couple of minutes.

What pan do you need to make this curry?

In order to cook a curry in an air fryer, you will need a metal pan that fits into the basket.

Small cake tins are already popular accessories for air frying casseroles and stews. I use this one <– Affiliate link, which comes in several sizes.

For my air fryer I use a 7 inch diameter pan but you will want to measure your basket before placing an order.

You can use any metal pan though as long as it fits into your air fryer basket.

Although silicone pans have their air fryer uses, I don’t recommend them for cooking curries as they don’t get hot enough and it will mean needing to cook the curry much longer.

Can you upscale this recipe?

I have developed my air fryer curry recipes to serve 1 to 2 people. I did this for a reason.

You don’t want a really full pan in your air fryer as it will take to long to heat up. You might even have splattering issues.

When cooking a small curry house portion, you only need your pan to be about half full. It heats faster and there is no mess.

If you happen to have an air fryer with two cooking chambers to cook in, you could cook two curries at once. That or cook a small portion of chicken tikka masala and cover it to keep warm while you cook a second portion.

Can this chicken tikka masala be made in any air fryer?

Although I have personally tested quite a few, there are some air fryers that may not be large enough to cook a curry. Most can though.

I have a Ninja Foodie FledDrawer Air Fryer (<– Affiliate Link) which works perfectly for this style of air frying. It has two cooking chambers so you can air fry two different things at once which greatly reduces the cooking time.

I have used smaller air fryers with fantastic success. The cooking time below is for an air fryer with a single cooking chamber so if you have two or more, you will be able to cook these curries faster.

How long can you store leftovers in the fridge?

You should be able to keep your leftovers, covered in your fridge for up to 3 days.

This air fryer chicken tikka masala recipe only serves 1 to 2 people. If you are reheating it all, you could place it back in your air fryer to reheat. You could also just place the curry in your microwave for a couple of minutes.

Can you freeze air fryer chicken tikka masala.

You can but for best results I recommend freezing it before adding the cream. If you have already added the cream, you can still freeze the curry but the texture might change a bit as cream doesn’t freeze well.

Step by step photographs.

Get all your ingredients together and prepared before starting. It’s much easier that way.

Cooking the chicken for the curry in the air fryer basket.

If you don’t already have pre-cooked chicken tikka, spray the chicken with oil and air fry with or without marinade for 10 minutes in an oil sprayed basket, turning once.

Placing the sliced onions and bell pepper in the air fryer basket to cook.

Mix the sliced onions and pepper with oil or oil spray and place in a preheated basket at 200°C/400°F.

Frying the onions, bell pepper and garlic and ginger paste.

Air fry for 10 minutes, adding the garlic and ginger paste for the last two minutes.

Transfer the fried onion mixture to a bowl and add the remaining sauce ingredients. You can blend with a stick blender.

Blending the sauce ingredients until smooth.

Or blend the sauce in a countertop blender until smooth.

Pour the sauce into your preheated air fryer and air fry for 10 minutes. The sauce will brown on top. Stir that in for extra flavour.

Adding the precooked chicken to the sauce.

Stir in the cooked chicken and then continue air frying for 5 to 10 minutes or until hot enough to serve.

Adding kasoori methi and garam masala to the curry.

To finish, add the kasoori methi and garam masala. Season with salt to taste and stir well.

If you like this air fryer chicken tikka masala, you might like to try some of these air fryer recipes too.

Chicken Pathia in Air Fryer
Chasni Curry in Air Fryer
Rogan Josh in Air Fryer
Air Fryer Butter Paneer
Lamb Achari in Air Fryer
Chicken Jalfrezi in Air Fryer
Chicken Rezala in Air Fryer
Basmati Rice in Air Fryer
Air Fryer Chapli Kebabs
Air Fryer Tandoori Chicken Legs
Tandoori Whole Air Fryer Chicken

Have you tried this Air Fryer chicken tikka masala recipe?

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Yield: 1 to 2