This is maybe my favourite recipe that I’ve created. As I am from the UK and live in the US, I seriously miss good Indian curry houses back home. Tikka Masala is such a delicious and rich dish, but made the traditional way, it is packed full of FODMAPs.
After a lot of experimentation, I have landed on this delicious, creamy, and surprising light low FODMAP Tikka Masala recipe. The sauce is thickened with a low FODMAP serving of sweet potato and carrots.
I initially would make this recipe with paneer cheese, although you do need to watch the fat content of the meal which can trigger IBS symptoms. But I actually prefer it with the tofu paneer now as it’s not as heavy. I give both options so you can compare for yourself, or if you are on the fence with cheese as I was for a while.
This recipe is great for batch cooking and freezing. The one caveat is that if you do want to have rice with the curry, you will need to cook this fresh each time. This is to avoid resistant starch in cooked and cooled rice that can trigger symptoms of IBS.
The tofu paneer idea was taken from this Connoisseurus Veg recipe, and the spice blend is adapted from this Rachel Pauls recipe.
Low FODMAP (Tofu) Paneer Tikka Masala
Equipment
- Frying pan
- Large casserole/pot
- Soup blender (potato masher will work if you don't have one)
Ingredients
Tofu paneer (if using)
- 2x ~400 g (2x packs) pre-pressed extra-firm tofu (pressed overnight or at least 30 mins)
- 2 tbsp onion oil (I use Fody's shallot infused oil, but garlic oil will do too)
- 2 tsp turmeric
- Sprinkling of salt
Paneer cheese (if using)
- 600 g (4 ½ cups cubed) paneer cheese (watch for high fat content if this is a gut trigger)
Spice mixture
- 130 g (½ cup) coconut/plain lactose-free yoghurt (look for good quality, minimal ingredient non-sweetened yoghurt)
- 2 tbsp garlic oil
- 4 tsp (½ fresh) lime or lemon juice
- 2 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground cardamom (sub for 1 1/2 tsp garam masala)
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (more to taste but watch for too much spice if this is a gut irritant)
- 1 tsp fenugreek (optional)
- 2 tbsp grated fresh ginger (or 1 tsp dried)
Sauce
- 600 g (4 ½ cups cubed) sweet potato (<75 g/½ cup pp is low FODMAP in manitol)
- 300 g (4 large/2 ¼ cups) large carrots
- 2x 400 g cans of tinned tomatoes (<100 g/½ cup pp is low FODMAP in fructose)
- 2x 400 g canned coconut milk (<120 g/½ cup pp is low FODMAP in sorbitol)
- 2 tbsp garlic oil
- 1 tbsp maple syrup (optional)
- Salt & pepper to taste
Options to serve
- Rice, gluten-free naan/flatbread/poppadoms
- Coconut/lactose-free yoghurt
- Mango chutney (okay in small doses if you can find it with no high FODMAP ingredients)
- Sprinkling of fresh coriander, lime wedge
Instructions
- Chop tofu or paneer into 1 inch/2.5 cm chunks.
- If using tofu: fry the cubes (in batches if needed) in a large skillet in the onion oil and sprinkling of salt. Toss frequently until brown on all sides, for ~10 minutes. Sprinkle with turmeric, fully coat then set on some paper towels to cool and crisp.
- Mix the yoghurt, garlic oil, spices and ginger together in a bowl. Stir in the cooked tofu or paneer cubes, coat with the spice mix and set aside to marinade.
- Chop sweet potatoes into inch chunks and carrots into cm rounds.
- Heat garlic oil in large casserole, then add the veg and cook for ~5 minutes
- Add tomatoes and coconut milk to the veg in the large casserole, stir well and break the tomatoes up a bit if whole.
- Boil the tomatoes, coconut milk and vegetables on medium heat (stirring occasionally to prevent sticking) until reduced and veg soft (~15-20 mins). Then take off the heat and leave to cool a bit.
- If cooking, boil the rice according to packet instructions.
- If using paneer cheese: Fry up the marinated paneer on medium-high heat in single layer batches until browned.
- Take a soup blender and blend around half the veg, coconut, tomato mixture until thickened to your preferred consistency but still a bit chunky if you like the extra texture.
- Add the tofu/paneer and left over marinade to the sauce and stir well to combine. Heat on low heat for a while longer (~5 mins) to combine flavours. Season to taste with salt, pepper, maple syrup and additional spice.
- Heat any additional sides (veg, bread) if using. Serve hot with all the trimmings. This is great for leftovers and freezing.
