Is it ultra-processed?
Menu

Is Chef Select Chicken Tikka Masala With Chickpea Pilau Rice ultra-processed?

350g Chicken tikka masala Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Chef Select Chicken Tikka Masala With Chickpea Pilau Rice

Yes, it's ultra-processed

  1. 1 Unprocessed
  2. 2 Kitchen staple
  3. 3 Processed
  4. 4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

  • 90 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score B

Less processed chicken tikka masala

Less processed isn't automatically healthier, so compare the labels for what matters to you, such as sugar or salt.

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

chicken tikka masala sauce 43% (water, onion (onion, rapeseed oil), tomato purée, onion, yogurt, half cream, red lentils, sugar, modified maize starch, ginger, rapeseed oil, garlic purée, whey powder, tandoori masala blend (paprika, salt, coriander, turmeric, chilli, cumin, cinnamon, ground clove, citric acid, lemon oil, black pepper, bay leaf, paprika extract), butter, coriander, red chilli, salt, turmeric, cumin seed, garam masala blend (coriander, cinnamon, black pepper, ground ginger, fennel, chilli, paprika, cardamom, ground clove, cumin, bay leaf, spice extract, turmeric), fenugreek leaf, paprika extract), cooked rice 37% (water, basmati rice, cooked chickpeas, spinach, turmeric, cumin seeds, cardamom, bay leaf), chicken breast 20% (chicken 92%, seasoning, paprika, spices (chilli, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, clove, bay leaves, cardamon, mace, nutmeg, star anise, turmeric), salt, paprika extract, basil, corn starch, rapeseed oil, garlic, yogurt powder, green chilli, ginger, lemon juice)

Additives: E160c Paprika extract , E330 Citric acid

As written on the pack

43% chicken tikka masala sauce (water, onion purée [onion, rapeseed oil], tomato purée, onion, yogurt (milk), half cream (milk), red lentils, sugar, modified maize starch, ginger purée, rapeseed oil, garlic purée, whey powder (milk), tandoori masala blend [ground paprika, salt, ground coriander, ground turmeric, chilli powder, ground cumin, ground cinnamon, ground clove, acid: citric acid, lemon oil, ground black pepper, bay leaf powder, colour: paprika extract], butter (milk), coriander, red chilli, salt, ground turmeric, cumin seed, garam masala blend [ground coriander, ground cinnamon, ground black pepper, ground ginger, ground fennel, chilli powder, ground paprika, ground cardamom, ground clove, ground cumin, bay leaf powder, spice extract, ground turmeric], fenugreek leaf, colour: paprika extract), 37% cooked rice (water, basmati rice, cooked chickpeas, spinach, ground turmeric, cumin seeds, ground cardamom, bay leaf powder), 20% chargrilled marinated chicken breast (92% chicken, seasoning [paprika, spices (chilli, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, clove, bay leaves, cardamon, mace, nutmeg, star anise, turmeric), salt, paprika extract, basil, corn starch, rapeseed oil, garlic, yogurt powder (milk), green chilli, ginger, lemon juice), allergy advice for allergens, see ingredients in bold,

What makes it ultra-processed

Cosmetic additives

Added to change how the food looks, feels or tastes, not to keep it safe. A hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • Modified starch Modified starch is starch altered physically, with enzymes or chemically, so that it thickens, gels or survives freezing and heating better than ordinary starch.

Substances rarely used in home kitchens

Refined or extracted in factories, such as syrups made from starch or isolated proteins. The other hallmark of ultra-processed food.

  • Whey Whey is the liquid left over from cheese making, usually dried into a powder and used as a cheap source of milk solids, protein and lactose.
5 ingredients that would only make it processed

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

  • Meals Products in the category "Meals" are at least group 3.
  • Butter Butter, the fat churned from cream.
  • Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
  • Starch Starch extracted from cereals or potatoes, used to thicken.
  • Sugar Sugar refined from sugar cane or beet.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 19 chicken tikka masala

From least to most processed, this one ranks 16th. 89% of the chicken tikka masala here are ultra-processed.

Ranked by NOVA group, then by the number of ultra-processing signs, additives and ingredients. Our ordering, not part of NOVA.

All 19 chicken tikka masala, least processed first

About this information

  • Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 4056489900641, last edited 24 September 2026), available under the Open Database License. If something is wrong or the recipe has changed, you can correct it there.
  • Photo: Open Food Facts contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • The NOVA group is an automated estimate from crowdsourced data: a missing or mistyped ingredient can change it.
  • NOVA measures processing, not nutrition. For nutrition, Open Food Facts gives this product a Nutri-Score of B (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.