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Is Tesco finest Chicken Tikka Masala with Saffron Pilau Rice ultra-processed?

400g Chicken tikka masala Sold in the United Kingdom

Pack of Tesco finest Chicken Tikka Masala with Saffron 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:

  • 58 ingredients
  • 2 additives
  • Nutri-Score C

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

Cooked Saffron Rice (Water, Basmati Rice, Ginger, Rapeseed Oil, Cardamom, Saffron, Colour (Curcumin)), Chicken 20% (Chicken Breast, Yogurt, Garlic Purée, Corn Starch, Ginger, Cumin, Sugar, Salt, Green Chilli, Smoked Paprika, Colour (Paprika Extract), Black Pepper, Fenugreek, Cumin Seed, Turmeric), Tomato Purée, Single Cream, Rapeseed Oil, Coconut, Cashew Nut, Tomato, Yogurt, Ginger, Garlic Purée, Cornflour, Coriander, Sugar, Salt, Paprika, Coriander, Cumin, Green Chilli, Butter, Lemon Juice, Turmeric, Cumin Seed, Cinnamon, Clove, Chilli, Black Pepper, Fenugreek, Fennel, Lemon Oil, Cardamom, Bay Leaf, Colour (Paprika Extract)

Additives: E100 Curcumin , E160c Paprika extract

As written on the pack

Cooked Saffron Rice [Water, Basmati Rice, Ginger Purée, Rapeseed Oil, Cardamom Powder, Saffron, Colour (Curcumin)], Cooked Marinated Chicken (20%) [Chicken Breast, Yogurt (Milk), Garlic Purée, Corn Starch, Ginger Purée, Cumin Powder, Smoked Sugar, Salt, Green Chilli Purée, Smoked Paprika, Colour (Paprika Extract), Black Pepper, Fenugreek, Cumin Seed, Turmeric], Tomato Purée, Single Cream (Milk), Rapeseed Oil, Coconut, Cashew Nut Purée, Tomato, Yogurt (Milk), Ginger Purée, Garlic Purée, Cornflour, Coriander, Sugar, Salt, Paprika, Coriander Powder, Cumin Powder, Green Chilli Purée, Butter (Milk), Lemon Juice, Turmeric, Cumin Seed, Cinnamon, Clove Powder, Chilli Powder, Black Pepper, Fenugreek, Fennel, Lemon Oil, Cardamom Powder, Bay Leaf, Colour (Paprika Extract).

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.

  • E100 Curcumin Colours are substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.
  • E160c Paprika extract Paprika extract is a red-orange colour extracted from paprika peppers.
  • Colour Colours are added to restore colour lost in processing or to make a product look more appealing.
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 12th. 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 5059697712487, last edited 26 March 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 C (from A, best, to E).
  • General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.