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Chicken tikka masala with rice: what it costs to put on the plate

Britain's curry-house standard, done properly: thigh marinated in yoghurt and spice, roasted hard, then dropped into a buttery tomato and cream masala. Ten portions with 80 g of dry basmati each, costed from wholesale prices dated 7 September 2026.

Ingredients per portion£1.34
Batch of 10£13.37
Sell at 30% food cost£5.35 inc VAT (£4.46 ex)

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Ingredients and cost, 10 portions

IngredientPack pricePack sizeUsedCost
Chicken thigh, boneless skinless£38.9910000 g1500 g£5.85
Greek-style yoghurt£2.491000 g300 g£0.75
Garlic£3.491000 g40 g£0.14
Fresh ginger£15.495000 g40 g£0.12
Garam masala£11.491000 g30 g£0.34
Ground cumin£9.491000 g20 g£0.19
Ground coriander£16.995000 g20 g£0.07
Paprika£2.99480 g20 g£0.12
Lemons£9.996000 g100 g£0.17
Onions£6.9910000 g600 g£0.42
Chopped tomatoes (tinned)£19.9917700 g1200 g£1.36
Tomato puree£7.493000 g60 g£0.15
Double cream£3.791000 ml300 ml£1.14
Ground almonds£9.29907 g50 g£0.51
Unsalted butter£31.995000 g100 g£0.64
Green chillies£10.493000 g30 g£0.10
Vegetable oil£8.505000 ml60 ml£0.10
Basmati rice£29.9920000 g800 g£1.20
Batch total£13.37
Per portion (÷ 10)£1.34

Cost per line is pack price × (amount used ÷ pack size), the same sum the tool runs. Change one pack price and every line that uses it moves.

Method

  1. Marinate the diced thigh in the yoghurt, half the garlic and ginger, half the spices and the lemon juice for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
  2. Roast the chicken on a rack at 220 °C (430 °F) until charred at the edges, 12-15 minutes; rest.
  3. Soften the onion in the butter and oil, add the remaining garlic, ginger, chilli and spices, cook until fragrant, then the puree and chopped tomatoes. Simmer 20 minutes and blend smooth.
  4. Stir in the cream and ground almonds, add the chicken and any juices, simmer 5 minutes; season and finish with lemon.
  5. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear, cook by absorption (1 : 1.5 rice to water), rest covered 5 minutes and fork through.

Costing notes

Protein is under half the cost here, which is why curry is a margin dish: the sauce is onions, tinned tomatoes and cream. Spices look expensive per kilo and cost pennies per plate. Rice is 80 g dry a portion from a 20 kg sack. Naan, chutney and garnish are not costed: add rows.

Where the prices came from

JJ Foodservice collection prices as shown on its public search pages on 7 September 2026 (delivery prices run about £1-2 a case higher). The site does not label VAT on most lines: raw food is zero-rated in the UK, while oil, vanilla and alcohol carry standard-rate VAT. Where JJ had no line that day, a Tesco retail price is used and marked. Your supplier's price is the one that matters: open the recipe and type it in.

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