Meal Review: American Airlines Chicken Tikka Masala

In this post, I’ll be reviewing an American Airlines Chicken Tikka Masala dish, served in their domestic First Class.

Let’s take a look at the details of the flight:

Route: Tampa, FL to Chicago, IL

Aircraft: MD-80

Meal Window: Lunch

Meal: Chicken Tikka Masala (Served with Vegetables and Rice and Peas)

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After take-off, the lead flight attendant came through the First Class cabin with a choice of lunch selections. While the aircraft was originally to be catered with a Beef Enchilada entree, it was mis-catered, and on offer was a Chicken Tikka Masala.

After a short bit, a hot towel was offered.

Then, a drink service. I ordered a Coke Zero with lime. With it came the traditional ramekin of warmed assorted nuts.

Following beverage service, there was some heavy turbulence to which the Captain asked the flight attendants to take their seat for the duration of the flight, and to discontinue service. After about another half hour, the turbulence appeared to have calmed down and service resumed.

On the meal tray included:

• A garden salad with cucumbers and peppers, with a cup of ranch dressing
• Chicken Tikka Masala served with vegetables, rice and peas

A minute later, a bread basked was offered to which I chose the warmed pretzel roll.

Here are my impressions of the meal:

• The vegetables in the Masala tasted as if they had been once frozen, but otherwise normal to expectations.
• The rice is “sticky” and hard, with the occasional crunch. The rice was not fluffy, and there were chunks of leftover rice “burned” to the sides of the dish when finished.
• The chicken was very hard to cut, and had a rubbery texture. It was warm and slather with a masala sauce which was otherwise very good.
• The pretzel roll was delicious, and not stale.

I’ve chosen this meal several times before, and each had a similar review with no overall differences – mainly the rice being crunchy, and the chicken being tough.

For those who have the option of ordering this dish on your next domestic First Class American Airlines flight, I hope you find this review informative!