updated feb 2026

one of my favorite things to eat is indian food, but it can be a challenge if the dishes you love most are laden with cream and cheese. i decided to take matters into my own hands and make some acne-safe versions at home, and when searching for recipes online, was delighted at finding so many highly rated ones! 

after reading several, it looks like the only substitutions needed would be to replace any dairy cream with coconut milk, dairy yogurt with coconut yogurt and dairy cheese with the kite hill cheeses. the dishes were pretty simple to make, considering the rich depth of flavors that came from combining several healthy spices, a few aromatics and a squeeze of lemon. 

my go to recipe faves are chicken tikka masala (not a traditional indian dish, as it was supposedly created by immigrants in the UK), saag paneer, aromatic basmati rice and sweet potato roti.

chicken tikka masala is a dish that usually comes with grilled chicken cubes floating in a cream and tomato based spiced sauce. saag paneer is a sort of creamed spinach with chunks of fresh cheese thrown in. the aromatic basmati rice i like to make is steamed with toasted spices like cardamom pods, star anise, cumin seeds and sauteed onions. and the sweet potato roti is just 1:1 hot steamed sweet potato with AP flour, kneaded with a little salt, rolled out and cooked on a dry pan. 

ALSO A PLUS - is that except for the white rice, these dishes are also candida-safe! (so long as you are not reactive to tomatoes). you can also substitute quinoa, brown rice, millet or other grain-like seeds, but just don't go too crazy on the carbs. woo! 

CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA

over the years my recipe has changed, but it started with me mixing up these two recipes (curry stand tikka masala and chicken tikka masala), evolving with what time and ingredients i'd have at any given time. here's what went into the chicken marinade:

CHICKEN MARINADE

sometimes i have the chicken defrosted but don't have the time, interest or space to eat it just yet. i mix everything together below, and that usually buys me a day or two to work up the appetite/energy to cook it.

• about 1.5lb boneless chicken
• 1 cup plain-flavored coyo coconut yogurt or coconut milk
• 1-1.5 TB fresh lemon juice
• 2 TSP ground cumin
• 1 TSP ground cinnamon
• 2 TSP turmeric powder
• 2 TSP curry powder (i've used both fijian and japanese curry powders successfully)
• 2 TSP chili pepper powder mix
  • my own homemade mix of equal parts: sweet + hot paprikas, ancho chile, salt and 1/2 part cayenne, all from rainbow grocery's bulk bins
• 2 TSP freshly ground black pepper
• 1 TB fresh grated ginger (dried could work too)
• 2 TSP salt (to start)

i combined all the above and let it sit in the fridge til i'm ready to cook it - anywhere from an hour to 2 days. then, make the simmer sauce:

SIMMER SAUCE

• 2 TB ghee or oil
• 1 diced medium white onion
• 5 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1.5 cups of chopped tomatoes (1-1.5 cans chopped, diced, crushed would work)
• 2 cups of broth, to start (any kind works)

1. in a cast iron dutch oven, we heated up the ghee, sautéed the onion and garlic for a few minutes on medium heat, until the onions soften, caramelize and brown a bit.
   
2. the tomatoes went in, and then the marinated chicken. allow this to simmer til water is released from the tomatoes and chicken, then add the broth to create a simmering gravy. 
3. i added coconut milk towards the end of the 30-ish minute simmering time. you could taste and re-season; you may want more chili pepper powder, garam masala, salt, or even coconut sugar to round out the flavors.

AROMATIC BASMATI RICE

this is the original recipe i based our version on - i increased the spices, reduced the cumin seeds and used shallots instead of an onion. i also tried using the instant pot instead of cooking it stove top. i made this a second time subbing quinoa for the rice which also came out awesome!

• 1.5 cups white basmati rice (you can also do brown basmati for a low glycemic version)
• 3 shallots, sliced (the recipe called for onions but we had shallots and used those instead)
• 6-8 green cardamom pods
• 1 TSP cumin seeds
• 2 star anise
• 1 2-inch cinnamon stick
• 4-6 whole cloves
• 1 TSP olive oil
• 2.5 cups water

i doubled the spices the original recipe called for, and after few soaking attempts, i prefer to do a quick rinse of the rice and adding it to the aromatics i've already sauteed and cook in the instant pot (or on the stove top in a cast iron covered pot). 

1. in the stovetop pot or instant pot, turn on the heat and add the oil. sautee the shallots and spices til the shallots are soft and starting to brown, about 3 minutes. (you can also use previously fried shallots; cook til the spices in oil til they become fragrant then add the fried shallots). 
2. add the rice, and combine thoroughly around in the pot for about 3 minutes until everything smells toasty.
3. add the water and if using:
   1. stovetop: bring to a boil. give it all a stir, turn down to a simmer and cook for 12 mins.
   2. instant pot: change the function from sautee to pressure cook for 3 minutes and natural release for 5, before releasing the steam fully and fluffing. make sure to close the vent.

SAAG PANEER

here's the recipe we worked with!

• 1 TSP turmeric powder
• 1/2 TSP pepper mix (see the pepper mix in the tikka recipe above)
• kosher salt
• 3TB + 1.5TB oil (acne safe like safflower, sunflower, or olive)
• 12 ounces cheese (we used kite hill soft fresh original, from whole foods), cut into 1 inch cubes (you can sub this burmese chickpea tofu instead)
• 2 - 10oz packages of frozen organic spinach (or equivalent of fresh greens, cooked down by steaming or sauteeing)
• 1 medium white onion, chopped
• 2TB peeled and minced ginger (i'm sure dried would be fine)
• 4 gloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 fresh pepper as you like - thai chili, serrano, jalapeno, or omit
• 1/2 TSP garam masala
• 2 TSP ground coriander
• 1 TSP ground cumin
• 1/2 cup plain coyo coconut yogurt (or coconut milk) - optional

1. marinade the cheese with oil, the turmeric powder, pepper mix, 1TSP salt and set aside.
2. thaw or cook and cool your greens, set aside.
3. brown the cheese/tofu cubes in a hot cast iron skillet, on medium heat. no additional oil was needed since the cheese was already marinating in it. we're slowly cooking out the water that's in the cheese/tofu, so it'll take about 5-10 minutes to brown. increase the heat as needed depending on how watery your cheese/tofu are. once the cheese cubes were browned, we pulled them off the pan and into a bowl and set them aside.
4. wipe down the skillet and added the remaining 1.5TB oil to sauté the aromatics.
5. once the oil was warm over medium heat, add the onions, garlic, ginger, chiles and sautéed it all for about 15-30+ minutes. it's an important part of the recipe to make sure this mixture turns uniformly caramelized and brown. you can add a few TB of water if you feel like the mixture is drying out and burning.
6. add the garam masala, coriander and cumin. stir often, adding a TB or two of water as needed to keep everything from burning. sautee for about 3 minutes.
7. add the greens and some salt to taste, about 1/2 cup of water and cooked for about 5 minutes with the lid off. we just needed to cook it enough for the spinach to cook through and get soft.
8. at this point, you can blend some or all of the greens. some like it very smooth, some like it chunky like braised greens, some in between. 
9. turn the heat off and add the coconut yogurt (if using) and combine well.
10. reseason to taste - you may want to add more salt, coriander or spice.
11. gently add the browned cheese/tofu cubes and serve!

CHOW TIME

always soo good! surprisingly so. i often can eat this day and night on repeat til the batch is gone.

the flavor of the chicken tikka dish are pretty robust, and i particularly enjoyed the gentle zing of lemon that the fresh squeezed citrus gave.

the OG recipe called for sugar which i omitted - i tried a bit of coconut sugar in one serving which was good too, but i didn't feel like it was so amazing that i had to add it to the whole pot of leftovers.

the saag was delicious too and went really well with the creamy spiciness of the tikka, but i think i'll probably up the spices and aromatics in the saag dish (maybe even double? and throw in a few of those serrano chile seeds?), and add twice as much coconut yogurt next time. 

and the roti, so good and satisfying, gentle sweetness from the sweet potato and savoryness from the salt.

EMPOWER YOURSELF!

cooking is a passion of mine, so looking up recipes is a regular thing for me. but for those on the acne-safe lifestyle kick, if you don't cook much and/or don't know what ingredients your favorite dishes are typically made of, it's a good idea to do some research and survey 3-5 versions of your favorites so you can know if they are acne-safe or not. then, you can learn if you need to make subs either cooking at home or out at a restaurant. homemade indian food this time was a winner winner chicken dinner!