Real Turmat Kylling Tikka Masala Review

Overview

The Real Turmat Kylling Tikka Masala (Chicken Tikka Masala) is a vacuum-packed, gluten-free freeze-dried meal from the Norwegian brand Real Turmat, made in Tromsø. At 133g dry, it rehydrates to a generous 500g serving — enough to call it a full dinner on most trips. It sits in Real Turmat’s standard lineup as a go-to option for hikers, paddlers, or anyone who wants an actual meal after a long day out, not just warm paste in a bag.

Key Specs

Spec	Value
Dry Weight	133g
Prepared Weight	~500g
Calories	579 kcal
Calorie Density	~4.35 kcal/g (~123 kcal/oz)
Protein	19g
Carbohydrates	74g
Fat	23g (8g saturated)
Dietary Fiber	5.7g
Salt	3.7g
Prep Time	8–10 min (hot water) / 30+ min (cold water)
Shelf Life	5 years
Gluten-Free	Yes
Allergens	Milk, Lactose, Soy
Comparison	See how Kylling Tikka Masala compares to similar gear

Performance

Taste and Texture

This is where Real Turmat earns its reputation. Real Turmat’s meals are freeze-dried, which means ingredients retain their shape and structure better than other forms of dehydration — the end result is meals that taste more like real meals, and often have better texture and mouthfeel. The Tikka Masala specifically is built on a solid ingredient list: a combination of rice, chicken, lentils, coconut milk, and spices. The gently cooked chicken combines well with the spicy and creamy tikka masala sauce, and the dish is rounded off with a touch of lime juice for subtle freshness. Ginger shows up at 0.3% and garlic is in there too — this isn’t a timid spice profile. It’s not blow-your-hat-off hot, but it has actual depth.

User feedback across retail sites backs this up. One reviewer noted it was “very tasty and much quicker to prepare than other leading brands.” Independent outlet Outdoors Magic ranked Real Turmat among the four best-tasting brands in the freeze-dried meal category.

Prep and Packaging

Tear off the top of the bag, add hot water while stirring, close the bag, and wait 8–10 minutes.

That’s it. The bag has an external water fill line, so you don’t need to measure anything out — a small but genuinely useful detail on cold nights.

Real Turmat packages are vacuum-packed, which has two benefits: pack size is smaller, and no oxygen absorber is needed.

Practically, this means the pouch takes up less room in your food bag than comparable meals. Worth noting: rehydration times can be optimistic in practice — in cold weather, I’d let it sit a few minutes longer than the stated time and keep the bag insulated (a fleece works fine).

Cold-water prep is also possible: if you use cold water, extend the preparation time to more than 30 minutes. Doable in a pinch, but this is a meal that deserves boiling water.

Calorie Density

At 579 kcal from 133g dry, this lands at roughly 4.35 kcal/g — comfortably above the common ultralight food benchmark of 3.5 kcal/g (100 kcal/oz), but not in the territory of high-fat options that push past 5 kcal/g. For a chicken-and-rice format, that’s a fair result. Hungrier hikers doing high-mileage days will probably want to supplement with a side of something calorie-dense — a handful of nuts, an extra bar. As a standalone dinner on a moderate day, 579 kcal is workable.

The 19g of protein is a solid number, and the rice and lentils provide a pleasant texture and make the meal extra filling — lentils do some of the satiety work that pure rice alone can’t match.

Shelf Life and Storage

The product has a shelf life of 5 years from the date of manufacture and stores at room temperature.

That’s standard for quality freeze-dried meals and makes it reasonable to cache or buy in bulk.

Eat the meal within 2 hours of adding water once opened.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Taste consistently praised across independent reviews and users — genuinely one of the better-flavored pouches on the market

• Unique drying process removes only water, which helps preserve flavor and nutrition

• Vacuum-packed pouch: smaller footprint, no loose oxygen absorber rattling around
• Solid ingredient list — actual chicken (12%), lentils, coconut milk, real spices
• Gluten-free, with clearly labeled allergens
• Eat straight from the bag, 8-minute prep

Cons

• Super-expensive compared to budget freeze-dried options

  — you’re paying a premium for Norwegian quality
• Calorie counts can feel low relative to price compared to calorie-maximized competitors
• 3.7g of salt per pack is high — welcome after a sweaty day, but worth knowing if you’re watching sodium
• Contains milk and soy; not suitable for dairy-free or vegan hikers

• Ingredients list contains more E-numbers than some competing brands

  , including stabilizers and antioxidants

Who Should Buy This

This is the meal for the hiker who’s already sorted their shelter and sleep system and now wants to stop treating dinner like a fuel-loading exercise. If taste and texture matter to you — especially on longer trips where morale is real — Real Turmat’s Tikka Masala is worth the price premium. It’s also a solid pick for expedition preppers given the 5-year shelf life and compact vacuum-packed footprint. If you’re purely optimizing for calories-per-dollar or need a dairy-free option, look elsewhere.

Verdict

The Real Turmat Kylling Tikka Masala is one of the most convincingly meal-like freeze-dried pouches I’ve come across — the lime, ginger, and coconut milk hold up after rehydration in a way that cheaper meals don’t. The calorie density is honest and the 8-minute prep is genuinely fast. The price is a real conversation, and at 579 kcal it’s not a meal for a 30-mile day without backup snacks — but for what it is, it delivers. Rating: 7.5/10.