Chicken Tikka Masala
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Chicken Tikka Masala has origins in India. |
Chicken Tikka Masala is
Chicken Tikka in a
masala gravy (commonly referred to as a sauce). There is no standard recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala, but most are variants of a tomato gravy (using puree or even ketchup) with
cream or
coconut cream and various common spices. While fish and
paneer tikkas are very common, the corresponding tikka masalas are not as popular.
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chicken tikka masala in a pot |
Chicken Tikka Masala is one of the most popular
Indian dishes in the world. So popular is it that British politician
Robin Cook described it as "a true British national dish". Its popularity has proven so great that almost every Indian restaurant worldwide offers it. It has arguably replaced
Tandoori Chicken as the flagship of Indian food. In India, though gaining popularity, it is not nearly as popular as it is outside the sub-continent.
So popular is Chicken Tikka Masala that its origins has gained mythic proportions. Though its earliest forms are from India it is believed by many British that Chicken Tikka Masala originated from the kitchens of
Bangladeshi chefs in the
UK. The original is claimed by many establishments from
London to
Glasgow's
Shish Mahal restaurant, but none of these claims have been convincingly established. There are many theories about how the dish originated, probably around the late sixties and sometimes even pre-india. Some say the chef tossed together a tomato gravy when a diner returned a dry tikka; some think it was a way to recycle yesterday's leftover kebabs, and others say it was just an inventive adaptation of
Indian techniques to both Indian and British palates.
Still other "origin stories" suggest that its birth came from British India. The necessity to adapt Indian food to the British palate was the impetus of creation, some allege.
It is hard to verify which story is true. What is known is Chicken Tikka Masala is similarly prepared like the popular
Murgh Makhni (butter chicken) from the
Punjab region which also has a tomato gravy. This fact, coupled with the fact that a large percentage of Indian and
Pakistani immigrants came to Britain from the Punjab region, would suggest that this is a very likely ancestor, and origin point.
In recent years, Bangladeshis have proven to be among the most enthusiastic restaurateurs in the community so it is understandable that many restaurants in England claim the Chicken Tikka Masala as "their" creation.
*
CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA Recipe*
Chicken Tikka Masala: Everything you ever wanted to know about it with a recipe
*
chicken tikka masala from BBC's e-cylopedia*
* Chicken Tikka Masala (http://www.freewebs.com/tikkamasala/)
