Chicken tikka masala
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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.
Chicken Tikka Masala is one of the most popular Indian dishes in the world; however, it is in fact Anglo-Indian, having been invented by Indian immigrants and their descendants in Britain. 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 even conquered the Indian subcontinent and has arguably replaced Tandoori Chicken as the flagship of Indian food.
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, but none of these claims have been convincingly established. There are many theories about how the dish originated, probably around the late sixties. 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.
External links
- [The Chicken Tikka Masala story] from MenuMagazine
- [Chicken Tikka Masala: Everything you ever wanted to know about it] with a recipe
- [chicken tikka masala from BBC's e-cylopedia]
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