Chicken tikka masala, dish consisting of marinated boneless chicken pieces that are traditionally cooked in a tandoor and then served in a subtly spiced tomato-cream sauce.
The dish’s origins are debated. Some believe that it was invented in the 1970s by a Bangladeshi chef in Glasgow, Scotland, who, in order to please a customer, added a mild tomato-cream sauce to his chicken tikka, which is pieces of boneless chicken marinated in yogurt and curry spices and served on a skewer, kebab-style. More likely, it derived from butter chicken, a popular dish in northern India. Some observers have called chicken tikka masala the first widely accepted example of fusion cuisine. The dish has taken on a large cultural significance in Britain. It is widely considered the country’s national dish, and in 2001 British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook gave a speech in which he hailed chicken tikka masala as a symbol of modern multicultural Britain. He even offered his own simplified explanation of how the entrée evolved: “Chicken tikka is an Indian dish. The masala sauce was added to satisfy the desire of British people to have their meat served in gravy.”
For the origin of chicken tikka masala, we should first travel to 5,000 years ago when tandoor clay ovens were invented. Next, the small bite-sized pieces, which we now call tikka, that came into existence thanks to the nit-picking of Babur, the founder and first emperor of the Mughal dynasty. He was so sick (or afraid) of choking on chicken bones, he ordered his Punjabi chefs to remove the bones before cooking the meat in the tandoor. The resulting delicacy was called ‘joleh’, Persian for tikka.
Chicken tikka masala is an Indian dish, even though it’s mostly popular in the Western world. The ingredients and techniques used for cooking the dish all originated from Indian cuisine. The dish, now served in Indian restaurants around the world, is considered Indian at heart.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who invented chicken tikka masala?
Its origin is debated: one story credits a Bangladeshi chef in 1970s Glasgow who added tomato-cream sauce to chicken tikka; more likely it derived from butter chicken, the northern Indian classic.
Is chicken tikka masala Indian or British?
It is an Indian dish by ingredients and technique, but it became most popular in Britain, in 2001 it was even hailed as a symbol of modern multicultural Britain and is widely called the UK's national dish.
How is chicken tikka masala different from butter chicken?
Both are tandoor-cooked chicken in tomato-cream gravy, but butter chicken is sweeter and creamier, while tikka masala is spicier with a more pronounced masala blend.
