Chicken Tikka Masala
Britain's favourite curry may have been born when a Glaswegian diner complained his chicken was too dry, and a chef reached for a tin of tomato soup.
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Quick Facts
- What it is
- Marinated, grilled chicken pieces in a creamy, spiced tomato sauce
- Claimed birthplace
- The Shish Mahal restaurant, Glasgow, around 1971
- Famous claimant
- Ali Ahmed Aslam, the Shish Mahal's chef-owner
- Political moment
- Foreign Secretary Robin Cook called it a true British national dish in April 2001
- Close cousin
- Butter chicken (murgh makhani), from Delhi's Moti Mahal
- Cooking method
- Chicken is marinated in yoghurt and spices, grilled (traditionally in a tandoor), then simmered in sauce
- Typical accompaniments
- Pilau rice, naan bread, poppadoms and mango chutney
- Glasgow's bid
- In 2009 a Glasgow MP asked the EU to give the dish protected origin status; it was never granted
The curry that was supposedly saved by soup
The best-known origin story starts in Glasgow. In the early 1970s, so the tale goes, a bus driver at the Shish Mahal on Gibson Street sent back a plate of chicken tikka because it was too dry. He wanted some gravy. The chef, Ali Ahmed Aslam, is said to have improvised a sauce on the spot, using yoghurt, cream and spices, with a can of tomato soup to give it body. The customer was delighted, and the dish stayed on the menu. Aslam told this story for decades and the restaurant became a place of pilgrimage for curry fans. In 2009, Glasgow's MP at the time, Mohammad Sarwar, asked the European Parliament to grant the city a protected origin status for the dish. It never happened, and the argument over where it began carried on.
Chicken tikka is Indian, but the sauce is the question
Chicken tikka itself is a perfectly respectable dish of the Indian subcontinent. Tikka means bits or pieces, and here it means boneless chicken marinated in yoghurt and spices, then cooked at high heat, traditionally in a clay tandoor. The masala sauce is where the rows start. Delhi's Moti Mahal is credited with butter chicken, in which leftover tandoori chicken is simmered in a buttery tomato gravy. That is clearly a close relative. Other people say the dish grew up in Britain's Bangladeshi- and Pakistani-run restaurants, which spent decades adapting their menus to local tastes. The honest answer is that it probably emerged from several cooks facing the same problem: customers who wanted their grilled chicken with plenty of sauce.
The day a Foreign Secretary praised a curry
On 19 April 2001, Robin Cook gave a speech in London about multiculturalism and used the dish as his example. He called chicken tikka masala a true British national dish. He said that was not only because it was so popular, but because it showed how Britain takes in outside influences and makes them its own. He added that the sauce was invented to satisfy the British preference for serving meat in gravy. The line was quoted around the world and is still the most famous thing ever said about a curry in British politics. It also helped fix the dish's reputation as a symbol of modern Britain, rather than a mere takeaway order.
How it's made, and how Britain eats it
Start with chicken thigh or breast, marinated in yoghurt, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, chilli, cumin and paprika or Kashmiri chilli. It is then grilled, roasted or tandoored until it has charred edges. The sauce usually begins with onions, garlic and ginger, softened in butter or oil. Tomatoes, garam masala, coriander and often fenugreek leaves go in next, and cream or yoghurt finishes it. The chicken joins the pan just before serving. The bright orange-red colour varies enormously. Some restaurants use food colouring, while home cooks usually rely on tomatoes and chilli. It is generally mild and creamy rather than fiery, which has made it the gateway curry for generations of British diners. Britain eats it with pilau rice and naan, but it has spread well beyond the curry house. It turns up in sandwiches, ready meals, pies and pizza toppings.
A dish with no single recipe and no single owner
There is no official version. Some cooks add almond powder for richness, some add a touch of sugar, and others add smoked flavour from charred chicken or charcoal. The argument over what counts as authentic is part of its character. Purists point out that the sauce is a British-Asian invention rather than a classic regional recipe. Fans say that makes it more interesting, not less. Whoever first poured that sauce over those chicken pieces, the result was one of the most widely eaten dishes in Britain and the best example of how a restaurant improvisation can become a national favourite.
Notable people
- Ali Ahmed Aslam
- Robin Cook
- Mohammad Sarwar
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