Chicken tikka masala
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Chicken tikka masala (Bengali: চিকেন টিক্কা মাসালা; Hindi: चिकन टिक्का मसाला) is a curry dish of roast chicken chunks (chicken tikka) in a rich red, creamy, lightly spiced, tomato-based sauce.
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[edit] Composition
Chicken tikka masala is chicken tikka, chunks of chicken marinated in spices and yogurt then baked in a tandoor oven, in a masala ("mixture of spices") sauce.[1] There is no standard recipe for chicken tikka masala; a survey found that of 48 different recipes the only common ingredient was chicken.[2] The sauce usually includes tomato and either cream or coconut cream and various spices. The sauce or chicken pieces (or both) are often coloured orange or red with food dyes or natural colouring such as turmeric powder mixed with tomato puree.
Other tikka masala dishes replace chicken with lamb, fish or paneer.
[edit] Origins
The origins of chicken tikka masala are disputed. A widely reported explanation of the origins of the dish is that it was conceived in a British Bangladeshi[1][3] restaurant in Glasgow in the late 1960s, when a customer, who found the traditional chicken tikka too dry, asked for some gravy.[2] The chef supposedly improvised a sauce from tomato soup, yogurt and spices.[1] This claim has not been incontrovertibly proven, and there are other accounts and hypotheses of its origins. It is generally accepted as an attempt to create an Indian dish that would appeal to the British palate.[4][5]
[edit] Popularity
Chicken tikka masala is served in restaurants around the globe. A survey in the United Kingdom claimed it is that country's most popular restaurant dish.[1] One in seven curries sold in the UK is chicken tikka masala. The cross-cultural popularity of the dish in the UK led former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook to proclaim it as "Britain's true national dish".[2]
[edit] See also
- General Tso's chicken, another reportedly non-authentic dish seen as symbolic of a culture's cuisine.
- Curry chicken, a similar spiced chicken dish.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Lloyd, J & Mitchinson, J: "The Book of General Ignorance". Faber & Faber, 2006.
- ^ a b c BBC E-Cyclopedia. "Chicken tikka masala: Spice and easy does it". bbc.co.uk. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1999/02/99/e-cyclopedia/1285804.stm. Retrieved on 28 September 2007.
- ^ "From Bangladesh to Brick Lane". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2002/jun/21/religion.bangladesh. Retrieved on 2002-07-21.
- ^ "The Hindu: Tastes that travel". http://www.thehindu.com/mp/2007/02/24/stories/2007022401910300.htm. Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
- ^ "Time Magazine: The Spice of Life". http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1174750,00.html. Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
- Collingham, Elizabeth M (2006). Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors. Oxford University Press. pp. 2–3. ISBN 0195172418.
[edit] External links
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