Chicken tikka masala
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Chicken tikka masala (Hindi: चिकन टिक्का मसाला; Punjabi: ਚਿਕਨ ਟਿੱਕਾ ਮਸਾਲਾ) is a Desi dish based on Indian-style roast chicken chunks (chicken tikka) cooked in a tomato, curry sauce. It has been hailed as "Britain's true national dish"[1] but is popular throughout the world.
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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.[2] There is no standard recipe for chicken tikka masala; a survey found that of 48 different recipes the only common ingredient was chicken.[1] 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.
Other tikka masala dishes replace chicken with lamb, fish or paneer.
[edit] Origins
The origins of chicken tikka masala are disputed:
- Perhaps the most widely reported explanation of the origins of the dish is that it was conceived in Glasgow in the late 1960s, when a customer, who found the traditional chicken tikka too dry, asked for some gravy.[1] The chef supposedly improvised a sauce from tomato soup, yogurt and spices.[2]
- Many restaurants throughout the UK claim to have invented it. The recipe's age is also unproven, with claims ranging from the 1970s back to the 1950s
- At least one source has the dish originating in New Delhi in 1947.[3][4]
- Another theory is that it originated in British India to adapt local dishes to the British palate. A prototype may be Murgh Makhni (butter chicken), a dish from the Punjab region of India.
[edit] Criticism of the Glasgow theory
The question of the dish's origins sparked a heated debate when the then foreign minister of the UK, Robin Cook, announced it as the new British national Dish.[5] The critics pointed out a number of reasons to the contrary, including the allegation that the dish was not an "authentic Indian" one, as it was being prepared by the chefs from Bangladesh.[5] Collingham (2006) elaborates :
The majority of Indian restaurant owners in Britain, and most of the proprietors of New York's East 6th Street establishments, do indeed come from Bangladesh. However, for much of the period that this book covers, Bangladesh, like Pakistan and Sri Lanka, belonged to a broader food world that can be termed Indian. It was not until 1947 that Pakistan became a nation. Sri Lanka followed in 1948. And Bangladesh split from Pakistan in 1971. Food on the Indian subcontinent does not divide into different culinary styles and dishes along these relatively new national boundaries so much as along much older regional boundaries. The food of Bangladesh belongs to the culinary world of Bengal. Punjabis share a food culture although their region was split in two with the creation of Pakistan. These are just two of the many culinary regions on the Indian subcontinent.
[edit] Popularity
Chicken tikka masala is now served in restaurants around the globe, and a UK survey claimed it is the country's most popular restaurant dish.[2] One in seven curries sold in the UK is a chicken tikka.[6][7]
[edit] See also
- General Tso's chicken, another syncretic dish seen as symbolic of its cuisine.
- Curry chicken, similar type of chicken and spice dish.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c BBC E-Cyclopedia. Chicken tikka masala: Spice and easy does it. bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on 28 September 2007.
- ^ a b c Lloyd, J & Mitchinson, J: "The Book of General Ignorance". Faber & Faber, 2006.
- ^ The Hindu: Tastes that travel. Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
- ^ Time Magazine: The Spice of Life. Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
- ^ a b Collingham, page 2
- ^ In quotes: Robin Cook. Retrieved on 2007-05-31.
- ^ Robin Cook's chicken tikka masala speech. Retrieved on 2007-05-31.
- Collingham, Elizabeth M (2006). Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors. Oxford University Press, 2-3. ISBN 0195172418.
[edit] External links
