| What do you get when you cross hot Indian food | | | | served chicken tandoor to an Englishman only to |
| with the English love of tomatoes and all things | | | | be asked, ?where?s my gravy?? The result? A |
| creamy? Chicken Tikka Masala is a famous | | | | mixture of cream of tomato soup and spices, |
| combination of chicken tikka and masala.Chicken | | | | which he called masala.And like that, chicken tikka |
| tikka is a marinated piece of meat cooked in a | | | | masala was born, an early example of what we |
| tandoor, an Indian oven made of clay and | | | | would now call fusion cooking.It is now so popular |
| coal-fired. Masala is gravy commonly made out of | | | | that British politician and Foreign Secretary Robin |
| some kind of tomato gravy or puree with cream | | | | Cook once described it as, ?a true British national |
| and various Indian spices.It is technically a mild | | | | dish,? citing its combination of authentic Indian |
| curry dish, though the addition of sometimes large | | | | cooking with the British desire to have their meat |
| amounts of tartrazine causes the dish to often | | | | served with gravy. |
| look orange.In other recipes, it can look anything | | | | What goes into a chicken tikka masala? Well, a |
| from red to orange to green. | | | | 1998 survey indicated that of 48 versions, the |
| Chicken Tikka Masala is possibly the most popular | | | | only common ingredient was chicken.A common |
| Indian dish in the world, and has arguably replaced | | | | recipe includes chicken marinated overnight in |
| tandoori chicken as the flagship of Indian food, | | | | yogurt, ginger, garlic, cardamom powder, cumin, |
| including on the subcontinent itself; it even has a | | | | white pepper, and other spices.The chicken is |
| musical written singing its praises.In the United | | | | cooked briefly in the hot tandoor, and is then |
| Kingdom alone, Marks & Spencer, the | | | | served with a sauce made of tomato, ginger, |
| famous English retailer, claims to sell 18 tons a | | | | garlic, cream, green and red pepper, and an |
| week of the chicken in Tikka Masala Sandwiches, | | | | assortment of spices.The sauce is poured over |
| while 23 million servings a year are sold at Indian | | | | the chicken after it is cooked. In contrast to |
| restaurants. Sainsbury?s, another retailer, sells 1.6 | | | | tandoori chicken, on which it is based, the taste is |
| million dishes every year, and stocks 16 different | | | | mild and creamy, rather than spicy. |
| products containing what is affectionately known | | | | Is chicken tikka masala an English or an Indian |
| as CTM.10 tons a day are manufactured by Noon | | | | dish? The answer is unclear, as it has been |
| Products to later be sold at supermarkets. | | | | adopted so readily that it is served in almost |
| The chicken, though widely considered an Indian | | | | every Indian restaurant, an indication that Indians |
| dish, does not hail from India. Kitchens from | | | | have accepted it as their own.Several English |
| London to Glasgow claim to have originated the | | | | firms now specialize in exporting the dish back to |
| dish, which was first seen in the late | | | | India.Whatever its origins, however, it is now |
| 1960s.According to urban legend, the dish was | | | | enjoyed by millions each year. |
| created by a Bangladeshi chef in Britain when he | | | | |