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