Chicken Tikka Masala

[Suvir Saran]

It is similar to paprika in that it gives color mostly, good amount of flavor, and little heat.

[Joy]

But that doesn't answer my question, was I given the wrong item?

[A Scottish Chef]

It's been a while I know, Simon.

But I thought you might like to know that I printed out and passed on a copy of your recipe recently, taking great care to ensure they knew the dish is called Chiken Tikka Majumdar.

Ha ha - your a hit, Simon, folk love you as a dish

[Simon Majumdar]

It's been a while I know, Simon.

But I thought you might like to know that I printed out and passed on a copy of your recipe recently, taking great care to ensure they knew the dish is called Chiken Tikka Majumdar.

Ha ha - your a hit, Simon, folk love you as a dish 

My mother will be so proud ( for once )

Mind you she will probably find a way to say " why can't you be more like your older brother Biryani?"

S

[Stone]

One question: Shouldn't there be butter in the recipe? Or at least a good schlop of ghee?

[Simon Majumdar]

One question:  Shouldn't there be butter in the recipe?  Or at least a good schlop of ghee?

You can use ghee to fry the onions and spices for the sauce, but I think the dish is rich enough with the cream and using oil gives a cleaner taste

Not butter.

I do have a great recipe for Butter chicken which might suit the bill if you care to see it

S

[Stone]

I had gotten the impression that tikka masala and butter chicken were the same thing. Never mind.

[Simon Majumdar]

I've always got the impression they were quite different, but like you say, never mind

S

[A Scottish Chef]

One question:  Shouldn't there be butter in the recipe?  Or at least a good schlop of ghee?

You can use ghee to fry the onions and spices for the sauce, but I think the dish is rich enough with the cream and using oil gives a cleaner taste

Not butter.

Simon: many, many chefs will tell that finishing a sauce with butter is a great aid to both flavour and texture.

I'm one of them and have found that finishing many Indian dishes with butter works a treat. Try it

[Simon Majumdar]

One question:  Shouldn't there be butter in the recipe?  Or at least a good schlop of ghee?

You can use ghee to fry the onions and spices for the sauce, but I think the dish is rich enough with the cream and using oil gives a cleaner taste

Not butter.

Simon: many, many chefs will tell that finishing a sauce with butter is a great aid to both flavour and texture.

I'm one of them and have found that finishing many Indian dishes with butter works a treat. Try it

I agree. I just don't think it is necessary in this dish which is pretty rich to begin with.

I often use butter or ghee to finish off dhals and other dishes which adds a great extra layer of flavour and texture

S

[A Scottish Chef]

I often use butter or ghee to finish off dhals and other dishes which adds a great extra layer of flavour and texture

I doff my cap to your spirit of adventure, Simon. Just don't let Tony catch you doing it

[Tonyfinch]

Actually very little Indian everyday cooking is done in butter ghee these days, either in restaurants or in homes. It is considered to be just too rich. Most restaurants use either vegetable oil or the vegetable ghee that comes in those big yellow drum canisters. Some still finish with butter ghee but the several people I know who own/run Indian restaurants say that the demand is for less and less fat all round, and customers will often pour off the excess before starting on a dish.

The home cooks I know also use butter ghee very sparingly, but I agree when it is used it does provide a unique dimension.

[Foam Pants]

I made this recipe last night and it turned out well. I baked instead of grilling since I don't have a grill and I think the texture could have used improvement. I think I will have to get out the grill pan next time. Another problem I ran into was I had no fenugreek. There isn't a single place in town that sells it. I looked at five grocers and two Philippino mini-marts without any luck. To try to make up for this, I added some commercially prepared curry powder high in fenugreek and a small amount of celery seed. I am not sure if this made up for the fact or created a bastard child but the taste was still good. A local grocer has started carrying fire roasted tomatos by Muir Glen. I used them hoping to make up for the loss of grilly taste and I think it helped a bit.

Meanwhile, I need to mail order some fenugreek for future use. I might try out that link as well.

[BBhasin]

CHICKEN TIKKA MASALLA

Here is my contribution to this interesting thread

Is it authentic Indian cuisine???

That depends on what you consider authentic. As recent as ten years ago more people in the UK than in India knew about Chicken Tikka Masalla, which might lead people to think that it was perhaps concocted in that part of the world.

After reading this thread I have been trying to come up with why the name ‘Chicken Tikka Masalla’ and why did this popular dish make its way back to India and Indian Cuisine via the West.

Chicken tikka ( Marinated charcoal broiled pieces of chicken) are invariably used.

Masalla to an Indian ( specially a North Indian) denotes napped in a thickish mash of gravy with herbs and spices.

Busy restaurants in India( especially those with a high tandoori volume) would, to speed up service, charcoal broil skewers of chicken tikka until they were half done. This was then held, usually under a moist cloth to prevent it’s drying off and finished when an order came in. At the end of the day some skewers would still remain as it is difficult to anticipate 100% how many orders of chicken tikka you will get that night.

Chicken tikka Masalla I believe, was born in an attempt by the chef to utilize this left over half done chicken tikka and is actually what you might call a rechaufe.

At the end of dinner, remember restaurant hours are 8pm until midnight in India, the manager wanted his meal. The manager wanted something different from the stuff on the menu and the chef, tired after the long day, looked around to see what was at hand and what do you know there was this chicken tikka, lying half done that they could not move. He simply dressed it up and chicken tikka masalla was born. In my opinion it is incorrect for the Brits to claim that they created this wonderful dish.

I distinctly remember two versions from my Hotels and Restaurant experience in India ( 1971 until 1986, when I came to the US)

Version One- Heat oil in a pan. Add chopped onion, ginger, garlic & green chillies. Saute for a few minutes until the onions begin to brown at the edges. Add garam masalla, a little cayenne & sauté a minute. Add Chopped tomatoes and cook till they soften. Add chicken tikka, cook until it warms through and the oil leaves the sides of the pan. Add a bit more garam masalla, a little dried methi and chopped fresh coriander leaves. The result will look a little bit like ‘Bhunna’

Version Two- This version was creamy. Heat oil in a pan add chopped onion and chopped green peppers ( Simla Mirch) sauté till the onions turn translucent. Add pieces of chicken tikka ( cut them up if they are too big) and continue to sauté another minute. Add garam masalla and dried methi sauté another minute. Add a sauté spoon of onion gravey and 1/3 saute spoon of makhani sauce. Cook a few minutes then add diced tomatoes and 1/3 cup heavy cream. Cook till the sauce thickens add water/stock to correct consistency and check seasoning, be generous with the chopped cialntro.

My brother in law ( an avid foodie) is visiting. What is Chicken Tikka Masalla I asked him innocently . "This is usually sold outside liquor stores in Dehra Doon" ( that’s where he is from) he told me and he went on to describe ‘version One’ above with the exception that it was prepared on a tawa ( a large round griddle sloping slightly in the middle)

Difference between Butter Chicken and Chicken Tikka Masalla – I have been to numerous places where they have both on the menu and turn out nearly similar, in the same red sauce. But if you prepare tikka masalla as above you note the difference.

One of the best versions of Chicken tikka masalla I enjoyed was some time ago, off the frozen food shelves of Marks & Spencers in London.

But it truly is a very popular dish see the number of views this thread has had.

I do hope I have been able to educate and entertain, as this thread kept pulling me and it took me ( I am a one finger typist) over a week to put all this together. I now await your feedback.

Edited August 6, 2003 by BBhasin (log)

[BBhasin]

Carrying on in this 'masalla' vein of grilling marinated meats and finishing them in a sauce or thick masalla I am surprised that no one mentioned

Seekh Kabab Masalla- Seasoned ground meat charcoal broiled on a skewer and then simmered in Version A above or in some left over lamb/mutton gravey or curry.

Boti Kabab Masalla- marinated chunks of boneless mutton/lamb/goat charcoal broiled and done as per version A above.

[Stone]

Chicken tikka masala has a truly postcolonial history, produced when one of the world's greatest cuisines found itself confronted by a British palette unused to anything spicier than table salt. Legend has it one obstinate diner demanded gravy on tandoori chicken. A bemused chef responded by adding tin of Campbell's tomato soup and pinch of spices, unwittingly partaking in early example of fusion cookery.

From this article.

[BBhasin]

Enjoyed the link stone. Very interesting story indeed, instead of getting into confrontations, all I will say is that I can only share my personal experiences and it is difficult to change my belief as I have been enjoying CTM for decades in Indian kitchens.

Also, the reciepe in the link for CTM is acually two recepies, one for Chicken Tikka and the seccond for makhani gravey in which tandoori chicken is simmered for Butter Chicken.

Thanks

Edited August 7, 2003 by BBhasin (log)

[Stone]

Also, the reciepe in the link for CTM is acually two recepies, one for Chicken Tikka and the seccond for makhani gravey in which tandoori chicken is simmered for Butter Chicken.

Thanks

Isnt' that what Chicken Tikka Masala is? Leftover chicken tikka, in a rich gravy? I always thought of as the "Indian Chop Suey".

[BBhasin]

That might be one way to descibe it

[skchai]

Chicken tikka masala has a truly postcolonial history . . .

From this article.

Noticed that "Sonzy", the author of the aforelinked article, highly recommends Monica's cookbook. So he must know what he's talking about!