Is Tikka Masala really British?
Who's right?
According to Wikipedia;
Chicken tikka masala is a dish of chunks of roasted marinated chicken (chicken tikka) in a spiced curry sauce. The sauce is usually creamy and orange-coloured. There are multiple claims to its place of origin, including the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent and Glasgow in Scotland.
It is among the United Kingdom's most popular dishes, leading a government minister,
Robin Cook, to claim in 2001 that it was "a true British national dish".
So, let's see who claims what then.
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Name: Ali Asif (Son to Ali Ahmed Aslam)
A vast proportion of Indian restaurants in the Uk are run by the Bangladeshi community and one claim is how a Pakistani chef, Ali Ahmed Aslam, proprietor of the Shish Mahal restaurant in the west end of Glasgow, invented chicken tikka masala by mixing yogurt, spices and cream, which would would be softer on the palate.
Ali's son Asif Ali, claims a customer sent a dish back to the kitchen because it was dry. It was a Chicken curry and his dad decided to pour a can of tomato soup over it and the culinary classic took off from there. The dish has been so hotly contested that it was even going to reach the European Union, with MEP Mohammad Sarwar asking for parliamentary support to have the dish recognised geographically as a British dish in 2009. It didn't go through parliament, unfortunately for Mr Sarwar.
Location: Punjab
Name: Rahul Verma
Claim: Rahul's first encounter with the contentious Masala was in 1971 and he claims it originated from the Punjab, a state in Northern India. Rahul claims it was an accidental discovery, that dates back no more than fifty years. He also claims the dish has been changed over this period.
This is a good article in the Telegraph, as the contested dish drew a bit of media attention and Rahul's claim was mentioned too.
It's recognised as one of the most popular dishes in the United Kingdom and whether you like it or not, it is incredible how a dish that could have come from so far or so near, end up being so contentious.
Either way, the dish, which is I have personally tasted when I lived in the UK, is really very tasty and I would recommend it to anyone who visits Great Britain, it's not going anywhere soon.
Thanks for taking the time to read this article.
Flatrider.