What is Tikka Masala?
Today's offering? Chicken Tikka Masala, the national dish of the UK! It's a spin of north Indian food. Punjabi to be exact. What is the difference when you go for south Indian food? The dishes are much less sauce-based. Goa, India also boasts a host of popular, gravy-based dishes.
The word tikka refers to small pieces of meat in Punjabi. Masala means mixture. These pieces of chicken are traditionally cooked in a tandoor (outdoor clay) oven and aromatic spices.
Tikka Masala Origins
It's an old and new kind of dish. Although Chicken Tikka Masala is a fairly modern invention (c. 1950's), its humble origins date back roughly 5,000 years to the tandoor oven in Indian culture. Tandoor is said to come from various ancient languages such as Persian, Babylonian and Sanskrit.
Initially, chicken tikka masala was baked in large pieces. Along came emperor Babur, founder of the Mughal Empire. Legend has it that Babur was deathly afraid of choking on bones. He told his chef to remove all the bones from his chicken and cut it into small pieces.
So, how did Chicken Tikka Masala evolve? Well, the story goes something like this... One evening at an Indian restaurant in England, a finicky diner was displeased with his chicken tikka masala. He found the dish too dry and demanded that a sauce. This is not hard to imagine given the British affinity for dishes with gravies and sauces. The chef, annoyed or perhaps distraught, opened up a can of soup, added some spices and topped it with yogurt, Voila, Chicken Tikka Masala was born!
I like to make mine in a slow cooker. I also use my home made garam masala spice blend. Enjoy with basmati rice or naan* bread, or both!
*Naan is a type of flat bread similar to pita.
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Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken breast cut into 1" pices
- 2 Roma tomatoes diced
- 1 onion medium, sliced thin
- 2 Tbsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ginger
- 2 tsp Kosher salt
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ¼ tsp allspice
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp red curry paste
- 2 Tbsp cilantro chopped
- ⅓ cup yogurt plain
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine 1Tbsp. of the garam masala, ginger, salt, chili powder and allspice.
- In a glass measuring cup combine the vegetable stock, red curry paste, and tomato paste whisking to combine well.
- Place the chicken in the crock pot and add the vegetable stock mixture. Stir a couple of times.
- Add in the spice mixture, onions and tomatoes and mix well. Cover.
- Cook on low for about 3 hours.
- Mix the yogurt with the remaining tablespoon of garam masala. Add to the chicken. Let it sit for about 10 minutes. Add in the cilantro.
- Serve with basmati rice or naan.
Nutrition
Jennifer Stewart
What a great post! I never knew about the origins of the dish or even what the name meant! I have never used garam masala because it seems strong. I think I need to make of your homemade spice!
Analida
Thanks for commenting Jennifer. If you make your own garam masala, you can customize your blend. Good luck! 🙂
Joy @ Joy Love Food
Chicken Tikka Masala is a favorite at my house and I can not wait to try your slow cooker version with your homemade garam masala spice blend! I love the story too, thanks for sharing!
Analida
Thanks Joy. You are very welcome!
Georgina @theamazingflavoursofbrazil.com
Gorgeous pictures of this classic 'British dish', what a great post Analida! it is impossible to say no to the good old Chicken Tikka Masala! The story of the dish is super interesting, I know it because I saw on a food history documentary some time ago. I was very surprised that the dish as it is was not invented in India!
Analida
Georgina, thanks for commenting. Yes, I am surprised too. I always thought it was Indian. 🙂
Ranjanis Kitchen
Am so happy to found your space. i am super excited after seeing india's origin chicken tikka masala on your blog.I completely love the history of tikka masala and ur preparation too..Thanks for sharing.
Do check out my page also if you find time 🙂 http://www.ranjaniskitchen.com/
Analida
Thanks Ranjani. I will make sure to check out your page.
Erlene
I learned something new about this dish! Thanks for sharing your post and recipe on the Merry Monday party. Pinned.
Analida
You are very welcome Erlene!! Thanks for pinning.
Analida
thanks!!!
Lylah
It can be tough to find the right ingredients for this blend in my area so I actually purchase the garam masala spice blend from RawSpiceBar’s and it was great!
Analida
Excellent, I am glad you are able to find it.
Thanks for the link. I will check them out.
Vanessa
It's one of out favorite dishes but I never thought to make it. The history is interesting, I love food anthropology!
Analida
Hi Vanessa! You should make it; it is so easy. I was thinking of making some this weekend. I love food anthropology too!!!
Mindy
I'm embarrassed to admit that I had to Google "garam masala," having no clue as to what it was exactly. :/ I like tikka masala, but I've never made any Indian dishes in my life and don't use their spices either, unfortunately. This is one I'm going to have to try! It looks pretty simple and I love tikka masala over rice!
Analida
Thanks Mindy! I think you will like the recipe, and also being able to make your own spice blend.