Authentic Chicken Tikka Masala
Cowbridge Kitchen
About This Recipe
Indian cuisine and more especially Indian Takeaway is a big part of todays Western culture, and nothing more than a Chicken Tikka Masala has influenced our eating habits in the UK over the last 50 years.
Chicken Tikka Masala is two separate dishes , a dry Chicken Tikka and a sweet tomato based Masala Sauce. The sauce was added to the dish to compliment the western pallet as the dish was too dry without a sauce.
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The journey of chicken tikka masala into Europe is a fascinating tale that intertwines culinary innovation and cultural exchange.
This dish, which is now a staple in many British Indian restaurants, is believed to have originated in the Indian subcontinent, where marinated chicken is grilled and then simmered in a rich, spiced tomato sauce. The exact origins are somewhat murky, but it gained significant traction in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s, coinciding with the rise of the South Asian diaspora. As Indian immigrants began to establish themselves in Britain, they brought their culinary traditions with them, adapting recipes to local tastes and ingredients.
The dish is often credited to a chef in Glasgow, who, in a moment of creativity, combined leftover chicken tikka with a creamy sauce to cater to a customer's request. This fusion not only satisfied the palate but also marked the beginning of chicken tikka masala's ascent to iconic status, eventually being dubbed a "national dish" of Britain. Its popularity has since spread across Europe, where it continues to evolve, reflecting the diverse influences of the continent's culinary landscape.
30 Prep time
45 mins Cooking time
Time
This is based on a single serving
(472g serving)
Calories: 730
Protein: 56g
Fat: 48g
Carbohydrates: 22g
Fiber: 4.3g
Sugar: 14g
Nutrition
Servings
Anybody can have a go at this recipe, but you will need some skill to get this right
Difficulty
The masala sauce was created so that the Chicken Tikka was not too dry for the Western palate
Cost to make:
£4.77 / $6.04 (Est.)
Equipment:
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What Is Chicken Tikka Masala
This Recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala is a remake of the most perfect Chicken Tikka Masala I have ever had, from a place called 'The curry Park' in Stalis, Crete .
Chicken Tikka Masala is two seperate recipes, a dry Chicken Tikka and a Tomato based Masala sauce. The Masala sauce was added to the dish in the 1960's to make the dish more palatable to the western cuisine.
Bangladeshi migrant chefs in Britain in the 1960s developed and served a number of new inauthentic 'Indian' dishes, including chicken tikka masala.
This dish is often served with a speciality rice, such as Pilau rice.
Cuisine: Indian
ingredients
4 tsp Ground Almonds
2 tsp Desicated Coconut
2 tsp Coriander
2 tsp Cumin
2 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Garam Masala
1.5 tsp Ground Ginger
1 tsp Dry Mint
1 tsp Chilli Powder
2 tsp Flour
25g Soft Brown Sugar
40 g Tomato Paste
1 tin Chopped Tomatoes (Processed) 350 ml of Tomato Sauce
2 Brown Onions (Diced)
1 tsp of Garlic
170 ml Coconut Yogurt
60 g of Butter
2 tsp of Red Food Colouring (Optional)
Cooking Instructions
- Start this recipe by cooking 2 medium size Chicken breasts, wrapped in foil for aroud 18 - 20 minutes @185c. When the Chicken is cooked you can dice it up into chunks.
- Cook your onions and garlic in a pan with 60 g of Ghee or Butter.
- The next thing that I did was to mix up the Tikka spice, that is the first 11 Masala Sauce ingredients all mixed together in a small bowl. **You can replace this with one of the variations in my Chefs Tips.**
- Empty a tin of chopped tomatoes into your food processor and blitz to a sauce, you should end up with about 350 ml.
- When the onions have been cooking for a while and they are cooked to your liking , you can add the 25g of soft brown sugar and mix it up with a wooden spoon.
- Let this cook for a few minutes then tip in the Spice mix that you made up earlier, mix it up with your spoon and let it cook for a few minutes.
- When the spices have been cooking for a few minutes and they smell aromatic add the diced Chicken and mix it all up with the seasoning. Cook this for 2 - 5 minutes until the Chicken is fully coated with the tikka spice.
- Add the Tomato sauce from the food processor to the pan and mix it together.
- Then add the 40 g of Tomato Paste.
- Mix all of this up with your spoon and allow to cook on a low heat for about 10 minuets.
- Add the coconut yogurt to the sauce and let this cook so that the sauce thickens up and is piping hot.
- If you want this sauce to take on that garish red colour you should add 1 - 2 tsp of strong Red food colouring paste.
- Let this cook down for a few minutes so that all of the flavour developes.
- Remember, the longer you let this simmer the better it will taste, as all of the flavours develop.
- When the Tikka Masala is cooked, you should serve this with Pilau Rice.
It is important to realise that this dish is in fact two separate dishes. The first is the Chicken Tikka, which is a dry marinated Chicken and second is the Masala Sauce.
In this recipe I am going to make the dry Chicken Tikka by cooking the diced Chicken in the Tikka spice, then make the sauce directly on top of this.
Tikka Masala is a Spicy Chicken in a Tomato Sauce. The Sauce was added at a later date to cater for the European pallet.
The best way to make this dish is to make the sauce seperately, you can even make a batch of sauce and keep it in the refrigerator to use later.
There are many variations of this Tikka Sauce, so I have added a few different spice mixes that you can use in this recipe. Just replace the spice mix with one of my variations below.
4 tsp Ground Almonds
1 tsp Ground Coriander
2 tsp Cumin Seeds
2 tsp Ground Ginger
2 tsp Plain Flour (10 g)
2 tsp Smoked Paprika
1 tsp Hot Chilli Powder (Hot) or 1/2 tsp Chilli Powder (Mild)
4 tsp Almond Flakes(crushed up)
3 tsp Coriander Powder
3 tsp Paprika
1/4 tsp Tumeric
1/4 Ground Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Cardomon Powder
1/4 tsp Cinamon Powder
1 tsp Cumin Powder or Seeds
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
2 tsp Flour
1 tsp Hot Chilli Powder
½ tsp (Mild)
