Chicken tikka masala - Definition and Overview

Chicken Tikka Masala is an Indian-style dish consisting of chicken and a curry sauce, or masala. The curry is usually red or orange in color, and is made of numerous spices, and often tomatoes, which give it the red/orange color. There has been concern that the colour is often derived from artificial colourings that may have adverse health effects. The chicken is first cooked in a tandoor and then marinated in the curry.

There are many derivatives of Chicken Tikka Masala with different local names, such as Chicken Mukhni.

Chicken Tikka Masala actually originated in the United Kingdom, and is considered by some to be the national dish of that nation. It has proven extremely popular, and is now found in Indian restaurants all over the world. It is probably the most popular dish in American Indian restaurants also.

In Britain the expectation is that there will be some sort of sauce or gravy with food, and this gave rise to the meal, which is derived from a traditionally dry Indian dish.

External links

• The Chicken Tikka Masala story (http://www.menumagazine.co.uk/tikkamasala.html)
• Chicken Tikka Masala: Everything you ever wanted to know about it (http://www.sonzyskitchen.com/chickentikka.htm)
• chicken tikka masala from BBC's e-cylopedia (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1999/02/99/e-cyclopedia/1285804.stm)