How comes “Chicken Tikka Masala” isn featured in authentic cook books?
First of all, let us look at the words. Tikka means Kebab. Kebab is a dry-cooked piece of meat or vegetable. Masala means a dip or a sauce. Chicken Tikka Masala (CTM) is NOT an Indian dish. Theferore, you can not find CTM in the books that entail only authentic Indian foods. At an Indian restaurant in UK (Late 1950s), British found Chicken Tikka very ‘dry’. The restaurant owner was more than happy to oblige, by making a dip from tomato base curry sauce, and called it Masala. The Indian restaurants added ‘Chicken Tikka Masala’ on the menus. The rest is history. CTM would become one of the best selling food in UK in 2001. Chicken Tikka Masala is not Indian dish. It was created at Indian restaurant in UK.
