In defence of chicken tikka masala

Chicken tikka masala has become something of a joke. When, in the late 2000s, it was topping lists of the nation’s favourite dishes, its popularity was seen as an indictment of British cuisine: we nick stuff from other cultures, strip out its character and call it our own.

This is all deeply unfair: chicken tikka masala is a fantastic, aromatic dish that has earned its place in British culinary history. But there is an element of truth to some of the accusations. Chicken tikka masala is indeed a curry which probably was invented in the UK to appeal to British palates. It is mild and creamy, much more so than most authentically Indian curries. And it remains one of the most popular orders in British Indian restaurants and forms a huge number of the supermarket ready-meals sold each year.

Although its popularity is firmly established, its origins remain more questionable. The likelihood is that it was invented in the UK by migrant chefs at an Indian restaurant in the 1960s. Glasgow is keen to defend its claim to the chicken tikka crown: the story goes that, in response to a customer complaining about the dryness of his tikka chicken, the British Pakistani chef Ali Ahmed Aslam rustled up a sauce from tinned tomato soup and spices. If you’ve tasted chicken tikka masala, there is a ring of credibility to this (and if you haven’t, don’t let this description put you off). But alas the story has been debunked: Iqbal Wahhab, who owns the Cinnamon Club, has since confessed to making it up to ‘entertain journalists’.

Nevertheless, Glasgow so took this story to its heart that it remains the stuff of urban legend and, in 2009, Mohammad Sarwar, then Labour MP for Glasgow Central, tabled an early-day motion in parliament for the city to be given EU Protected Designation of Origin for chicken tikka masala.