Chicken tikka masala

This is a bright, colorful curry.

It has pieces of chicken in a creamy sauce.

First, the chicken is soaked in yogurt and spices. Then, it is roasted in an oven. This makes the meat very tasty.

Many people think this dish was made in Britain. Some say a chef in Glasgow made it. He added sauce to the meat for a customer.

People eat this meal with rice or flatbread. It is very popular in many lands. It is even used on pizzas in India!

This dish brings different cultures together. It is a special meal for many people.

Chicken tikka masala is a bright and colorful curry.

It features chicken tikka, which are boneless chunks of meat. These pieces are soaked in yogurt and spices. Then, they are roasted in an oven. The chicken is served in a creamy sauce called masala. Some people use tomato and coriander in the sauce.

Many people think this dish was made in Britain. Some say a chef in Glasgow made it. He may have added sauce to please a customer. Other experts say it was made by chefs from Bangladesh.

This dish is very popular. In 2010, it was the top dish in British curry houses. It is even sold as a ready meal in shops. People eat it with rice or flatbread. You can even find it on pizzas in India! In the United States, some people use it as a taco filling. Some say it is a symbol of a multicultural society. It shows how different food traditions can join together. It is a dish that people all over the world know and love.

Chicken tikka masala is a bright and colorful curry.

It features chicken tikka, which are boneless chunks of meat. These pieces are soaked in yogurt and spices. Then, they are roasted in an oven. The chicken is served in a creamy sauce called masala. Some people use tomato and coriander in the sauce. This dish is very popular around the world. Many people eat it as a main course with rice or flatbread.

Making this dish involves a few important steps. First, the chef prepares the chicken tikka. This means marinating boneless chicken in spices and yogurt. Next, the meat is roasted in a tandoor oven. After roasting, the chicken is placed in a creamy sauce. This sauce is known as the masala. There is no single standard recipe for the sauce. A survey in 1998 found that chicken was the only common ingredient in 48 different recipes. Some sauces might use tomatoes or coriander leaves.

People have many different stories about where this dish began. Some believe it was made in Glasgow, Scotland. One story says a chef named Ali Ahmed Aslam made it at the Shish Mahal restaurant. He may have used condensed tomato soup to make a sauce for a customer. However, another owner named Sultan Ahmed Ansari says he made it in the 1950s. A different owner, Iqbal Wahhab, says the tomato soup story was made up to entertain journalists. Other experts think Bangladeshi migrant chefs created it in Britain during the 1960s.

This curry has become a huge part of food history. In 2001, Robin Cook called it a true British national dish. By 2010, it was the most popular dish in British curry houses. It is also very common in grocery stores. In 1983, supermarkets began selling it as a chilled meal. By 2016, it was the third most popular ready meal in UK supermarkets. In 2025, scholars called it the world's best-recognized dish. It has even traveled to new places like the United States and India.

Today, you can find this dish in many unexpected forms. In the United States, food trucks sell it as a taco filling. In India, fast food chains use it as a pizza topping. Some people even suggest making chicken tikka masala pizzas using naan bread. The dish is a symbol of how different cultures can join together. It shows how food from South Asia and Britain can blend. This process of sharing food helps different communities connect with one another.

Chicken tikka masala is a brightly colored curry dish. It consists of chicken tikka, which are boneless chunks of chicken, served in a creamy spiced sauce called masala.

This dish is widely enjoyed in restaurants across the globe. It is very similar to butter chicken in both its appearance and its method of preparation. Many people eat it as a main course alongside rice or flatbread. Because of its massive popularity, it has become a significant part of modern food culture.

The preparation of the dish follows a specific sequence of culinary steps. First, the chef prepares the chicken tikka by marinating boneless chicken pieces in yogurt and various spices. These pieces are then roasted in a tandoor, which is a traditional oven. After roasting, the meat is combined with a creamy masala sauce. While a tomato and coriander leaf sauce is common, there is no single standard recipe. A 1998 survey of 48 different recipes in Britain found that chicken was the only ingredient they all shared.

There are various theories regarding the origins of this dish. Some historians suggest it is a version of chicken tikka, which was created during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Babur between 1526 and 1530. The word "tikka" itself is a borrowing from Classical Persian, meaning "pieces." While the dry meat has ancient roots, the creamy sauce is a newer development. Some believe the dish is a descendant of butter chicken from the Punjab region. This connection shows how traditional South Asian cooking methods have evolved over many centuries.

Many people believe the dish was invented in Great Britain, possibly in Glasgow, Scotland. One popular story credits Ali Ahmed Aslam, the owner of the Shish Mahal restaurant in the 1960s. It is said he improvised a sauce using a tin of condensed tomato soup to satisfy a customer. However, this story is contested by others. Sultan Ahmed Ansari, who owned the Taj Mahal restaurant in Glasgow, claimed he created it in the 1950s. Another restaurant owner, Iqbal Wahhab, even suggested the tomato soup story was fabricated to entertain journalists.

Other experts point to the role of Bangladeshi migrant chefs in Britain. During the 1960s, these chefs ran most of the Indian restaurants in the country. They are credited with developing many new British Indian dishes. Some scholars suggest the recipe might have been inspired by "Shahi Chicken Masala," which appeared in a 1961 cookbook. Regardless of the exact creator, the dish became a massive commercial success. By 1983, supermarkets began selling it as a chilled meal. By 2016, it was the third most popular ready meal sold in UK supermarkets.

The impact of chicken tikka masala on British culture is profound. In 2001, the British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook described it as a "true British national dish." This was meant to highlight the benefits of a multicultural society. By 2010, it was the most popular dish found in British curry houses. A 2012 survey of 2,000 people showed it was the second-most popular foreign dish to cook in Britain. In 2025, food scholars Bhaskar Sailesh and K. Karthikeyan even called it the "world's best-recognized dish."

Today, the dish continues to change as it moves through different cultures. In the United States, food trucks have sold it as a filling for tacos. In India, fast food chains have used it as a topping for pizzas. This constant evolution leads to debates about authenticity. Some critics argue the addition of sauce makes it "inauthentic" compared to original South Asian recipes. However, others see it as a successful example of cultural interchange. It represents a fusion of traditions that has created something entirely new and globally recognized.