Favorite meals In London
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| Chicken Tikka Masala |
Chicken Tikka Masala (CTM) is often called "Britain’s true national dish." While it tastes Indian, its history is a blend of South Asian culinary tradition and British preferences, specifically the British love for meat served with plenty of "gravy."
1. The Origin: A Happy Accident?
The most famous legend of CTM’s birth takes us to Glasgow (not London) in the 1970s.
a. The Story: A customer at the Shish Mahal restaurant complained that his chicken tikka (dry, spiced meat) was too dry.
b. The Solution: The chef, Ali Ahmed Aslam, reportedly threw together a sauce using a tin of Campbell’s Tomato Soup, some yogurt, and spices. The customer loved it, and a legend was born.
c. The Debate: While the Glasgow story is the most popular, many food historians believe CTM is actually a British adaptation of Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani) from Northern India, modified to be even creamier and milder for the UK palate.
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| Chicken Tikka Masala |
2. Brick Lane: The "Curry Mile"
If Glasgow is the birthplace, Brick Lane in East London became the spiritual home of the "British Curry."
a. Migration: Following the partition of India in 1947 and the later independence of Bangladesh in 1971, many migrants from the Sylhet region of Bangladesh moved to East London.
b. Economic Survival: Many of these new arrivals took over former Jewish cafes and fish-and-chip shops, turning them into curry houses. By the 1970s, Brick Lane had become a world-famous hub for South Asian food.
c. The "British-Indian" Style: These chefs created a specific style of cooking called BIR (British Indian Restaurant) style, which uses a "base gravy" that allows them to serve dozens of different curries (like Tikka Masala, Korma, and Jalfrezi) quickly to hungry Londoners.
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| Chicken Tikka Masala |
3. "The National Dish"
In 2001, the British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook gave a famous speech where he officially hailed Chicken Tikka Masala as a symbol of modern, multicultural Britain. He noted:
> "Chicken tikka is an Indian dish. The masala sauce was added to satisfy the desire of British people to have their meat served in gravy."
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