Tikka Masala Curry- thanks UK!
My interest in Indian cuisine began over 10 years ago when I wasn’t even in the culinary industry - I was just a foodie that found interest in the many diverse cultures and cuisines of India and east Asia. Most of what we know of Indian food in America, especially small-town America, is what was filtered from across the pond in Britain and the select recipes they brought back from their empire days. Many recipes were morphed to fit the UK palate and Tikka Masala is no doubt one of the most popular of these curry dishes, actually their national dish at one point (said to be invented by a Scottish Chef from Bangledesh in 1970*). The original version is mildly spiced and flavorful with what looks to be copious amounts of double-cream - it sounds very decedent with about a weeks’ worth of fat calories!
The Tikka version that I make is actually closer to what is called “Butter Chicken” (Tikka is much less scary than anything with “butter” in the title!) or in India is called Murgh Makhani and I exchange much of the cream with yogurt (thus cutting way down on the lemon juice in the marinade) to give it a creamy sauce without so much butter and heavy cream and adding more tumeric for its health properties and to brighten the dish. We serve our Tikka with traditional Indian basmati rice (the US is now producing it in CA, sometimes called Calmati) - aged and longer-grain basmati is the best, just look for the longest looking grain and a grain that isn’t bright white and you are good to go. I also make sure to season my rice with herbs appropriate with the dish, in this case a bunch of cilantro stems, some fresh ginger, and if I’m feeling sassy, some garlic cloves. This dish is also delicious over pan fried veggie noodles in lieu of rice and we sometimes have this as an option.
I will blog more in the future about specific spices and their applications but in the case of Tikka, I am using the classic cumin, coriander whole spices - toasted, then ground. Pre-ground spices like tumeric and Kasimiri chili powder are fine to use because they don’t need any toasting to release oils, and the fresh aromatics used are ginger, garlic, and green chili - best if finely shredded on a microplane grater right before using. The finishing touch right before serving is a bit of cream, our garam masala (garam means “hot”, masala means “spices” - but more aromatic than spicy depending on the brand or region in India it is named after) and a side of chopped red onion, hot pepper, and cilantro with a wedge of lime - it gives that crunch, sour and heat many are looking for.
Look on this website and our Facebook to see when we are offering this special - it is a favorite!
Enjoy!