Chicken Tikka Masala
Spice-rubbed chicken breasts coated in garlicky yogurt and charred under the broiler, then cut up and stirred into a creamy, gently spiced tomato masala sauce: the British curry house favorite made at home.
Chicken tikka is chunks of marinated chicken roasted in a tandoor; tikka masala puts it in a creamy, spiced tomato sauce. The best-known origin story is Glasgow's. Ali Ahmed Aslam, proprietor of the Shish Mahal in Glasgow from the 1960s, said he made the sauce in a hurry for a customer, a bus driver, who found his chicken tikka too dry; the AFP obituary carried by 1News says he added a mild tomato cream, and that the customer kept coming back with friends and family. Aslam died in December 2022, aged 77, and the restaurant closed for 48 hours. In 2009 the Glasgow politician Mohammed Sarwar sought protected origin status for the city's version; it failed (Wikipedia:).
The claim is DISPUTED. Wikipedia lists a rival Glasgow restaurateur who said he made it in the 1950s, historians who credit Bangladeshi chefs in Britain in the 1960s, and Indian critics who call it a Punjabi dish. In 2001 Foreign Secretary Robin Cook called it "a true British national dish", adding that chicken tikka is Indian and the masala sauce was added to satisfy the British taste for gravy. That is the British curry house in one plate: a dish built in Britain by South Asian cooks for British diners, the Old World's own "Americanized" curry. Britain had an estimated 12,000 curry houses in 2016 (Wikipedia:).
Why it works the kitchen science
Big pieces under the broiler
Whole breasts char on the outside before the inside overcooks, and the yogurt coating browns fast like tandoor-roasted chicken; cutting up afterward keeps the chunks juicy.
Salt and spice first, yogurt second
The dry rub seasons the meat directly, while the thick yogurt layer protects it from the broiler's heat.
Step by step
- Step 1
Mix the cumin, coriander, cayenne and 1 tsp salt and rub it over both sides of the chicken. Cover and refrigerate 30 to 60 minutes. Whisk the yogurt, 2 tbsp oil, garlic and ginger together and set aside.
- Step 2
Heat 3 tbsp oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, 8 to 10 minutes, until light golden. Stir in the garlic, ginger, serrano, tomato paste and garam masala and cook about 3 minutes, until fragrant.
- Step 3
Add the crushed tomatoes, sugar and 1/2 tsp salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cream, bring back to a simmer, then take the pot off the heat and cover it to keep warm.
- Step 4
While the sauce simmers, set an oven rack 6 inches below the broiler and heat the broiler. Dip each piece of chicken in the yogurt mixture to coat it thickly and lay it on a wire rack set in a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Throw away the leftover yogurt.
- Step 5
Broil 12 to 20 minutes, flipping halfway, until charred in spots and the thickest part reads 165°F.
- Step 6
Rest the chicken 5 minutes, cut it into 1-inch chunks and stir it into the warm sauce without letting it boil. Stir in the cilantro, season with salt and serve with basmati rice.
Chicken Tikka Masala
Serves 4 · about 7 cups · 1 hr 30 min total
Chicken tikka
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp table salt
- 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
- 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
Masala sauce
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, finely diced (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 serrano chile, minced (keep the ribs and seeds for more heat)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 (28-oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp table salt
- 2/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
To serve
- Basmati rice
Method
- Mix the cumin, coriander, cayenne and 1 tsp salt and rub it over both sides of the chicken. Cover and refrigerate 30 to 60 minutes. Whisk the yogurt, 2 tbsp oil, garlic and ginger together and set aside.
- Heat 3 tbsp oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, 8 to 10 minutes, until light golden. Stir in the garlic, ginger, serrano, tomato paste and garam masala and cook about 3 minutes, until fragrant.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, sugar and 1/2 tsp salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cream, bring back to a simmer, then take the pot off the heat and cover it to keep warm.
- While the sauce simmers, set an oven rack 6 inches below the broiler and heat the broiler. Dip each piece of chicken in the yogurt mixture to coat it thickly and lay it on a wire rack set in a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Throw away the leftover yogurt.
- Broil 12 to 20 minutes, flipping halfway, until charred in spots and the thickest part reads 165°F.
- Rest the chicken 5 minutes, cut it into 1-inch chunks and stir it into the warm sauce without letting it boil. Stir in the cilantro, season with salt and serve with basmati rice.
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen, "Chicken Tikka Masala" by Rebecca Hays (published January 23, 2012), serves 4 to 6. The spice rub, the yogurt, oil, garlic and ginger coating, the broiler set 6 inches from the element, cooking the chicken in large pieces, the 8 to 10 minute onion and the 15-minute covered simmer are ATK's. ATK broils to 160°F in 10 to 18 minutes; our 12 to 20 minutes reach 165°F. We count it as 4 servings. The recipe is an American test kitchen's home version, not the Shish Mahal's. America's Test Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- No broiler-safe rack? Line the sheet with foil and flip the chicken carefully; the rack just lets the heat reach the bottom.
- Stir the chicken into the sauce off the boil; boiling toughens the breast meat.
- For a simpler weeknight version ATK has "Simple Chicken Tikka Masala".
- Never reuse the yogurt that touched raw chicken.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Chicken tikka masala was invented at the Shish Mahal in Glasgow. Disputed: Ali Ahmed Aslam's account (AFP via 1News); Wikipedia lists Glasgow's Taj Mahal (1950s), Bangladeshi chefs in 1960s Britain, a 1961 cookbook precursor and critic Rahul Verma's view that it is Punjabi.
- The sauce began with canned tomato soup. Disputed: Wikipedia repeats the story but says the writer Iqbal Wahhab later admitted it was "completely made up"; the 1News (AFP) obituary says mild tomato cream.
- It is Britain's national dish. Disputed: Robin Cook's 2001 phrase (Wikipedia); widely debated, and Indian chefs called it appropriation.
- Glasgow won protected status for it. Documented as false: the 2009 bid failed (Wikipedia).
- It is the same as butter chicken. Disputed: see our Indian Butter Chicken recipe.
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