Topic: chicken tikka garam massala

[jb]

Here's another recipe from my local take-away kitchen.It's one of the 'special' dishes on the menu,although when you know how it's actually done you realise it's not really that special or complicated at all.Indeed,some of the kitchen condiments used(one in particular) may seem a bit strange in a BIR kitchen but it's one of the most popular dishes on the menu.I've seen it cooked dozens of times now and it literally flies out of the kitchen.It reminds me of the Scottish chasni dish but hotter.I have to chuckle when I see a lot of these 'special' or 'exclusive' dishes on BIR menus,usually they're 'simmered in exotic spices' or 'smothered in Chef's exclusive spice blend'.In reality they're usually nothing more than a standard curry wth a few tweaks here and there from the Chef's own imagination.

First in your curry pan put in a chef's spoon of veg oil mixed with some butter ghee.Get the pan hot then quickly add the following...finely chopped garlic,service onions,blended plum tomatoes,table spoon of mix powder,teaspoon of chill,pinch of dried methi and a pinch of salt.Add your first ladle of base gravy and pre cooked chicken tikka.As per usual don't be tempted to stir too much,let the pan bubble away and stir the caramalized sides back in.(The more I see the chef cook like this the more I'm convinced it's one of the things to get right to get a good curry.)After adding the second ladle of gravy add the following....half a teaspoon of Coleman's mint sauce,one of white sugar,half a chef's spoon of pre made tikka marinade and a quarter chef spoon of Coleman's prawn cocktail sauce.Keep on a high heat for about five minutes and it's done.The curry should be madras hot with a nice subtle tangy sauce.

The prawn cocktail sauce is obviously a very unusual ingredient,purists may question its use in a BIR kitchen but this is how this chef does it,and it's one of the most popular things on the menu.It's not the first time I've seen it's use,my local cash and carry stocks large cartons of the stuff,I doubt if it's just being used to make prawn cocktails.Another curry house I know makes a dish called Rajhastani chicken,basically a shaslik smothered in a red creamy sauce.It had a flavour I just could not pinpoint until the chef told me it was just massla sauce,mayonaise,lemon juice and prawn cocktail sauce,Her's how the garam massala should look...

[Unclefrank]

Hi JB again thanks for posting these recipes, one question does this dish contain any garam masala powder at all?
Cheers.

[jb]

No garam masala.Quite how the chef came up with the name chicken tikka garam masala is a mystery.It's one of his own creations,any novice curry cook trying to replicate the dish at home would assume it does contain garam masala.The menu description says it's 'chargrilled chicken simmered in hot spices,a generous amount of fresh spices in a thick mouth watering sauce'.No mention of mint sauce or Coleman's prawn cocktail sauce!!

[Unclefrank]

OK JB thanks for that.

[Sverige]

Great post JB. I'm sure there are many more examples of BIR dishes having a splash or two of good old British supermarket staples added, to pep them up. Although I've never seen a BIR recipe which uses HP sauce I've often wondered how widely it was used in the early days of BIR, when tamarind was hard to come by.

[Garp]

Maybe even Branston pickle