Topic: Chicken Tikka Masala - The Authentic Real Deal.

[xellos]

Tried this today but with some modifications.
I used the base by CA, my own spice mix, less salt and chilli powder and no food color + added a heaped spoon of double cream.

The smell and taste was indeed like a very, very close relative of the CTM sold in my local BIR`s. The look of it was also a clone except no red color.

After I tried this I dont think I want to go out and buy a CTM anymore because even though I cannot say that this is better than my local BIR, it is so much alike and I can make it fast and in large quantity.
Plus I can get onions and other veg so cheap because I know a fruit + veg wholesaler who undercuts supermarkets by a very long way....

[Onions]

I know a fruit + veg wholesaler who undercuts supermarkets by a very long way....

-Good God!!! -another one???

[xellos]

I know a fruit + veg wholesaler who undercuts supermarkets by a very long way....

-Good God!!! -another one???

Yarp, 3 quid for 150 apples. I almost pitched up an apple stall at the side of the road to sell the darn things on myself lol....

[Onions]

Blimey yeah!

[Mattie]

My missus is going through abit of a 'don't like chilli' stage - bad times.  I knocked this up to satisfy my curry cravings and to appease the boss.  If you haven't tried this recipe its well worth putting it on your list to try, I would recommend making the masala the day before and adding the tikka'd chicken once warmed up the following day.- it tasted so much better. 

This dish is really close to BIR flavour in my opinion.

[Curry addict bob]

This appears to have all the hallmarks of a decent tasting Tikka! tomato soup is often used in this type
of dish so its a yes for me to make one.

[George]

I made this dish last night as per the original recipe for the CTM sauce, but using Blade's tikka (brilliant as usual) and my own base sauce recipe. I can understand the enthusiasm and the sauce is quite good. I haven't had CTM from a BIR for about 20 years, so it's hard to compare. I have, however, made makhani sauces (similar) more recently and, for my taste, I prefer the flavour of makhani over this CTM. One key difference, of course, is that makhani sauces do not usually include coconut or tomato soup.

I'm not perusaded that the use of tomato soup is justified over, say, passata. For a start, it's quite expensive, and the soup provided an edge to the flavour which I was not very keen on.

I may try two more CTM recipes before deciding whether to press-on or abandon CTM in favour of makhani: (a) the winning recipe from the forum's group test a few years ago and (b) Heston B's recipe for CTM in the book "In Search of Perfection". It's a bit complex, that one. Has anyone here ever tried the Heston B recipe? 

But I now see the Group Test results were never published. How can this be? Useless! The project manager should be held responsible.

[George]

I spent half the weekend making Heston's 'perfect' chicken tikka masala. He runs Pat Chapman close in terms of making recipes as complicated as possible. The end result was not as good as the recipe at the start of this thread. This is the second Heston recipe which has proved disappointing - the first being his chicken gravy, so I now assume the series 'In Search of Perfection' was all hype with sub-standard recipes.

[livo]

Cooked this this arvo. Sort of a hybrid dish but pretty nice.

Tikka. Assembly ingredients (the base gravy is a mixture 50/50 of standard and Makhani). and CTM.  Yummy.