Topic: chicken tikka massalla or butter chicken?

[robothrobo]

Restaurants here in Australia have a mild creamy tomato based sauce they call butter chicken and not many do a chicken tikka massalla.I now presume they must be the same dish but have changed the name to entice non curry eaters over here to at least give it a go.It has worked a treat as it is by far the most popular dish that you see on peoples tables.I myself can't do without a vindaloo.Can anyone suggest a good recipe for one and also a madras.What is the most popular dish in the UK? I have just made my first base sauce that came out brilliant so i froze most of it and can't wait to sort out a few good curry's.

[parker21]

hi robothrobo
here in the uk CTM is the best seller it even tops the old favourite fish and chips as most popular takeaway dish. personally vindaloo all the way and hotter my wife won't eat anything less in heat. altough i will cook a chilli masala when she is having something else. i have two daughters 8 and 4 and they love my chicken tikka. mind you so does anyone else who tries it, normally first to go when i do it for a bbq  ;D have you looked at the bruce edwards curryhouse cookery postings good results and it gives you something other than recipes. but i tend to use the recipe for the base sauce that my local restaurant chef( at Rajver recipe posted and reposted) gave me when using these recipes and i can honestly say it has been a long time since i made a poor curry that didn't get eaten

regards
gary

[Cory Ander]

Hi and welcome to cr0 Robo 

Yes, I think Australian Indian Restaurants serve Butter Chicken (i.e. "Murgh Makhanwalla") because most restauranteurs are Indian rather than Pakistani/Bangladeshi. 

As I understand it, Butter Chicken is a traditional Indian dish.  Unlike Chicken Tikka Masala, the chicken is not cooked in a tandoor.  The "Makhanwalla" is a butter/onion/spice "tarka" that is thrown over the top of the finished dish.

Chicken Tikka Masala (apparently the most popular curry dish in the UK) is purely an invention of BIR restauranteurs (i.e. invariably Pakistani/Bangladeshi) and is therefore not a traditional Indian dish.  The chicken is cooked in a tandoor and there is no butter/onion/spice tarka involved.

Otherwise the two dishes are similar (i.e. marinated chicken, mildly spiced, red, creamy and tomatoey)

Check out the recipes, for Madras and Vindaloo, here Robbo:  http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?board=3.0

Darth's Madras/Vindaloo has many favourable reviews and is simple to make.  Which Curry Base did you make Robo?

Have fun! 

[robothrobo]

sorry, i can't seem to find the recipe i used for the base but i think it was seen on TV and many curry heads gave it a good review.I cheated and used mothers brand vindaloo paste with lamb i won at the club.When added to the base with a few other spices it was one of the best vindaloo's i have had.I also did a veggie dish with balti paste,cream and the base that was also great.It really does make a huge difference using a base instead of a tin of tomatoes.I was a bit legless at the time that is why i used the paste instead of the many spices i had just bought.My next attempt will be with a more professional approach and use some of the recipes that have been posted or recommended.

[popeye]

hi guys and my first post on here

wont go into details as im new to all this apart from butter chicken over here in australia and CTM from back home in the uk taste nothing like each other. well apart from the creamy'ness
thats why im on here and today i cooked my first curry which was my favorite back home of chicken tikka jalezi, bloody loverly is all i can say

pops

[Robert]

Here in the NW UK the two essential features of a butter chichen are:
(1) It is described on the BIR menu as chicken tikka in a "special" hot sauce.
(2) It is no more than CTM with a good dollop of extra chilli powder.

I used to enjoy a few mouthsfull as part of a shared meal although I find a whole portion is a bit too "one dimensional", (I like my curries with lots of bits in the sauce, e.g. korais/jalfrezis and prefer a chilli massala to a vindaloo.) Alas 'erindoors, who used to order it occasionally, has taken exception to the rich creamy coconutty sauce on health grounds

Rob