Scottish chef Ahmed Aslam Ali, who claimed to have invented chicken tikka masala, a dish that has become a staple in South Asian restaurants around the world, died on Monday at the age of 77, according to the Facebook page. from his restaurant in Glasgow.
Creamy and moderately spicy, this curry recipe was born in the kitchens of the “Shish Mahal” restaurant in the 1970s, before becoming one of the most widely served dishes in the UK.
“Chicken tikka masala was invented in our restaurant, we used to make chicken tikka (marinated grilled chicken), but one day a customer said ‘I would like some sauce on this, it’s a bit dry'” Ahmed Aslam, originally from Pakistani Punjab, said in 2009.
“So from that date we cook it with a sauce based on yogurt, cream and spices.”
A local Scottish specialty
“The restaurant was his life,” said his nephew Andleeb Ahmed. He ate lunch there every afternoon. “The chefs were making him a curry,” he said, recalling that last year at Christmas he visited his perfectionist uncle in hospital, who told him at the end of his visit that he “should be at work.” .
Despite the difficulty of absolutely proving where this dish – generally considered an adaptation of curry to Western tastes – came from, a local Scottish MP, Mohammad Sarwar, had taken steps at the time to have chicken tikka masala recognized as a local speciality. .
In 2001, former British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook described this curry as “a true British national dish” and “a perfect illustration of the way Britain absorbs and adapts outside influences.”
Source: BFM TV
