Chicken Tikka Masala
Definition : chicken tikka masala , n. • mild curry dish of chicken in a tomato-based sauce, cooked tandoori style (in a charcoal-fired oven). Optional hefty dose of tartrazine lends luminescent orange glow. (As described by BBC)
Chicken tikka masala has a truly postcolonial history, produced when one of the world's greatest cuisines found itself confronted by a British palette unused to anything spicier than table salt. Legend has it one obstinate diner demanded gravy on tandoori chicken. A bemused chef responded by adding tin of Campbell's tomato soup and pinch of spices, unwittingly partaking in early example of fusion cookery.
" Chicken Tikka Massala is now a true British national dish, not only because it is the most popular, but because it is a perfect illustration of the way Britain absorbs and adapts external influences. Chicken Tikka is an Indian dish. The Massala sauce was added to satisfy the desire of British people to have their meat served in gravy. "