(Glasgow) Scottish chef Ahmed Aslam Ali, who claimed to have invented chicken tikka masala, a dish that has become a classic in South Asian restaurants around the world, died on Monday at the age of 77, according to the Facebook page of his restaurant in Glasgow.
Creamy and moderately spicy, this curry recipe was born in the 1970s in the kitchens of the Shish Mahal restaurant, before becoming one of the most served dishes in restaurants in the United Kingdom.
“Chicken tikka masala was invented in our restaurant, we used to make chicken tikka (grilled marinated chicken), but one day a customer said, ‘I would like some sauce with this, it’s a bit dry. ”” Ahmed Aslam, a native of Pakistani Punjab, told AFP in 2009. “So, since that date, we have cooked it with a sauce based on yoghurt, cream and spices. »
Despite the difficulty of proving absolutely where this dish was born, generally considered an adaptation of curry to Western taste, a Scottish local MP, Mohammad Sarwar, had at that time taken steps to have chicken tikka masala recognized as a specialty. local.
In 2001, the former British Foreign Minister Robin Cook described this curry as “a true British national dish” and “a perfect illustration of the way in which Great Britain absorbs and adapts external influences”.