Ali Ahmed Aslam, chef, and proclaimed inventor of chicken tikka masala has died at age 77. His restaurant, Shish Mahal in Glasgow, Scotland, announced the chef’s passing on Monday, reports The Guardian.
In an interview with AFP news, Aslam explained how he invented the curry recipe.
“Chicken tikka masala was invented in this restaurant. We used to make chicken tikka, and one day a customer said, ‘I’d take some sauce with that, this is a bit dry,’” he said.
“We thought we’d better cook the chicken with some sauce. So, from here we cooked chicken tikka with the sauce that contains yoghurt, cream, spices. It’s a dish prepared according to our customer’s taste. Usually they don’t take hot curry–that’s why we cook it with yoghurt and cream.”
Aslam was born in Pakistan and moved to Glasgow with his family. In 1964 he opened his restaurant in the city. Full Story
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Image: Shish Mahal