A Glasgow chef credited with inventing chicken tikka seasoning has died aged 77. Ahmed Aslam Ali’s death was reported by his family.
Pakistani-origin squash chef Ahmed Aslam Ali claimed that he introduced chicken tikka masala in his Shesh Mahal restaurant in 1970 by making some changes in tin tomato sauce.
On Monday, his nephew Andalib Ahmed confirmed the death of Ahmed Aslam Ali and said that he used to eat lunch at his restaurant every day.
He said that this restaurant was his life, the cooks used to cook for him, I don’t know how often he used to eat chicken taka masala.
Andleeb added that his uncle was a “perfectionist” and always sought the best. Last year he was unwell and I went to the hospital to see him on Christmas Day.
Andleeb Ahmed says that his head was tilted to one side, I sat there for about 10 minutes, when he started to leave, he raised his head and said that you should have been at work at that time.
In a 2009 interview with the news agency AFP, Ahmed Aslam Ali said that he invented the chicken takka masala recipe after a customer complained that his chicken takka was too dry.
He said that chicken tikka masala was invented in this restaurant, we used to cook chicken tikka, then one day a customer came and said it’s too dry, give me some sauce with it, we thought better. We have to cook the chicken in some sauce, from here we prepared this dish by adding curd, cream and spices to the chicken tikka.
This dish of a Scottish chef of Pakistani origin later became one of the most popular dishes in British restaurants.
According to AFP, it is difficult to confirm the origin of this dish, but it is believed to have been prepared with Western tastes in mind.