Ali Ahmed Aslam, ‘Chicken Tikka Masala’ Inventor Dies At 77

Mr Aslam with his signature dish in 2009 (Picture Credit: AFP)

Ali Ahmed Aslam, a Glasgow chef who is credited with inventing ‘chicken tikka masala’, has passed away at the age of 77.

Ali Ahmed Aslam’s death was announced by his Sheesh Mahal restaurant in Glasgow, which closed for 48 hours as a mark of respect. Guardian, The eatery announced: “Hey, shish snobs… Mr Ali passed away this morning… We are all completely devastated and heartbroken.”

He invented the dish in the 1970s by improving a sauce made from a tin of tomato soup at his restaurant Sheesh Mahal, where he died on Monday morning, his nephew Andalib Ahmed told AFP.

“He used to have lunch at his restaurant every day,” Ahmed said.

“The restaurant was his life. The cook made curries for him. I’m not sure he ate chicken tikka masala often.”

Ahmed said that his uncle was a perfectionist and highly motivated.

“Last year he was unwell and I went to see him in the hospital on Christmas day,” Ahmed said.

“His head was down. I stayed for 10 minutes. Before I left he raised his head and said you must be at work.”

In an interview with AFP in 2009, Ali said that he created a recipe for chicken tikka masala when a customer complained that his chicken tikka was too dry.

Ali said, “Chicken tikka masala was invented in this restaurant, we used to make chicken tikka and one day a customer said, ‘I’ll have some sauce with it, it’s a bit dry’.”

“We thought we would cook chicken with some sauce. So from here we cooked chicken tikka with sauce which includes curd, cream and spices.”

The dish became one of the most popular dishes in British restaurants.

Although it is difficult to prove with certainty where the dish originated, it is generally regarded as a curry more adapted to Western tastes.

Ali said that the Chicken Tikka Masala is prepared as per the taste of the customer.

“Usually they don’t take hot curry, so we cook it with curd and cream,” he said.

Supporters of the campaign to give the dish protected status point to the fact that former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook once described it as an important part of British culture.

Cook said in a 2001 speech on British identity, “Chicken tikka masala is now a true British national dish, not only because it is the most popular, but also because it represents the way Britain has assimilated and adopted outside influences.” A perfect example.”

Ali, originally from the Punjab province of Pakistan, moved to Glasgow with his family as a young boy in 1964 before opening the Sheesh Mahal in the west end of Glasgow.

He said he wanted the dish to be a gift to Glasgow so he could give something back to his adopted city.

In 2009, he unsuccessfully campaigned for the dish to be granted “Protected Designation of Origin” status by the European Union, along with the likes of Champagne, Parma ham and Greek feta cheese.

MP Mohammad Sarwar introduced a motion for EU patronage in the House of Commons in 2009.

Ali is survived by his wife, three sons and two daughters.