Chicken tikka masala
Photo: Michael Hays · CC BY 2.0

History

The most-repeated origin story credits Shish Mahal in Glasgow's West End, where in the early 1970s the chef is said to have loosened a customer's dry chicken tikka with tomatoes, cream and spice. The dish spread through Britain's curry houses to become the country's unofficial national dish. Rival claims exist across the UK and South Asia, and the truth is contested, but Glasgow's claim is the loudest and the city cooks it with real conviction.

Book a food experience

Tours, tastings and classes from the cities on this page, bookable on GetYourGuide.

Browse every bookable food experience

Common allergens: Milk

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 40 minTotal 3 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 800g boneless chicken thighs, cut into chunks
  • 250g natural yogurt
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • Thumb of ginger, grated
  • 2 tbsp garam masala
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 400g tomato passata
  • 150ml double cream
  • 50g butter
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
  • Salt to taste

Method

  1. Mix the yogurt, lemon, half the garlic and ginger, 1 tbsp garam masala, the cumin and paprika, then marinate the chicken for at least 2 hours.
  2. Thread onto skewers or spread on a tray and grill or roast at high heat until charred at the edges and just cooked.
  3. Melt the butter and soften the onion with the remaining garlic and ginger, then add the turmeric and remaining garam masala and cook for a minute.
  4. Pour in the passata and simmer for 10 minutes until thick and glossy.
  5. Stir in the cream and fenugreek, add the charred chicken and any juices, and simmer for 5 minutes.
  6. Season and serve with basmati rice and naan.

Tip from the editors. Char the chicken hard before it goes in the sauce; that smoky edge is the whole point of the dish.

Where to eat chicken tikka masala

Chicken tikka masala in Glasgow

Shish Mahal ★ 4.2

££ IndianWest End

Shish Mahal is the West End curry house that claims to have invented chicken tikka masala in Glasgow in the 1970s, still packed for its Punjabi cooking.

OrderThe chicken tikka masala, the dish this kitchen is said to have created.

TipThe claim is contested but the cooking is genuinely good; book ahead at weekends when it fills with regulars.

Directions

Mother India ★ 4.4

££ IndianWest End

Mother India has served home-style Indian cooking in Glasgow's West End since 1990, a warren of small rooms famous for its sharing plates and slow-cooked dal.

OrderBuild a table of small dishes to share; the aubergine and the karahi lamb are long-time regulars' picks.

TipThe tapas-style spin-off, Mother India's Cafe on Argyle Street, is the cheaper way to eat the same kitchen's cooking.

Directions Book

The Dhabba ★ 4.2

£££ IndianMerchant City

The Dhabba has served North Indian cooking in Glasgow's Merchant City since 2002, a smart Candleriggs room strong on tandoor breads and Punjabi curries.

OrderA tandoor bread basket with a slow-cooked lamb rogan josh.

TipThis is North Indian, so ask staff to steer you away from the Glasgow-Punjabi standards toward the regional dishes.

Directions

Mister Singh's India ★ 4.0

££ IndianFinnieston

Mister Singh's India is an Elderslie Street institution in Glasgow, an Indian kitchen famous for haggis pakora and kilt-wearing staff since the 1990s.

OrderThe haggis pakora, a Glasgow-Scots-Indian mash-up the restaurant helped make famous.

TipThe Scottish-Indian theme is played for fun; it is a reliable, generous curry house near Charing Cross.

Directions

All Glasgow signature dishes →

Chicken tikka masala in London

Tayyabs ★ 4.4

£ IndianWhitechapel

Tayyabs Punjabi grill on Fieldgate Street in Whitechapel London, opened 1972, runs charcoal-grilled lamb chops at £12 and karahi gosht at £15.

TryPakistani charcoal grill (lamb chops, karahi)

TipBYOB; bring beer or wine from the off-licence on Whitechapel Road, no corkage. Closed Mondays. Queue runs 30-60 minutes on weekend evenings.

Directions Book

Dishoom Shoreditch ★ 4.6

£ Street foodShoreditch

Dishoom's bacon naan roll counter on Boundary Street in Shoreditch London, served from breakfast service since 2012, the morning Bombay-cafe sandwich.

TryBacon naan roll

TipWalk-in only for the breakfast rolls before 10:00. £6.50 a roll; chai £3. Faster than the dinner queue all week.

Directions Book

Gymkhana ★ 4.7

£££ IndianMayfair

Karam Sethi's Albemarle Street Indian dining room in Mayfair London, opened 2013 and Michelin two-starred since 2024, modelled on a colonial-club room.

OrderKid goat methi keema with sesame naan, plus whatever wild-game tandoori cut is being grilled that night.

TipThe basement bar serves the same kitchen as a la carte without the tasting menu lock-in. Book a fortnight out.

Directions Book

Trishna ★ 4.4

£££ IndianMarylebone

Karam Sethi's Blandford Street Indian coastal restaurant in Marylebone London, opened 2008 and Michelin-starred, focused on Konkan and Mangalorean fish.

OrderBrown crab Goan curry, hariyali bream and a glass of riesling from the all-aromatic list.

TipThe tasting menu is the best route in, but a la carte stays open at lunch and books a week ahead.

Directions Book

Gunpowder Spitalfields ★ 4.6

££ Modern IndianShoreditch Spitalfields

Harneet Baweja's family-recipe Indian small-plates kitchen on White's Row in Spitalfields London, opened 2015, plates regional Indian home cooking, no buffet.

OrderSpicy venison doughnut, then Chettinad pulled lamb shoulder for two.

TipTiny room. Bookings open six weeks ahead and burn fast. Counter seats released as walk-ins from 17:30.

Directions Book

All London signature dishes →

More cities are in research. Want chicken tikka masala covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

Browse all dishes →