Chicken Tikka Masala Inventor Ali Ahmed Aslam Dies at 77, Netizens Pay Tribute
Netizens on social media recently paid tribute to Ali Ahmed Aslam, the inventor of Chicken Tikka Masala. As per the lore, Ali Ahmed Aslam, who was popularly known as Mr Ali, added a can of creamy tomato sauce and yoghurt to the gravy of the savoury dish when a customer requested him to make the dish “less dry”.
The demise of Mr Ali was confirmed by his restaurant called Shish Mahal, located in Glasgow, Scotland. “Hey, Shish Snobs … Mr Ali passed away this morning … We are all absolutely devastated and heartbroken.” the popular restaurant announced.
While the origin of the widely popular chicken-based dish is disputed and debated on, Mr Ali has been credited to have come up with the dish for a patron in his restaurant sometimes in the 70s. Earlier in an interview, Mr Ali said how he invented the dish in 70s when a patron asked if there was a way his chicken tikka could be less dry. To serve his customer, he added a creamy tomato sauce.
“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.’ We thought we’d better cook the chicken with some sauce,” Mr Ali had said.
The Facts of the Matter
United Kingdom, which is known for its fish and chips, its beans and mash – has an Indian-origin dish as its own national dish. For decades, chicken tikka masala has been popularized as UK’s national dish.
Earlier on Wednesday, it was reported that the inventor of the popular dish, died at 77. Ali Ahmed Aslam, founder and chef at Shish Mahal restaurant in Glasgow, died earlier this week, prompting netizens on social media to pay tributes.
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“Hey, Shish Snobs”: Restaurant Pays Tribute
Ali Ahmed Khan, who was popularly known as MrAli, died on Monday and his death was confirmed by his restaurant Shish Mahal. As a mark of respect, the restaurant remained closed for 48 hours. “Hey, Shish Snobs … Mr Ali passed away this morning … We are all absolutely devastated and heartbroken,” the restaurant had announced.
Mr Ali’s funeral was held at the Glasgow Central mosque a day after his death and the funeral saw the closest of his relatives and other members of the public paying the chef their tributes.
How Ali Ahmed Aslam Came Up with Chicken Tikka Masala
Mr Ali had given an interview with AFP, where he explained how he invented the now widely consumed dish. In 1970s, a customer at his restaurant asked if there was a way his chicken tikka could be less dry. The chef came up with a novel idea, and added a creamy tomato sauce.
“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.”, Mr Ali explained. “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,” he had added.
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Origins, Opening ‘Shish Mahal’
Mr Ali was born in Pakistan’s Punjab province, and moved to Glasgow, Scotland, as a boy. In 1964, the then up and coming chef opened the Shish Mahal restaurant, which still remains as a highly-visited restaurant by both Asian and Western citizens.
Mr Ali’s nephew, Andleeb Ahmed gave an interview wherein he mentioned how the Pakistan-origin chef used to eat at his restaurant every day. “The restaurant was his life. The chefs would make curry for him. I am not sure if he often ate chicken tikka masala,” he was quoted saying.
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