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Tikka Massala - Red, Orange or Beige? |
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#1 |
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Up North
Posts: 58,791
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Tikka Massala - Red, Orange or Beige?
Just watching Heston's program about his perfect CTM.
He showed an Indian restaurant preparing the chicken in a marinade with a bright red chilli powder which obviously will help with the colour. When he did his own though the marinade was beige and looked anemic. Not like you hope chicken tikka would look. The final dish finished up a reddy brown with the tomato puree and passata in the sauce. In Indian restaurants/takeaways around here the tikka massala is almost always red (although pubs serve it orange/brown - probably frozen microwaved meal ). I assume they use food colouring to cheat, but it looks the part. Supermarket sauces are usually orangey, browney, beigey coloured, and though it may be more natural, I still like the bright red to remind me of those greasy takeaways ![]() What do you prefer? and if you make your own what do you do? Do you add loads of red chilli powder or put in some colouring to get that authentic british effect
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#2 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
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The food colouring in Chicken Tikka Massala is responsible for most stomach upsets people get when they eat Indian, not the spice. I've seen reports where some contained 10 or 20 times the safe levels.
Not that i'd eat it at an Indian anyway, not very adventurous. |
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#3 |
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Join Date: Jan 2009
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I've only ever seen it as an orangey-brown colour, but I've only ever eaten it as a frozen ready meal from the supermarket.
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#4 |
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: East London
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Food colouring contains tartrazine (sp) which can cause upset tummys and also make you thirsty.
If you have a fresh herb spice shop near you look out for beetroot powder. You can add that when making a curry and it gives that red look. |
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#5 |
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Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Edinburgh
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You certainly would be very unwise to rely on chilli powder to give it the bright pillar box red colour. Not a mistake you would make twice.
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#6 |
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In the program the restaurant in India was actually making butter chicken which is classed as the authentic version of tikka massala and the chefs marinated a whole chicken in ginger, garlic and chilli powder to make the initial chicken tikka. It was a very vibrant red powder, seemed a lot redder than chilli powder you can get in supermarkets. The butter chicken was a quite lightly coloured dish in the end.
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#7 |
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Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Edinburgh
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Actually on thinking about it I suppose you could use paprika, which is a very very mild form of chilli powder.
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). I assume they use food colouring to cheat, but it looks the part. 
