the.com/tikka
Not a dish — a technique: chunks marinated in yogurt, then kissed by fire.
means A word for small pieces of meat, paneer, or fish marinated in spiced yogurt and cooked — most familiar from 'chicken tikka,' which describes the piece, not the sauce it sometimes ends up swimming in (that's masala).
from From Hindi/Urdu 'tikka,' meaning a piece, bit, or slice — tracing back to Persian and Turkic roots carried into South Asia through centuries of Mughal courtly cooking, where skewered, marinated morsels grilled over fire became a signature technique long before 'chicken tikka masala' turned it into an export.
- name origin
- urdu/punjabi for piece or chunk
- not curry
- tikka is dry-grilled; masala adds the sauce
- color trick
- red hue often comes from kashmiri chili, not heat
- tandoor born
- traditionally skewered and cooked in clay tandoor ovens