Earlier this week, my grandma came down for chicken tikka masala. Tonight, it was take two, only this time, the chile seeds were partially retained in the sauce to increase the spiciness to the point it burned, but was enjoyable. It was delicious. This is definitely a permanent recipe we’ll be making several times a year. The only downside? It’s almost impossible to photograph! This is the most popular Indian dish in the world, ordered and prepared at more restaurants than any other, yet it just looks horrible in photographs most of the time. The flavor more than makes up for it.
Chicken Tikka Masala Part II
For dessert, we had strawberries sprinkled with sugar and covered in freshly made whipped cream. It was a wonderful contrast and complement to the spiciness of the chicken tikka masala.
Strawberries with Fresh Cream and Sugar for Dessert
If you’ve never tried it, start playing around with recipes. It’s a wonderful dish.
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Reader Comments
(10)
Comments are presented chronologically, with replies indented beneath
the comments to which they respond.
J
Jason Spacek
April 6, 2013
Love me some chicken tikka masala! Have you ever made chicken mole? You've always struck me as a chicken mole kinda guy.
J
Joshua Kennon
April 6, 2013
Replying to Jason Spacek
I have not. I will add that to the list of things to try!
A
Alexander Davis
April 8, 2013
Replying to Jason Spacek
I was going to post this exact comment lol. I have been making Chicken Mole and it is such a unique dish with tons of room to modify as well, from spices to "burn time". Pretty great and reasonably priced.
A
Anon
April 6, 2013
Love chicken tikka masala!
S
Suhaib alam
April 6, 2013
CORRECTION!
Chicken Tikka Masala IS NOT AN INDIAN DISH BUT A BRITISH DISH
The dish was invented by a Pakistani restaurant in England.
J
Joshua Kennon
April 6, 2013
Replying to Suhaib alam
That is correct, but to 80% of the world, it's Indian food. It's the same reason in the United States "sweet and sour chicken" or "cashew chicken" is called Chinese food but it's not really Chinese. Everyone knows it but it's a nationalized version of the cuisine so it's just part of the vernacular. The site is overwhelmingly North American and European in audience. Plus, that's what people search for, which means more money from advertising to offset the bandwidth costs of the site.
M
mi
April 7, 2013
"Plus, that's what people search for, which means more money from advertising to offset the bandwidth costs of the site."
Joshua, if you want to increase the advertising revenue of the site, please look into organic link building. With the kind of content you have, you could be making at least 5 figures every year. All you need to do is just work on the site for, say, 6 months; get a handful of links; increase trust rank [please look into this more] of the site; and wait it out. Let me know if you need more help with this.
And do not fall into the hands of rogue "SEOs".
A
Anon
April 7, 2013
Maybe on a different colored dish the picture would come out better!
J
Joshua Kennon
April 9, 2013
Replying to Anon
The post from earlier this week had it one a white plate but I still just don't like how it photographs, haha! It's just so unappealing to me by sight, but the moment you taste it ... awesomeness.
Tips : Natural (soft) light (or something used to "fake" natural light such as a lightbox) looks always better, especially with white dishes. Composition wise, it's better for food photography to slightly shoot at an angle (something like 2 to 4 degrees), and (as a general rule) avoid shooting straight down or straight from the sides. For aperture, it's best to shoot wide open (i.e. smallest f-stop), and use manual focus if you can, preferably with a camera on tripod.
This is a great article to start with : http://digital-photography-school.com/food-photography-an-introduction
Jason Spacek
April 6, 2013
Love me some chicken tikka masala! Have you ever made chicken mole? You've always struck me as a chicken mole kinda guy.
Joshua Kennon
April 6, 2013
Replying to Jason Spacek
I have not. I will add that to the list of things to try!
Alexander Davis
April 8, 2013
Replying to Jason Spacek
I was going to post this exact comment lol. I have been making Chicken Mole and it is such a unique dish with tons of room to modify as well, from spices to "burn time". Pretty great and reasonably priced.
Anon
April 6, 2013
Love chicken tikka masala!
Suhaib alam
April 6, 2013
CORRECTION!
Chicken Tikka Masala IS NOT AN INDIAN DISH BUT A BRITISH DISH
The dish was invented by a Pakistani restaurant in England.
Joshua Kennon
April 6, 2013
Replying to Suhaib alam
That is correct, but to 80% of the world, it's Indian food. It's the same reason in the United States "sweet and sour chicken" or "cashew chicken" is called Chinese food but it's not really Chinese. Everyone knows it but it's a nationalized version of the cuisine so it's just part of the vernacular. The site is overwhelmingly North American and European in audience. Plus, that's what people search for, which means more money from advertising to offset the bandwidth costs of the site.
mi
April 7, 2013
"Plus, that's what people search for, which means more money from advertising to offset the bandwidth costs of the site."
Joshua, if you want to increase the advertising revenue of the site, please look into organic link building. With the kind of content you have, you could be making at least 5 figures every year. All you need to do is just work on the site for, say, 6 months; get a handful of links; increase trust rank [please look into this more] of the site; and wait it out. Let me know if you need more help with this.
And do not fall into the hands of rogue "SEOs".
Anon
April 7, 2013
Maybe on a different colored dish the picture would come out better!
Joshua Kennon
April 9, 2013
Replying to Anon
The post from earlier this week had it one a white plate but I still just don't like how it photographs, haha! It's just so unappealing to me by sight, but the moment you taste it ... awesomeness.
This is not the recipe we used, but this woman has the best photograph of Chicken Tikka Masala, I've ever seen.
weixiluo
April 11, 2013
Replying to Joshua Kennon
Tips : Natural (soft) light (or something used to "fake" natural light such as a lightbox) looks always better, especially with white dishes. Composition wise, it's better for food photography to slightly shoot at an angle (something like 2 to 4 degrees), and (as a general rule) avoid shooting straight down or straight from the sides. For aperture, it's best to shoot wide open (i.e. smallest f-stop), and use manual focus if you can, preferably with a camera on tripod.
This is a great article to start with : http://digital-photography-school.com/food-photography-an-introduction