Balti chicken tikka masala

Jeera
Jeera is simply the Hindi and Bengali word for cumin seeds, the pungent dried fruits of the Cuminum cyminum plant (part of the same family as carrots and parsley), which are such an integral ingredient of cooking throughout the subcontinent. Adil's owner, Rashid Mahmood, says that jeera is an essential component of all baltis: "We use jeera more for the fragrance that it adds to the dish, the same as we use methi or fenugreek, to give a nice aroma to the dish we're preparing." Jeera's smell is so strong that it can be detected in sweat even after a small amount has been used. East End Foods, which supplies Adil with its jeera, imports the spice from the Oonjha area of Gujarat. Farmers bring up to 1,500 tonnes of cumin a day to Oonjha's famous mandi - an open spice market- although East End Foods purchases its jeera direct from the farmers.

Colouring
Mahmood is at pains to point out that using additives is not the norm. Unfortunately, just as children know that green sweets equal lime flavour, so adults equate vermilion with masala taste. Humans have been conditioned to attribute certain flavours with certain colours and deviating from this results in the food tasting wrong. To satisfy the customers' ideas of what a masala should look like, Adil's uses Preema Bright Red food colouring in the sauce. The powder contains E124 (Ponceau 4R) and E104 (Quinoline yellow), both of which are derived from coal tar. The additives have been approved by the EU as safe for consumption, though both are banned in the US. Fortunately, food colourings have mostly progressed beyond cochineal - made from crushed beetles (or E120, as it's called now) - although Nestlé still uses it to colour Smarties.

Chicken tikka
The exotic-sounding "tikka" simply means "bite-sized". As with the masala sauce, chicken tikka is primarily identified by its red hue. Mahmood explains that although food colouring lends a hand, the tinge is largely due to the marinating process where the chopped meat rests in yoghurt and spices for at least five hours. The chicken is then threaded on to metre-long skewers and stood in the tandoor, the traditional clay oven, until cooked. "When we started, we used meat on the bone," says Mahmood. "The restaurant was catering for the Pakistani and Indian population and that's the way they would have it prepared. It tastes better on the bone; there's more flavour." This is halal chicken, which means it is butchered in accordance with Muslim law; the animals are killed facing Mecca and bled to death.

Tomato puree
Although onions and tomatoes are the prime ingredients in a masala sauce, the puree is important for thickening and colouring the dish. East End Foods produces its own brand using plum tomatoes from Italy and Greece. As curry bores never tire of repeating, chicken tikka masala is not originally an Indian dish (although, in a coals-to-Newcastle irony, it is now exported to India); the masala (which just means "spices") sauce was added to the chicken tikka to cater for the national taste that meat be served with gravy.

How to make this at home:
Chop chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Marinate with yoghurt, turmeric, garam masala, chilli powder and cumin. Remove the chicken pieces and grill or barbecue them until cooked. For the masala sauce, gently fry some diced onions, tomatoes, ginger, peppers, chillis, chilli powder, tomato puree and cream. Blend until smooth. Add colouring if so desired. Place the chicken in a balti dish or wok with vegetable oil, garlic and ginger. Add the sauce and cook until hot. Serve with naan bread.

• Food
• Chicken

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEoKyaqpSerq96wqikaKSZm7KiusOsq7KklWR%2FcXyVaKGapl9mgHCyzqibmqaUmb%2BquspnnZ6ZpKq%2Fpr%2BQamk%3D