Indian curry in balti dish with naan bread.
Chicken madras is a curry dish often served in Indian restaurants, made with a tomato and onion base. It’s a takeout favorite in England and the United States. The delicious heat in the dish comes from a perfect blend of spices designed to add flavor. The sauce is rich, tangy, and even a bit spicy, saturating the chicken to create a curry that’s easy to love. Learn more about this beloved dish in the article below and take a look at our other Featured Dish of the Season.
Where Is Madras Curry Really From?
Most people assume madras curry is from India since it has an Indian name and uses Indian spices. Surprisingly enough, madras curry is an English invention. It uses spices from India commonly found in Indian foods, but British colonists created the specific blend used to create the curry. Though it’s now found in Indian restaurants all over the West and is beloved by customers, you won’t typically find this curry in India.
Curry has a long history in England and had reached English streets and restaurants by 1733. British men who worked for the East India Company trading in textiles developed a taste for Indian food while they were there, so they brought back cooks and recipes to recreate some of their favorite dishes. In 1747, a recipe for a curry made its way into an English cookbook for the first time. It included turmeric, ginger, onion, salt, pepper, and lemon as seasonings.
The name madras comes from the city where British colonists found the spices, blending them to create a flavor that would please British palates. The city formerly known as Madras is now Chennai, located in the state of Tamil Nadu. The city is known as a cultural hub in the South Indian region and has one of the largest populations in the world. As the third most visited city in India, it attracts health tourists from abroad and other parts of the country.
Indian and British cultures have mixed together for centuries, throughout British colonialism. Madras curry is just one example of how the two cultures have converged to create something new that contains aspects of both. The earliest recorded sale of the madras powder took place in Leicester Square in the mid-1800s, in a store called the Oriental Depot.
What Ingredients Are in Madras Curry?
How does this curry get its unique flavor? It’s all in the delicious blend of spices and the curry base. The dish is inspired by South Indian flavors and recipes, with its savory tomato and onion sauce. Adding chicken makes the meal heartier, and it goes well with all the flavors in the sauce.
The Madras curry powder varies slightly from mixture to mixture, but in general, you can count on a tangy flavor and a touch of spiciness. The powder should be a vivid yellow color, which comes from the turmeric in the mix. Turmeric is currently popular as a spice with plenty of health benefits, and it’s used abundantly in Indian cooking.
Madras spice mixes usually also include ground red chili peppers, coriander, cumin, and fenugreek. All of these spices are highly aromatic, plus they’re rich in iron, fiber, and vitamins. This curry gets its flavor from this intense blend of spices, which combines pleasantly with the juicy chicken and tomatoes in the dish.
Where Is the Best Place to Try Madras Chicken?
Little India of Denver is the best option for Indian food in downtown Denver, CO. We are found on several lists of the top restaurants for Indian cuisine in the area, so the experience for yourself the rich, authentic flavors in our food. Make sure to come and sample our version of this classic dish. We make the best madras chicken curry any Indian restaurant in downtown Denver has to offer.
Image Credit: Getty Images/Paul_Brighton