India’s top chefs have warned Scottish MPs to keep their hands off the rights to chicken tikka masala.
So here’s the story, Scottish MPs made an attempt to ‘patent’ the name Chicken Tikka Masala, claiming the dish was made in Glasgow, in 1970’s. They got a spicy reply back from Indian food historians who trashed the claim and suggested that the dish has been around for decades (some others claim centuries).
Wikipedia suggests, this (without a reference, though)
The literal meaning of tikka in Panjabi is “bits, pieces” (fron Sanskrit ṭikka, m., “Cake.” and is related to Panjabi ṭikkī f. “cutlet.” . The Punjabi version of the dish, however, is barbecued on red-hot coal and does not always contain boneless pieces.
I personally think the Scottish MP’s claim is ludicrous, and the original motive maybe different (15 min of chicken tikka fame?) But this reminds me of the moves to patent, Basmati by RiceTec Inc, with a purely commerical interest banking on the popularity of the name, Link.
What do readers think? What could be the motive for such a claim, anyone find it remotely plausible that we have been chomping up on Scottish food? Or maybe the Scots did make Chicken Tikka first, and we should try to patent scotch as a trademarked Indian item that no one else can lay claim to?
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