Comments on: Impossible food wine pairings: chicken tikka masala!

By: nate

nate — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 08:04:47 +0000

I had to read over halfway down until Steven K took the words from my mouth. Go simple and cheapish, my places good cab sav is awful w masala, but a fruitier more beginner friendly cab sav with soft tannins is delightful

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 06:30:27 +0000

FAO: The OP

Zind-Humbrecht

By: Warren EDWARDES

Warren EDWARDES — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 21:17:55 +0000

Here’s my recent video with screenplay on “Matching Wine with Spicy Food”

http://goo.gl/5lw0a

By: Dan Martin

Dan Martin — Sun, 15 May 2011 22:36:53 +0000

This pairing has always boggled my mind. Here’s one to add to the suggestions: Northern Rhone Syrah. The idea comes from Raj Parr, an author of Secrets of the Sommeliers and Michael Mina’s wine director. It’s also mentioned in a video I threw together last week on making chicken tikka masala from scratch and what to pair it with: http://bottlingroom.wordpress.com/2011/05/11/newsflash-to-the-western-world-you-can-make-your-own-chicken-tikka-masala-and-pair-it-with-wine-too/

It’s a dish that’s never boring, even if finding its perfect vinous mate seems to be.

By: S.P.Mulligan

S.P.Mulligan — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 14:30:26 +0000

Proseco worked if you like bubbly.

By: Benjamin Lemoine

Benjamin Lemoine — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 00:06:44 +0000

I think that all of the responses here show how impossible this pairing is NOT. If I may toss my hat in; Gewürztraminer! Ginger, Garam Masala, white meat, full and saucy: Gewürz. If it’s a spicy sauce, go with a Vendage Tardive. Lower acid helps against the spice. Although the alcohol can hurt, go with an aromatic Alsatian fruit bowl.

By: Warren Edwardes

Warren Edwardes — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 21:47:23 +0000

Thanks Peter.

Basically I go for wines that can be summed up in one word – REFRESHING – a refreshing alternative to a gas injected lager. And being cool refreshingly sparkling wines they are refreshing at curry-time, summer-time and anytime

First, my wines are all naturally semi-sparkling. Carbon Dioxide enhances taste and adds natural acidity when dissolved thereby adds to the mouth watering feel. But a fully sparkling wine or beer has too much gas and lager has gas injected producing large bubbles leading to bloating with food.

My wines have natural secondary fermentation in sealed and pressurised stainless steel tanks and then stabilised. This is to ensure that the CO2 produced permeates the wine and is properly integrated into it and will be released gradually and regularly over a period once the bottle has been opened. And being semi-sparkling the UK Customs Duty is as for still wine. So why pay extra tax for superflous gas?

Second, drink the wine cool to ice-bucket cold – So thirst quenching like a cold lager.

Third, a refreshing wine also should have a good level of mouth-watering acidity. Think lemon juice – the classic Indian “Nimboo Pani”.

Fourth, avoid mouth-drying tannin. Whilst tea is drunk in India with food, the tannin is softened with milk and sugar. Furthermore, tannin in both wine and tea is exaggerated at low temperatures.

Fifth, the wines are also free from oak, which clashes with spices such as cumin, coriander and ginger giving a bitter, harsh after-taste. Furthermore oakiness gives a rounded mouth-feel. I want a crisp steely feel in a refreshing wine with curry.

Sixth, moderate alcohol; a good degree of alcohol is required to provide body but excess alcohol over 12.5% can add to the burning sensation of chillies. Take a sip of vodka before and after biting into a chilli to feel this. Furthermore, the wines are so moreish that you will find yourself drinking quite a bit. Wine for Spice™’s range has an alcoholic strength of 11.5% to 12.5% by volume.

And finally, Seventh, aromatics, fruitiness and sweetness in the range rise in relation to the chilli heat of the accompanying dish. This is based on my Goan Grandmother’s trick of adding some sugar to an over hot curry. Suck on a sweet before and after biting into a chilli to feel this. But unlike some wines such as 100% Gewurztraminer or Muscat which can be over-aromatic and too flowery and sickly after a glass, all of these wines are balanced blends balancing fruit with with natural acidity and are refreshingly sparkling. And because acidity offsets sweetness and sparkling wines have enhanced acidity because of the dissolved CO2, the Off Dry wines result in a quite dry mouth feel after allowing for acidity and spice.

best

Warren Edwardes
Wine for Spice
http://wineforspice.com

By: Bossanovawitcha

Bossanovawitcha — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 17:33:55 +0000

Just for kicks, I tried Tikka Masala last night with a Gewurtztraminer and a Petite Syrah. Being moderately spiced CTM, the p.syrah did seem to destroy the creaminess with too much spice/heat bite, especially on the forefront of the tongue. The Gewurtztraminer, however, was excellent with the CTM (generic C.S.Michelle WA State), as the acidity balanced the creamy essence of the CTP perfectly and added a new element of flavor to the dish.

By: Sia

Sia — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 01:01:29 +0000

I’ve got the perfect one. Banfi Rosa Regale. This sparkler will do tremendously. It’s fizz will act as a cleanser while it’s sweetness plays off the spices, leaving the georgeous rose flavored midpalate to bring out the popcorn tones of the perfectly cooked Basmati rice. Who’s with me???

By: Dr. Vino

Dr. Vino — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 17:45:14 +0000

Play nice. Don’t insult each other. Attack ideas, not people. Count, I’m talking to you. Enough.

By: Steven Kolpan

Steven Kolpan — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 16:53:34 +0000

This really is not so difficult. Either Prosecco or Cava (Brut or Extra Dry) will foot the bill with Chicken Tikka Masala. So will sparkling Sekt from Germany (such as Henkell). Also, semi-dry Vouvray from the Loire Valley (made from Chenin Blanc), Kabinett and/or Halbtrocken Riesling from the Mosel or Riesling from Washington State or NY State’s Finger Lakes, inexpensive semi-dry Gewürztraminer (such as Sutter Home, Fetzer or Hogue),and believe it or not, any White Zinfandel, or fruity off-dry rosé. Or, chill a Beaujolais-Villages or Valpolicella Classico for about a half-hour, and serve. Don’t overthink it or overpay. Go with light, fruity wines as a compelling counterpoint/contrast to the spice and heat of the dish. By the way, I disagree that Alsace wines will marry well with this dish; they’re too big and too dry. Of course, beer – lager or ale – will work, but it won’t be as much fun!

Steven Kolpan
Professor and Endowed Chair in Wine Studies
The Culinary Institute of America
Hyde Park, NY 12538

By: Count Mourvedre

Count Mourvedre — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 16:35:36 +0000

Methinks BobZ spends too (or is it “to”…or maybe…”two”) much time with his head stuck in the dictionary. Get out more BZ! If you put a couple of tennis balls on the back legs of your walker, you might get somewhere. Anyone with a brain knew (or is it new?)what I was referring to.

As for trash talk, it’s what makes the United States of America the greatest country on earth! Without it we would all be playing (shudder) soccer like the rest of the punks on this planet. If you can’t stand the truth, go watch a cricket match or polo for that matter.

Tea time Mr. May. Will that be one lump or two
(uh…too)? BobZ thinks you desrve more anyway.

I think we should all get back to wine discussions unless, of course……(or is it coarse) you want to push the envelope BobZ, old-buddy-old-pal.

The Count has spoken…..again!

By: mickey o'connell

mickey o'connell — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 15:41:31 +0000

I make that dish often at home, with various seasoning versions from Penzey’s, and have found Mendocino riesling (Navarro) or gewurtz (Handley or Lazy Creek) to be great pairings.

By: BobZ

BobZ — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 14:52:11 +0000

“I surmise that PM (above) must be eating those frozen CTM pizzas or Spencer’s CTM sandwiches that are so popular in the UK.
What most EDUCATED palates are looking for…”
and…
“If you need some help in figuring out what constitutes a compliment or a contrast let me know.”

Trash talk belongs where it comes from–the trash.
As to the “compliment” part of wine and food pairing, it is spelled “complement”…adds to in a way that enhances or improves, makes perfect.
Mr. May deserves more.

By: Dr. Vino

Dr. Vino — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:50:00 +0000

Peter –

Thanks for your perspectives on the history of CTM and to the links about spicy food pairing.

Dini – Thanks for the observations about the varieties of Indian food! I’d tend to agree with you that the faint spice of gewurtz is indeed too faint in general. But I’d be happy to put it to the test!

Espen – You’re welcome to have what you like–that’s the key to enjoyment!

Count Rick – Trash talking is the American way? I hope not!