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Let's assume that they are both made with chicken, and that the curry is a traditional Indian curry, with tomato and traditional spices, not with "curry powder" tossed in it.

Various articles claim to describe the differences, but they disagree with each other.

Recipes for both use the same seasonings, and appear pretty much interchangeable, except that curry often has coconut-something in it, and tikka masala is heavy on butter and cream.

How are they actually supposed to be different?

Very Amateur
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    Hey, I'm afraid that your question is meaningless because "curry" is not a thing. There are many, many combinations of spices and aromatics across at least six different national cuisines that get called "curry" ... one of which is tikka masala. – FuzzyChef Apr 16 '22 at 04:54
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    @FuzzyChef would an answer then be that “tikka masala” is a subset of “curry”? – Stephie Apr 16 '22 at 05:02
  • I specified INDIAN curry. Tikka masala might be a subset of curry, but there would still be something that MAKES it a subset. Since an amateur has already identified TWO differences, I'm sure that the experts can come up with a couple more. :-) – Very Amateur Apr 16 '22 at 11:24
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    The confusion is understandable, but this question is like asking "what is the difference between fettuccine Alfredo and pasta with sauce", or "what is the difference between gazpacho and soup". There simply is no dish called "Indian curry" with a consistent definition. – dbmag9 Apr 16 '22 at 12:24
  • Your reply proves my point! Fettuccine Alfredo has a specific type of sauce and no other, and gazpacho is cold and tomato only; they are very easy to differentiate from the regular types in their categories, :-) – Very Amateur Apr 16 '22 at 20:50
  • Gazpacho is not always made from tomatoes, and isn't only served cold. And there is no dish called "Indian curry". First, Indians don't use the term "curry" except to explain things to non-Indians; second, the term "Indian curry" is applied by non-Indians to literally thousands of different dishes. So again, your question is like "what is the differences between bread and foccacia?" – FuzzyChef Apr 17 '22 at 04:37
  • Wikipedia disagrees: "Gazpacho is a cold soup... Although there are other recipes called gazpacho such as, gazpacho manchego, the standard usage implies tomato soup gazpacho." Bread is loaf shaped; foccacia is flat. – Very Amateur Apr 17 '22 at 08:12
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    @VeryAmateur your example here about bread proved the opposite of your point. I’m wondering if there’s a language barrier at ply here. “Bread is loaf shaped” is a false statement _because_ focaccia is bread and also not loaf shaped. You’re picking a weird, illogical hill to die on here and it’s going to be confusing to the vast majority of English speakers. – Preston Apr 20 '22 at 01:31
  • I don't understand why some people are willfully refusing to understand a simple concept here, or feel it necessary to get personal with a total stranger... and those who have downvoted the only reply that made any attempt to answer the actual question, and that's at least TWO people, are even worse. When the large majority of posts have nothing to do with the question, and the post that answers the question, and is marked as such, has a ZERO combined score, there is a serious problem. – Very Amateur Apr 20 '22 at 05:17
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    I think the frustration stems from everyone reaching for examples to illustrate a very abstract concept. Non-food examples might include "What is the difference between Berlin and cities in Germany?", "What is the difference between rectangles and quadrilaterals?", "What is the difference between cats and mammals?", "What is the difference between shades of blue and colours?" and so on. – dbmag9 Apr 20 '22 at 14:41
  • If someone asks the difference between a hamburger and a sandwich, you might point out that a hamburger is a subset of sandwiches, but the answer to the question is that if it contains a ground beef patty, it's a hamburger ,and if it does not contain a ground beef patty, it's not a hamburger. In the same way, tikka masala has characteristics that make it identifiable from other things that broadly fit the definition of curry, and the answer to my question was to give those differences, not to to give other examples of subset vs category. Greybeard has given that answer; we're done here. – Very Amateur Apr 20 '22 at 23:08

2 Answers2

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'Curry' is a very general term, generally applied on cuisines from an outside perspective. In a particular area there may be a 'default' curry but this will differ widely in different places and contexts – "traditional Indian curry" is an understandable misconception, like saying there's a specific dish which is "standard Italian pasta".

Tikka Masala is a more specific dish although there will be variation, a staple of British 'Indian' (which also includes Bangladeshi and Pakistani) cuisine.

So as noted in the comments, tikka masala is a type of curry.

dbmag9
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The difference between curry and tikka is more down to the preparation and way the dish is cooked, rather than the core ingredients, although they may share many common factors.

For instance, the meat for a curry might be marinaded in a sauce (masala) beforehand, or it might just be pan fried along with onions and garlic with the cooking sauce built from tomatoes, yoghurt, stock etc. and the meat (Chicken, beef or lamb) finally cooked off in this sauce. So traditionally, a curry is cooked in a pan or casserole pot.

On the other hand, a tikka will almost always be marinaded beforehand, generally in a mixture of oil, yoghurt, garlic, lemon juice, ginger and spices for at least an hour, preferably overnight. The meat (Generally chicken, although lamb is also used) is then placed on a skewer and cooked vertically in a traditional tandoori oven, although a Western adaptation would be to grill or oven cook the pieces. Frequently, food colouring is added to the chicken to give a vibrant red, yellow or orange look, something that is not done in a traditional curry.

Once the tikka meat is cooked it may be served with a side salad, or added to a tomato and cream based sauce which then forms a very modern dish, chicken tikka masala.

Effectively, the difference between a curry and a tikka is stewing/braising versus roasting.

Greybeard
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    None of these generalizations about curry are accurate. – FuzzyChef Apr 18 '22 at 19:48
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    The OP was enquiring as to the general difference between the two dishes (apart from the ingredients) and cooking technique is clearly the difference here. It goes without saying that there will be many variations in dishes across regional and national lines, but as a straightforward, uncomplicated response, I can't see a problem with a generalised answer here. You cannot cook a sauce based curry in a tandoor, and while it would be theoretically possible to "Pan cook" tikka, it would be more akin to grilling/frying. – Greybeard Apr 18 '22 at 22:09
  • Uncomplicated, but wrong. Hence my pro-forma objection for posterity; I just want to be sure that future readers see the problems with this answer. – FuzzyChef Apr 18 '22 at 22:14
  • I'm genuinely curious as to why, I am more than happy to stand corrected but I really fail to see what is so inaccurate. To clarify, I am basing my response on BIR takeaway (British Indian Restaurant) cooking methods. – Greybeard Apr 18 '22 at 22:23
  • @Greybeard, apologies, certain parties here were determined to pretend that there being varieties, as there are with nearly everything, means that no answer could be given, and your excellent answer spoiled their plans.... that's why you're getting downvotes, etc. In this thread, black is white, gazpacho is hot, and insulting comments rather than cooking info are the goal. Thank you for taking the time to provide a clear and accurate response to my question! – Very Amateur Apr 20 '22 at 05:27
  • In a British Indian Restaurant, tikka masala *is one of the many varieties of curry sold*. So some of the curries might be marinaded, some might not. Some might have roasted meat, some might not. Some might have food colouring, some might not. Because *tikka masala is a curry* it doesn't make sense to say there is a difference between tikka masala and curry. – dbmag9 Apr 20 '22 at 14:36