Butter chicken
Tandoori chicken simmered in a mild, silky sauce of tomato, butter and cream, scented with dried fenugreek.
What makes it butter chicken
- Chicken marinated in yoghurt and spice, then charred.
- A smooth tomato and butter sauce, finished with cream.
- Kasuri methi — dried fenugreek leaves — crushed in at the end.
Where it comes from
The story is that it was invented at Moti Mahal in Delhi in the years after Partition, as a way to use tandoori chicken that had dried out: simmer it in tomato, butter and cream. Who exactly invented it is now the subject of a court case between two restaurant families.
How it varies
- Chicken tikka masala
- Its British cousin: chunkier, more onion, often more spice.
- Paneer makhani
- The same sauce, with paneer.
Be the first here
Start your own butter chickenNo one here has made butter chicken yet. Start it as v1, and every version after is an experiment the next cook can learn from.
Near it
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PunjabiTandoori chickenChicken on the bone, marinated in yoghurt, lemon and spice, then roasted fast in the fierce heat of a clay tandoor.No one here has made it yet