25/07/2020
Butter Chicken, which is also called Murgh Makhani in Hindi, is the most popular dish to emerge from India; Its mildly spicy, creamy, savoury flavour makes it delicious, and accessible to almost every palate.
Butter chicken originated in Delhi, sometime during the 1950s. During this time, a man named Kundan Lal Gurjal operated a restaurant in the city, called Moti Mahal. Moti Mahal was a success, serving many delightful tandoori dishes (a tandoor is a circular clay oven).
He realised that the Tandoori Chicken hanging on the seekhs above the tandoor all day would tend to dry out if unsold. He then came up with the genius idea of creating a basic gravy with tomatoes, butter, cream and some spices to immerse the Tandoori Chicken pieces in, helping them regain moisture and become palatable again. And thus, was born the Butter Chicken.
What gives the dish its distinctive flavour is its unique blend of spices, perfected over time. Typically, an cook will marinate the chicken for hours in yogurt blended with spices like garlic, coriander, garam masala, ginger, cumin, and others – Then it’s cooked and simmered in a mild curry sauce rich with butter, and in some cases, almonds and raisins as well.
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