Butter chicken

Butter chicken is a tasty meal. It has chicken in a red sauce. The sauce is made with tomato and butter. This makes it very smooth and creamy. People first made it in Delhi, India. They mixed leftover chicken with tomato sauce. They also added lots of butter. Some people use nuts to make it thick. They may add green leaves on top. This food is loved in many lands. It is a very popular dish.

Butter chicken is a famous dish from India. It is also called Murgh Makhani. This meal has chicken in a rich, red sauce. The sauce uses tomato and butter. The word makhan means butter. This makes the gravy feel very smooth and creamy.

People say this dish began in Delhi. It was made at a place called Moti Mahal. Two men made it in the 1950s. They mixed leftover tandoori chicken with a tomato sauce. They added lots of butter to the mix.

To make it, cooks first marinate the chicken. They use yogurt, lemon juice, and spices. They might cook it in a tandoor. A tandoor is a clay oven. Then, they simmer a sauce with garlic and ginger. Some cooks use cashew paste to make it thick. They may add spices like cumin or cinnamon. Many people add dried fenugreek leaves. This is called kasuri methi. At the end, they put green coriander on top.

People love this food all over the world. You can find it in Canada and Australia. Some people even put it in pizza or pies!

Butter chicken is a famous and creamy meal. Some people call it Murgh Makhani. This name comes from the word makhan, which means butter. The dish features chicken in a rich tomato sauce. This gravy has a very smooth texture. It is a very popular kind of curry. Many people love its mild and comforting taste.

Making this dish involves several careful steps. First, cooks marinate the chicken for many hours. They use yogurt, lemon juice, and spices like ginger and garlic. This mix is called dahi. Next, the chicken is cooked in a tandoor. A tandoor is a traditional clay oven. The sauce is then simmered with tomato and garlic. Cooks often sieve the sauce to make it velvety.

This tasty meal has a very interesting history. It was likely created in the 1950s. Two men named Kundan Lal Jaggi and Kundan Lal Gujral made it. They worked at the Moti Mahal restaurant in Delhi. This restaurant was in the Daryaganj area. They made the dish by chance using leftover chicken. They mixed the meat with a rich tomato and butter sauce.

Many different spices give the sauce its flavor. Cooks might use cardamom, cumin, or cloves. They may also add cinnamon and coriander. Some recipes use cashew paste to make it thick. They might also add dried fenugreek leaves. In Hindi, these leaves are called kasuri methi. Finally, green coriander is often put on top.

Today, people eat butter chicken all over the world. It is common in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. You can even find it in many other countries. In Canada, people put it in wraps or pizza. In Australia, it is used as a pie filling. Some people confuse it with chicken tikka masala. However, butter chicken is a special treasure of its own.

Butter chicken is a famous Indian curry. It is also known by its Hindi name, Murgh Makhani. The word "makhani" comes from "makhan," which means butter. This dish features chicken pieces cooked in a rich gravy. The sauce is made from tomatoes and butter. It is known for having a very creamy and velvety texture. People often enjoy it because the flavor is mild and smooth.

Preparing the dish requires a careful sequence of steps. First, the chicken must undergo a long marination process. It sits in a mixture for several hours. This marinade includes lemon juice and dahi, which is yogurt. Cooks also add Kashmiri red chilli, salt, and garam masala. Ginger paste and garlic paste are added to this mix as well. This process helps prepare the meat for cooking.

Once marinated, the chicken is cooked using high heat. Many cooks use a tandoor, which is a traditional clay oven. Other methods include grilling, oven-roasting, or pan-frying. After the meat is cooked, it is combined with the sauce. The sauce is a tomato, garlic, and ginger-based liquid. This sauce is simmered until it is smooth. Most of the water evaporates during this simmering stage.

There are many ways to create the final sauce. Cooks use various spices to build complex flavors. These spices might include cardamom, cumin, cloves, or cinnamon. They may also use coriander, pepper, or dried fenugreek leaves. In Hindi, these leaves are called kasuri methi. Some recipes use cashew paste to act as a thickener. To ensure a velvety texture, the sauce is often sieved. Finally, the dish is often garnished with fresh coriander.

The history of butter chicken is tied to a specific time and place. It likely originated in Delhi, India, during the 1950s. Two men named Kundan Lal Jaggi and Kundan Lal Gujral created it. They were Punjabi Hindu refugees from Peshawar. They worked at the Moti Mahal restaurant in the Daryaganj neighborhood. The dish was reportedly created "by chance." They mixed leftover tandoori chicken into a tomato sauce rich in butter.

Butter chicken has spread far beyond the borders of India. It is very common in Bangladesh and Pakistan. It is also popular wherever there is a South Asian diaspora. In 1975, the English name appeared in print in Manhattan. This was at the Gaylord Indian restaurant. Today, the dish appears in many unexpected forms. In Canada and the Caribbean, it fills pizzas, wraps, and rolls. In Australia and New Zealand, it is used as a pie filling.

Because it is so popular, people sometimes make mistakes about its origin. Many people confuse it with chicken tikka masala. While similar, they are different dishes. Tikka masala uses a tomato paste instead of a butter-based gravy. There is also ongoing debate about its history. In 2024, restaurant owners even sued a rival over who invented it. Despite these disputes, the dish remains a beloved global staple. It connects many different cultures through its rich, comforting taste.