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Butter chicken

language culture Maturity 5-7 Next article →

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.

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