Butter chicken, traditionally known as murgh makhani (), is an Indian dish originating in New Delhi. It is a type of curry made from chicken with a spiced tomato and butter (''makhan'') sauce. Its sauce is known for its rich texture. It is similar to chicken tikka masala, which uses a tomato paste.
History
The curry was developed in New Delhi in the 1950s after the
Partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
by
Kundan Lal Jaggi
Kundan Lal Jaggi (10 September 1924 – 4 March 2018), was an Indian chef and restaurateur based in New Delhi. He along with Kundan Lal Gujral is credited with the invention of Butter chicken, Tandoori chicken, Dal makhani, Paneer makhani and the ...
and
Kundan Lal Gujral
Kundan Lal Gujral (c.1902 - 1997) was an Indian chef and restaurateur based in New Delhi. He, along with Kundan Lal Jaggi invented several Indian dishes which have since become popular worldwide, including Butter chicken, Paneer makhani, Tandoo ...
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
, as well as the founders of the Moti Mahal restaurant in the Daryaganj neighbourhood of Old Delhi. The curry was made "by chance" by mixing leftover tandoori chicken in a tomato gravy, rich in butter (''makhan''). In 1974, a recipe was published for "Murgh makhanii (Tandoori chicken cooked in butter and tomato sauce)". In 1975, the English phrase "butter chicken" curry first appeared in print, as a specialty of the house at Gaylord Indian restaurant in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...
. In
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
and the Caribbean, it can be found as a filling in pizza, poutine, wraps, roti, or rolls, while in Australia, and New Zealand, it is also eaten as a pie filling. The curry is common in India, Pakistan and many other countries where a South Asian diaspora is present.
Preparation
Chicken is marinated for several hours in a mixture of
lemon juice
The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China.
The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culina ...
garam masala
Garam masala Hindustani / (''garm masala'', "hot spices")] is a Spice mix, blend of ground spices originating from India. It is common in Indian, Pakistani, Nepalese, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan and Caribbean cuisines. It is used alone or with other ...
,
ginger
Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of ...
paste, and garlic paste.
The marinated chicken is cooked in a tandoor (traditional clay oven), but may be grilled, oven-roasted, or pan-fried. It is served in a mild curry sauce that includes butter. The sauce is a tomato, garlic, and ginger-based sauce that is simmered until smooth and much of the water has evaporated. There are many variations on the composition and spicing of the sauce, which is sieved so that it is velvety smooth. Spices may include
cardamom
Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are r ...
clove
Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products ...
s,
cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus '' Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, brea ...
pepper
Pepper or peppers may refer to:
Food and spice
* Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant
** Black pepper
* ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae
** Bell pepper
** Chili ...
Punjabi
Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan
* Punjabi language
* Punjabi people
* Punjabi dialects and languages
Punjabi may also refer to:
* Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...
/
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...
: kasuri methi).
Cashew
The cashew tree (''Anacardium occidentale'') is a tropical evergreen tree native to South America in the genus '' Anacardium'' that produces the cashew seed and the cashew apple accessory fruit. The tree can grow as tall as , but the dwarf c ...
paste may be used as a thickener and it is finally garnished with coriander.
See also
*
Moti Mahal Delux
Moti Mahal is a restaurant. After the partition of India in 1947, the Moti Mahal in Delhi was founded by Kundan Lal Gujral, Kundan Lal Jaggi and Thakur Dass as one of the first restaurants to introduce the Punjabi cuisine to the rest of the wo ...
*
Dal makhani
In Indian cuisine, ''dal'' (also spelled ''daal'' or ''dhal''; pronunciation: , Hindi: दाल, Urdu: ) are dried, split pulses (e.g., lentils, peas, and beans) that do not require soaking before cooking. India is the largest producer of p ...
List of chicken dishes
This is a list of chicken dishes. Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world, and was one of the first domesticated animals. Chicken is a major worldwide source of meat and eggs for human consumption. It is prepared as food in a wi ...