You know what is the first question we friends ask each other when we are planning to go out to try a new restaurant? Hey, Look at the price of Butter Chicken and if possible, read the description on the menu (Well… Now we have Zomato for that so it helps 
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The Picture above speaks a lot of the love and craze that all my Indian gastronauts, chow hounds, Punjabi Gourmands and foodies have for the ultimate Punjabi gift to India and my first love – “BUTTER CHICKEN”
The dish, which is also called Murgh Makhani in Hindi, is without a doubt the most popular dish to emerge from India; it may even be one of the most popular dishes in the world. If you are just going to an Indian restaurant for the first time, your friends would most likely recommend it as a starting place. It’s mildly spicy, creamy, savoury flavour makes it more than just delicious, but accessible to almost every palate.
The story of how Butter chicken was invented goes like this – In the 1920s, a man called Kundanlal Gujral, along with his partner, Mukha Singh, ran a Dhaba at the back corner of Gora Bazar in Peshawar.They turned the course of history when they stuck a marinated piece of chicken into a clay oven and called it ‘Tandoori Chicken’.It soon became an instant hit and popularised the dish in their little corner of the world but faced a problem: what to do with the chickens that went unsold? Gujral had the idea of making a curry, in which the dried-out chicken pieces could be softened and served but could never do it while he was there.
Post Partition, Kundanlal Gujral fled from Peshawar and set up the famous ‘Moti Mahal’ in Delhi’s Daryaganj area. One Day, The cooks of Moti Mahal decided to experiment and mixed leftover marinade juices with butter and tomato, and then stewed the leftover tandoor-cooked chicken in it and thus invented the butter chicken. The sauce was made using tomatoes, butter and cream and the original recipe called for hardly any spices, just a little cumin, a spoonful of chilli, and salt. The brilliance lay in the skillful combination of tomatoes and dairy fat.
It’s unlikely that the cooks there and Kundanlal had even the faintest idea of what they had stumbled upon – that is, an internationally loved delicacy. But it is an irrefutable truth of the world that often the best things in life are discovered quite by accident.
Until that day, it was always chicken this and chicken that, but never something-chicken. Today, almost six decades after, if there is anything that is comforting enough for a dinner date at a road side dhaba on a winter’s day as well as grand enough to be served to foreign dignitaries feasting at the Rastrapati Bhawan, it definitely is Butter Chicken.
What gives the dish its distinctive flavour is its unique blend of spices, perfected over time. Typically, an Indian restaurant will marinate the chicken for hours in yogurt blended with spices like garlic, coriander, Garam Masala, ginger, cumin, and others – it may vary from place to place. Then it’s cooked (typically tandoori-style) and simmered in a mild curry sauce rich with butter, and in some cases, almonds and raisins as well.
Butter chicken has actually come a long way since the time of Kundanlal, The most modern versions use ingredients that go far beyond Kundanlal’s original, I have seen versions with Kasoori methi as well. Most other restaurants use cashew nut paste to thicken the gravy. Some chefs sweeten it with a dash of honey. Less fancy places simply use sugar.
The ‘butter’ in the gravy used to be actually butter. Not the salted off-the-shelf variety, but fresh white butter made out of the thick cream that rises to the top of buffalo milk after boiling and cooling. This butter, added to the onion-tomato based gravy late in the process, made the gravy smooth and creamy (and less tart). Remember, till all the fuss about cholesterol started, butter was (and still is, in some parts of the world) a very healthy food.
Nowadays, they substitute butter with thick cream, stirred in just before serving. The difference between this and another famous dish ‘Chicken Tikka Masala is (or should be) just that – the butter / cream.
If you want to make butter chicken at home, do try your hand at making it in your kitchen. The beauty of the dish is the sauce. And as you will see, it’s not that difficult to make. Try this recipe and you will discover that you too can easily concoct your version of India’s most famous curry in the comfort of your own home.
The Modern Butter Chicken Recipe :
Straight from a Punjabi kitchen, marinated overnight, the chicken is roasted and cooked in tomato , cream and masalas.
Prep Time : 3-3.30 hour
Cook time : 31-40 minutes
Serve : 4
Level Of Cooking : Moderate
Taste : Spicy
Ingredients
- Chicken skinned and cut into 8 pieces on the bone 800 grams
- Kashmiri red chilli 1 teaspoon
- Lemon juice 1 tablespoon
- Salt to taste
- Butter 2 tablespoons
Marination
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Yogurt 1 cup
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Kashmiri red chilli powder 1 teaspoon
-
Salt to taste
-
Ginger paste 2 teaspoons
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Garlic paste 2 teaspoons
-
Lemon juice 2 tablespoons
-
Garam masala powder 1/2 teaspoon
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Mustard oil 2 tablespoons
Makhani Gravy
- Butter 3 tablespoons
- Green cardamoms 2-3
- Cloves 4-5
- Black peppercorns 7-8
- Cinnamon 1 inch stick
- Ginger paste 1 tablespoon
- Garlic paste 1 tablespoon
- Green chillies chopped 2
- Tomato puree 400 grams
- Red chilli powder 1 tablespoon
- Garam masala powder 1/2 teaspoon
- Salt to taste
- Sugar/honey 2 tablespoons
- Dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi) 1/2 teaspoon
- Fresh cream 1 cup
Method
Step 1
Make incisions with a sharp knife on the chicken breast and leg pieces. Mix red chilli powder, lemon juice and salt and apply to the chicken. Set aside for half an hour. For the marination, hang yogurt in a muslin cloth for fifteen to twenty minutes to remove extra water.
Step 2
Add red chilli powder, salt, ginger paste, garlic paste, lemon juice, garam masala powder and mustard oil as well. Apply this marinade to the chicken pieces and refrigerate for three to four hours.
Step 3
String the chicken onto a skewer and cook in a moderately hot tandoor or a preheated oven (200°C) for ten to twelve minutes or until almost done. Baste it with butter and cook for another two minutes. Set aside.
Step 4
For the makhani gravy, heat butter in a pan. Add green cardamoms, cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon. Sauté for two minutes, add ginger paste, garlic paste and green chillies. Sauté for two minutes. Add tomato puree, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, salt and one cup of water and mix well.
Step 5
Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for ten minutes. Add sugar or honey and powdered kasoori methi. Add the chicken pieces and simmer for five minutes. Add fresh cream.
Step 6
Serve hot with naan or parantha.
Also, For all my readers I found an excellent article on where to eat Butter Chicken from In India. 14 Places in India to eat Butter Chicken that is worth every calorie
Happy Eating!! 
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