Invented accidentally in 1948 when leftover tandoor chicken was dropped into a pan of tomato and cream — now the world's most copied Indian dish.
About Butter Chicken
Delhi's most globally replicated dish, invented at the Moti Mahal restaurant in 1948 — leftover tandoor-cooked chicken simmered in a tomato-cream-butter sauce perfumed with cardamom, fenugreek, ginger and a touch of dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi); the silk of the sauce, the smoke of the chicken and the richness of the butter create one of the most seductive flavour combinations ever achieved.
Invented at the Moti Mahal restaurant in Delhi's Daryaganj in 1948 — leftover tandoor-cooked chicken dropped into a pan of tomato, cream, butter and spices. The accident became the world's most replicated Indian dish. The kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) added at the end is the non-negotiable finishing step — it provides a slightly bitter, herbal depth that nothing else replicates.
“Invented at the Moti Mahal restaurant in Delhi's Daryaganj in 1948 — leftover tandoor-cooked chicken dropped into a pan of tomato, cream, butter and spices.”
Butter chicken works because it achieves a specific balance: enough tomato acidity to cut the cream, enough spice warmth to stop it being bland, enough butter to make it unctuous without being heavy. Each element is in service of the whole.
What to Expect
The butter chicken arrives in a deep bowl, the sauce bright orange-red and glossy. The chicken is tender and slightly charred from the tandoor. You tear the naan and scoop. The kasuri methi is detectable in the back of the throat.
Why Try It
Butter chicken is the dish that introduced Indian food to most of the world — and the original Moti Mahal version in Delhi is worth finding to understand what the global versions are trying to reproduce.
Insider Tips
- Moti Mahal in Daryaganj, Delhi is the original restaurant — still operating, worth the detour.
- The kasuri methi (dried fenugreek) at the end is the step that lifts the sauce. Don't skip it.
- Order with garlic naan, not rice — the sauce is made to be scooped.
