Butter Chicken (India)

The rich, buttery, creamy chicken, is perhaps the most popular of all Indian dishes on the planet. There is an instant spark and recognition at the utterance of this heartwarming favorite delicacy. The origin of Butter Chicken can be traced back to a man named Kundan Lal Gujral, who ran a restaurant called Moti Mahal in Peshawar before the partition of India in 1947, dividing the sub-continent into India and Pakistan. In the aftermath of the Partition, along with millions of other non-Muslims, Kundan Lal moved to India and opened a modest 'dhaba' type restaurant in Delhi. He not only retained the name Moti Mahal for his restaurant, but also introduced Butter Chicken, the dish he had mastered for many a decades and which had made his restaurant the most popular back home in Peshawar. With word of mouth, Moti Mahal in Daryagunj Delhi became famous for its specialty, Butter Chicken. So much so that its fame spread to far and wide making it the biggest culinary attraction for tourists coming to India, with its name appearing in all guidebooks on travels to India.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 kg boneless skinless chicken breast, cut in large chunks
• 50 g butter
• 1 teaspoons garam masala
• 2 teaspoons ground red chillies
• 1 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon garlic paste
  Salt to taste
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 4 cardamom pods, bruised
• 4 medium size fresh tomato puree
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  

Directions

1. Heat a wok until really hot, add 1 Tbsp oil.
2. Add half the chicken and stir-fry for about 4 minutes or until chicken is a nice color.
3. Remove to plate.
4. Add extra oil and cook remaining chicken.
5. Remove from wok.
6. Reduce heat and add the butter.
7. When melted add all of the spices and stir-fry until fragrant- about 1 minute.
   

8. Return chicken to wok and stir to coat with the spices.
9. Add the tomato and simmer for 15 minutes- stir occasionally.
10. Add the yogurt, cream and lemon juice and simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens a bit.
11. Serve over rice or with naan.

Note: If you prefer, you can also use Tandoori or oven-baked chicken instead of stir-fried.

Curry Culture

Dear friends,

Sorry to be away for a while. My book, “Super Snacks – 100 favorite snacks from 5 continents”, published and released recently in USA, kept me busy. Super Snacks is compiled from my series of blog-posts already published under the tag World-Bites, a collection of recipes for bite-size dishes and appetizers from around the world. This book is about the most favorite food snacks in the 5 inhabited continents – the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. I profusely thank you for contributing recipes from your region through comments, which I have incorporated in the book to make Super Snacks more meaningful and enjoyable for all. Indeed, I will be ever thankful for your help. I hope, you will be as helpful with your feedback when I move on from World-Bites to Curry Culture, my forthcoming posts on the most popular curries from cultures around the world.

Curry is not only among the world’s most popular dishes; it also may be the oldest continuously prepared cuisine on the planet. Villagers living at the height of India's Indus civilization used three key curry ingredients—ginger, garlic, and turmeric—in their cooking. This was long before Arab, Chinese, Indian, and European traders plied the oceans in the past thousand years. The term “curry” is generally thought to come from the word “kari”, which means sauce in the Tamil language of Southern India. The word today simply means gravy. One thing that experts seem to agree on is that the word originates from India and was adopted by the British during the British Raj time, though they broadened the term to include all of the spicy dishes from the subcontinent, regardless of style and content. In 1780 the first commercial curry powder appeared in England and in 1846 its fame was assured when William Makepeace Thackeray wrote a 'Poem to Curry' in his 'Kitchen Melodies':

Curry



Three pounds of veal my darling girl prepares,
And chops it nicely into little squares,
Five onions next prures the little minx
(The biggest are the best her Samiwel thinks),
And Epping butter nearly half a pound,
And stews them in a pan until they are browned,
What next my dexterous little girl will do?
She pops the meat into the savory stew
with curry- powder table-spoonfuls three,
And milk a pint (the richest that may be),
And when the dish has stewed for half an hour,
A lemon's ready juice she'll o'er it pour,
Then, bless her! She gives the luscious pot
A very gentle boil – and serves quite hot.
PS – Beef, mutton, rabbits, if you wish,
Lobsters, or prawns, or any kind fish,
Are fit to make a Curry. 'Tis, when done,
A dish for Emperors to feed upon.



Curry has not looked back since. In honor of Queen Elizabeth's 1953 coronation, a special curry dish – Coronation Chicken – was invented. It's still very popular in Great Britain. In today's UK, there are at least 12000 establishments serving curry. Curry was recently named the British National Dish after a major opinion poll by Gallop.



As Indians and their curries made their way from the West Indies to South Africa to the Pacific Islands, the culinary give and take continued. The Mexican-Hindu cuisine that appeared in California in the early 20^th century when Punjabi laborers integrated jalapeño peppers and tortillas into their native dishes was the start to spread curry culture in the U.S. In New York, several restaurants do a brisk business selling Kosher curries. Today, beyond India, there are many other national variations of curry, like those from Japan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Africa, Jamaica and the Caribbean. Karee raisu (curry rice) is one of Japan's most popular foods. Samoans make a Polynesian curry using canned fish and corned beef. Among the most prized curries in the world, there is the Napalese version – it often flavors goat and yak meat.



Curry which originated in India, has become the most internationalized foods on the planet. And also one of the most famous and loved dishes in the world. It can also be the most addictive cuisine – every bite makes you want another, and you might find yourself wanting something spicier and spicier. This is what I call Curry Culture. I intend to peek into this culture in my posts to come, under the tag Curry Culture.