Much Ado About Butter Chicken
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
Founder of The Modern Desi Co, Bhavna Kalra Shivalkar, knows a thing or two about Indian cuisine – including very good butter chicken. A Mumbai-born, Sydney-based food entrepreneur with a passion for cultural immersion, she set out in The Hills Shire, on Dharug land, to uncover three of her favourite butter chicken dishes and share her insider picks with you. An accomplished chef, Bhavna also runs Indian cooking workshops from her kitchen in The Hills, and luckily for WEST readers, shares her own delicious butter chicken recipe to recreate at home. Nosh Farmayie!
Butter Chicken and naan sit easily at the top of nearly every Indian restaurant menu here in Sydney. Ask anyone if they enjoy Indian food, and often, the answer comes quickly and casually: “Of course - I love Butter Chicken or Chicken Tikka Masala”, as it is also called.
A well-made Butter Chicken, scooped up with a hot blistered naan, straight from the Tandoor (clay oven) is the kind of comfort that feels almost universal. It’s warm, rich, and deeply satisfying - the culinary equivalent of sinking into your favourite chair after a long day at work.
Butter Chicken’s story begins in 1950s Delhi, at the legendary Moti Mahal. There, Kundan Lal Gujral found himself with leftover tandoori chicken - smoky, charred, and on the verge of drying out. What followed was less a recipe and more an act of intuition: tomatoes simmered with butter and cream, spices folded in carefully, blended until a sauce emerged that was both luxurious and balanced. When the chicken was added back in, something iconic was born. It became a famous dish not just in India but everywhere else in the world.
What makes Butter Chicken work is balance - the interplay of tartness and creaminess. The sauce should be silky, not heavy; gently spiced, not overpowering, creamy without being overpowering.
And yet, this is where things often go wrong.
There are many interpretations of Butter Chicken in Sydney - most of them leaning towards a sweeter profile and others towards extremely tangy. For me there must be a balance of flavours – a little bit of restraint, a little bit of caution where the sauce and the chicken come together in a beautiful symphony that we all have come to love.
So, I decided to find the version that gets it right and set out across The Hills Shire with a simple criteria:
A sauce that is balanced, not overly sweet
A distinct smokiness in the chicken
A light hand with cream – some restaurants drown this dish in so much cream that one can’t taste anything else
After trying Butter Chicken at over fifteen different restaurants in The Hills, here are my top three:
A very classy restaurant in Norwest with a great playlist and extensive gin based cocktails, they have 3 versions of Butter Chicken on their menu – Butter Chicken which is the sweet, vegan Butter Chicken for those who want to try the sauce with soy chunks, and then they have the more authentic ‘Delhi Butter Chicken’, which was one of the best I have ever had here in Sydney. It fits all the criteria and is perfectly balanced. It also helps that they have a Tandoor (Clay Oven) in their kitchen to spit out hot naans that pair very well with the sauce. Co-owners Abhishek and Shashwat told me that they have seen a shift in the taste profile of their regular customers who now love to order ‘Delhi Butter Chicken’ and return for it. It was now one of the most ordered dishes on their menu.
Tucked away on the ground floor of a building in Bella Vista, this was a very popular haunt when we visited. Their Butter Chicken had less cream and was not your standard ‘orange’ gravy. Their version was heavily spiced compared to every other restaurant but still delicious. Junaid their manager told me that they had a lot of ‘South Asian’ clientele who want the authentic taste of dishes that they are used to back home, so they have tried to stay true to that taste.
Located in Baulkham Hills, a small café during the day and an Indian restaurant in the evening, I was surprised to discover that they had a very good Butter Chicken on their menu. Unlike most restaurants, they serve theirs with rice, this is a more western style Butter Chicken with a hint of sweetness, but I did not find the sweetness overpowering. The owner Sunny Kasli who is a trained chef, told me that he wanted to stay true to the OG recipe but make it more palatable for his local audience and hence had to strike the right balance.
Each Butter Chicken that I tasted, even the ones that didn’t make it to this article, showed me that everyone has their favourite. It may not be the one I have grown up eating or the one that is served at the Indian restaurant that I frequent, but there is something about the creamy tomato sauce and the perfectly grilled chicken that has everyone falling in love.
WEST Content Contributor
Bhavna Kalra Shivalkar
The Modern Desi Co’s Butter Chicken (Murg Makhani) Recipe
For the Chicken
Ingredients:
• Boneless chicken – 1 kg
• Mustard oil – 2 tbsp
• Kashmiri red chili powder – 2 tbsp
• Ginger paste – 1 tbsp
• Garlic paste – 1 tbsp
• Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
• Cumin powder – 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
• Dried fenugreek leaves – 1 tsp
• Dry mango powder – 1 tsp
• Black salt – ½ tsp
• Garam masala – 1 tsp
• Fresh mint – 1 tbsp
• Fresh coriander leaves – 1 tbsp
• Salt – to taste
• Thick unflavoured yogurt – ½ cup (can use Labneh)
• Lemon juice – 1 tbsp
• Charcoal + ghee (for smoking)
• Oil – for grilling
Method:
1. Slice the chicken (breast or thighs) into thin pieces for even and quick cooking.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine mustard oil and Kashmiri red chili powder. Mix well to release the colour. Add the remaining marinade ingredients and mix thoroughly. Add the chicken and coat well.
3. Marinate for at least 1–2 hours. For best results, marinate longer, but do not exceed 20 hours in the refrigerator.
4. For a smoky flavour, place a piece of hot charcoal in a small bowl, add ghee, and cover the marinated chicken for 4–5 minutes. You can smoke at different stages depending on how strong you want the flavour.
5. Grill the chicken on a pan until golden brown on both sides or bake at 220°C for 5–6 minutes.
6. Let it cool slightly, then shred into thin strips. Set aside.
Note: You can grill the chicken fully and use it in salads or sandwiches as well.
If you are adding the chicken in the Makhani Gravy you want to ensure it is not grilled fully as it will also cook in the gravy.
For Makhani Gravy Base
Ingredients:
• Oil – 2 tbsp
• Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
• Onions – 3–4 medium (sliced)
• Garlic – 10–15 cloves
• Ginger – 1 inch (roughly chopped)
• Green chilies – 3–4
• Kashmiri red chili powder – 2 tbsp
• Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
• Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
• Dried fenugreek leaves – ½ tsp
• Whole Kashmiri red chilies – 6–7
• Green cardamom pods – 3–4
• Tomatoes – 1 kg (roughly chopped)
• Cashew nuts – ⅓ cup
• Coriander stems and roots – small handful
• Salt – to taste
• Butter – 2 tbsp
Method:
1. Heat oil in a pot, add cumin seeds and sliced onions. Sauté until light golden.
2. Add garlic, ginger, green chilies, powdered spices, whole chilies, and cardamom. Cook for a minute.
3. Add tomatoes, cashews, coriander stems, salt, and butter. Mix and cook on medium-high heat for 5 minutes.
4. Lower the heat, cover, and cook for 25–30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. The tomatoes will release moisture, so avoid adding water unless necessary. If needed, add a little hot water.
6. Once cooked, let the mixture cool. Blend into a smooth puree, then strain and set aside.
Note: This sauce can be made and refrigerated for up to a week.
Should you wish to freeze the sauce, skip the butter and add it in the final step.
Final Butter Chicken
Ingredients:
• Butter – 2 tbsp
• Oil – 1 tsp
• Onion – 1 medium (chopped)
• Garlic – 3 tbsp (chopped)
• Ginger – 1 tbsp (chopped)
• Green chilies – 2–3 (slit)
• Kashmiri red chili powder – 1 tbsp
• Prepared makhani gravy base
• Hot water – as needed
• Sugar– 1 tsp
• Grilled shredded chicken
• Dried fenugreek leaves – ½ tsp (toasted)
• Garam masala – ½ tsp
• Salt – to taste
• Butter – 2 tbsp
• Fresh cream – 5–6 tbsp
Method:
1. Heat butter and oil in a pan. Add onions, ginger, garlic, and green chilies. Sauté until onions turn translucent.
2. Lower the heat and add Kashmiri red chili powder. Cook briefly, then add the strained gravy. Adjust consistency with hot water.
3. Add sugar and cook for 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add shredded chicken and cook for 5–6 minutes more.
5. Add dried fenugreek leaves and garam masala. Adjust salt.
6. Lower the heat, add butter and cream, and cook briefly without overcooking.
7. Serve hot with naan or rice.
Note: You can use paneer (cottage cheese) or even tofu instead of chicken. Lightly grill the cheese / tofu in a an before adding it to the sauce to avoid overcooking.
You can skip the cashews and use almonds instead. But you need the nuts for the extra creaminess in the sauce.
If you don’t have charcoal, skip the smoking part and grill the tomatoes for the gravy, which will also add smokiness.
Don’t let the ingredients list stop you from making this, the recipe is divided in steps and with a little planning you can make it easily.
All spices listed in the recipe can easily be found in your local Indian shop.
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