Butter Chicken: A punch of flavour

Today's post will be about Butter Chicken, a traditional Punjabi dish, also known as Murgh Makhani.

Flavourful food and special cuisine is very essential in the Punjab culture. When family or friends are visiting, Punjabi people pride themselves in serving the best food and making sure everyone's tastebuds are satisfied and their stomachs are full! Traditional Punjab food is known for it's use of spices and herbs -- hence why Indian food has a very strong smell and lingers around the room.

Arguably the best known of all Indian dishes, Butter Chicken is an authentic Punjab non-vegetarian dish served in mildly spicy curry sauce. Before serving, the chicken has to be marinated for several hours in a cream/yoghurt and spice mixture. The spices may include ginger, garlic, lemon, coriandor, pepper, salt, cumin, turmeric, chilli or garam masala. 

The sauce for the chicken is made with pureed juicy tomatoes and spices cooked in butter, and is finished off with fresh cream. The best way to cook Butter chicken is in a traditional clay oven, where the temperature reaches higher than a regular oven. 

To perfect the dish, it will take 6-7 hours of preparation and 10-20 minutes of cooking. As there are many different spices and herbs in the dish, and the proper preparation of the chicken is a tedious process.

There are not many Indian restaurants that do not serve butter chicken. Many Indian people say that if an Indian restaurant cannot cook a great Butter Chicken, then it is not worth returning to a second time. 

If you want to visit an Indian restaurant, try Surry Hills or go to a local food court -- Indian food is easily found there! 

Thanks for reading

- Jenny

References

NewsLifeMedia. 2016. Butter Chicken Recipe - Taste.com.au . [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/6475/butter+chicken. [Accessed 05 May 2016].

Murgh Makhani (Butter Chicken) | eCurry - The Recipe Blog. 2016. Murgh Makhani (Butter Chicken) | eCurry - The Recipe Blog. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.ecurry.com/blog/indian/curries/gravies/murgh-makhani-butter-chicken/. [Accessed 05 May 2016].