Butter chicken originated in Delhi sometime during the 1950s. During this time, a man named Kundan Lal Gurjal operated a restaurant in the city, called Moti Mahal. Kundan had settled here and started his business after fleeing from political upheaval in another region of India. Moti Mahal was a success, serving many delightful tandoori dishes.

The cooks of Moti Mahal would mix leftover marinade juices with butter and tomato, and then stew the tandoor-cooked chicken in it. It’s unlikely that they 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.

Kundan’s restaurant quickly became a famous attraction of Delhi, and it wasn’t long before butter chicken proliferated throughout the world, to be enjoyed by people from every walk of life.

What gives the dish its distinctive flavor 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.