Butter chicken

A favorite dish of Delhi butter chicken is one of several Punjabassociated foods with a likely Mughlai influence. The Mughals Muslim emperors who ruled India for a few centuries beginning in the 16th were fond of a royally rich cuisine: boldly flavored curries; lots of ground and whole spices dried fruits and nuts; roasted meats. The fact that some of these qualities were shared and/or adapted by Punjabi cooks explains why this type of food is still found all over North India. But of those bold curries butter chicken or murgh makhani is the richest of all. The Punjabi founder of Delhis Moti Mahal restaurant (see below) claims to have invented both this and tandoori chicken basically the former was created once a buttery sauce was devised for the latter but butter chicken retains many of the Mughlai trademarks: roasted meat lots of spices a thick gravy of butter cream and tomato. Add some fluffy traditional naan or better yet butter naan and its impossible to go wrong.