Prashant started off by throwing down a bit if a challenge, 'would you like to know what a real Chicken Tikka Masala tastes like and not your sad englishy version that your probably used to'! Of course my answer was YES and he took us to a restaurant that he has been going to since he was a child for the best Butter Chicken in Delhi apparently.
Now for a bit of a history lesson kids, so are we all sitting comfortably..... Then i shall begin.
One of the national dishes of India, back in the early 50's, was based upon chicken part-cooked in a tandoor or on a grill and then finished off to order. There were always part-cooked chickens left over at the end of service so a savvy manager at the Moti Mahal restaurant started to give the chickens to his chefs for their lunches rather than having the expense of staff dinners and then throwing these chickens away, the chefs began to experiment with the chickens and other ingredients they had available that were relatively cheap and perishable, ie butter. So they would spice the part cooked chickens, and pull the meat off by hand, finishing it in a sauce rich with butter. This became so popular that the same savvy manager realised he could make money out if this dish so decided to put it on the menu, asking his chefs for a name for the dish, they suggested going with the two main ingredients, Butter Chicken was born!
If you spice and grill the chicken in a tikka marinade, and then add it to your butter sauce, you get...... Chicken Tikka Masala!
In no word of a lie, this is the best tasting curry dish i have had.
We got a smoked mint Paratha bread and a garlic naan, a Paneer Pathi, butter chicken, and some crispy Papperdas (not to be confused with. Pappadums)
It was so ridiculously moreish, taking a chunk of the paratha and scooping up a huge amount of, essentially pulled, chicken in this butter sauce. I could have just sat there all night with that and a few beers! Delicious, although i know that i have to face the realisation that i will never be able to get this in England!
Location:Delhi
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