Butter Chicken

Butter chicken is chicken cooked first in a tandoor, then simmered in a sauce of tomato, butter and cream. It comes from Delhi in the late 1940s, where a restaurant is said to have revived dry tandoori chicken by putting it in a gravy.

What it really is

The chicken is marinated in yoghurt and spices and cooked in the tandoor until charred at the edges. Separately, tomatoes are cooked down with garlic, ginger and garam masala, then finished with butter and cream until the sauce turns orange and mild.

Butter chicken is not tikka masala. The two are close and often confused. Butter chicken is the older Delhi dish, milder and heavier on butter and cream; chicken tikka masala is spicier and its origin is disputed between India and Britain.

How it is served

• With naan or rice, to carry the sauce.
• As the mild option on a table of hotter dishes.
• Often with a swirl of cream on top.

How to write it on the menu

• Say it is mild — guests order it expecting gentle heat.
• Name the bread it comes with, or whether that costs extra.
• It contains dairy in the sauce as well as the marinade; a dairy-free version is a different dish.

The ingredients, allergens and dietary notes listed here describe a typical recipe. They are not a binding declaration for any particular restaurant: recipes, portion sizes and the products used can differ.