Butter chicken was born in Delhi in the 1950s, at the Moti Mahal restaurant in Daryaganj, run by Punjabi cooks who had come to the city from Peshawar after Partition. It began when leftover tandoori chicken was simmered in a sauce of tomatoes, butter and cream, and that sauce became the whole point. Today murgh makhani is perhaps the best known Indian dish on earth, served from Delhi to Dublin, and all of it traces back to one kitchen about an hour's drive from where the Buddh circuit would later be built.

Our home version replaces the clay tandoor with a very hot broiler, which chars the marinated chicken in much the same way. The sauce is mellow rather than fiery: tangy tomato, rich butter, a little cream and the haunting, slightly maple like note of kasuri methi, dried fenugreek leaves, which is the flavor people remember. Start the marinade the night before and dinner takes forty minutes. For vegetarians, paneer makhani is in the variations and is every bit as good.

The marinated chicken

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds (680 g) boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Kashmiri chili powder
• 1/2 cup (120 g) thick Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon kasuri methi
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil

Method

1. In the bowl, toss the chicken with the lemon juice, salt and half the chili powder. Leave 15 minutes.
2. Add the yogurt, ginger garlic paste, garam masala, cumin, kasuri methi, oil and the rest of the chili powder. Mix with a spoon until every piece is coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
3. Set the oven rack about 4 inches (10 cm) below the broiler and heat the broiler to high. Spread the chicken on the rack or foil in one layer, not touching, and broil for 10 to 14 minutes, turning once halfway.

The makhani sauce

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons (55 g) unsalted butter
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
• 3 green cardamom pods
• 1 small cinnamon stick
• 1 can (28 oz / 794 g) whole peeled tomatoes
• 1/3 cup (45 g) raw cashews
• 1 cup (240 ml) water
• 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 to 2 teaspoons sugar or honey
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kasuri methi

Method

1. While the chicken marinates or broils, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in the saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, cardamom and cinnamon and cook for 5 minutes, stirring. Add the ginger garlic paste and stir for 1 minute.
2. Add the tomatoes with their juice, crushing them with the spoon, then the cashews, water, chili powder and salt. Bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Fish out the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods. Let the sauce cool for 5 minutes, then blend until completely smooth; work in batches, never filling the blender more than half full with hot liquid, and hold the lid down with a folded towel. For restaurant smoothness, push it through the sieve.
4. Return the sauce to the pan with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and the sugar. Simmer gently for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, as it can spatter. Add the chicken and its juices and simmer 5 minutes more. Stir in the garam masala and cream, then crush the kasuri methi between your palms over the pan and stir it in. Taste for salt.

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