Lazy summer evenings in Delhi with the erstwhile Mohan Meakins, Golden Eagle chilled beer. A quick short drive (those were the days) to Moti Mahal in Daryaganj and you were whisked in by a lanky, burly mustached guard in royal style. You step into a large courtyard that looked like the Veranda of a my grandmothers village home. Replete with red bricks pieced together like a mosaic with greenish edges from the moisture, rain and the sun that pummels it everyday. Modest tables and chair with freshly starched white table covers that show signs of wear and tear around the edges and an occasional small hole with frayed fabric. The table was usually adorned with a small fresh flower in a vase surrounded by cheap plastic salt and pepper shakers and a bowl of vinegar laced, small red pickled onions that were tart enough to cause lockjaw with the first bite.
The menu used to be laminated in plastic and was a simple and straightforward. The most famous dish to be ordered at Moti Mahal was and still is their butter chicken. Some might say it was their tandoori chicken but the butter chicken comprised of a tandoori chicken that was cooked in a rich butter sauce with tomatoes. The taste was simple yet elegant and in a recent visit to Delhi, I stopped by to try "THE BUTTER CHICKEN". All I can say is, the dish was as good on that day as it used to be 30 years ago. Wait, maybe even better. Our waiter told us that he had been working at Moti Mahal for about 20 plus years and the burly mustached guard had recently passed away much to our dismay. Since we had arrived around 6 PM there was no one in the restaurant, which allowed us to interact with our server at ease. We ordered Burra Kabab, Tandoori Chicken and of course, Chicken Makhani with Rumali Roti and Naan.
Can you say food coma? After having lived in the USA for 25 years, I have yet to find a place that can come within 15 miles of this delicious delicacy. So, the question of the day is? What is wrong with butter chicken in America? Why is everyone here so hell bent on trying to be so authentic that they lose authenticity. I sometimes wonder if the Chinese knock off watchmakers actually sat down and spent time on a great original watch will they be able to make a better watch than Rolex? I think so. Same can be said for the many Indian restaurateurs in America specially when it comes to this classic Indian Mughlai Dish. The only thing I can say to the defense of the hapless wannabe Indian Chef's in the USA is that the quality of the chicken itself cannot be replicated here. The chicken in India is of the smaller variety. A tandoori chicken for instance cannot be made with a hen weighing more than 2 pounds. In fact the ideal weight for a well made tandoori chicken is somewhere in the neighborhood of 700 grams. The only type of chicken in the USA that comes close is the cornish game hen and you would be hard pressed to find one which weighs less than 2 pounds. Here is a recipe from my wife that I believe comes pretty darn close to the Indian original. My advice is to find the smallest chicken/hen possible. Organic free range chicken from a reputable store such as whole foods would be a way to go.
A classic butter chicken requires that you make tandoori chicken first and then add it to a tomato/butter sauce which can be prepared ahead of time.
For the Tandoori Chicken
1 Small/Medium Size Organic Chicken cut up in roughly about 10 pieces and skin removed
Score the chicken pieces to allow the marinade to seep into the chicken (all the way to the bone).
This is an important step
First Marinade
Salt to taste
1 Tablespoon Red Chili Powder
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
Juice from 1 lemon
Mix the ingredients and the chicken together and let sit for 30 minutes.
Second Marinade
1 cup hung yogurt ( put about 1 1/2 cup yogurt in a muslin cloth and hang for about an hour or so until the water is drained)
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 tablespoon garam masala
pinch of mace (optional)
3 Tablespoon olive oil (Mustard oil is preferred)
Whisk the ingredients and rub it into the marinated chicken. Marinade for at least 1 hour and up to 6-8 hours in a fridge. Please take the chicken out for an hour prior to cooking. If you are only going to marinate the chicken for an hour leave it covered on your kitchen counter.
Cook the chicken on a charcoal grill to get the best flavor (gas grill should be your other option). Oven cooking just does not do justice to this chicken I am afraid. Get the edges of the chicken pieces to char a bit to add that extra flavor.
Butter Sauce
2 Tablespoon Grated Ginger (chopped ginger somehow does not work because of the chunks)
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon Garam Masala
1 Teaspoon Red Chili Powder
1 Teaspoon Sugar
4 to 5 Good Quality organic tomatoes Peeled, seeded and chopped (puree is fine as well)
2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
1/2 Cup heavy Cream
In a large pan heat butter without burning it. Add ginger paste and sauté for a few minutes. Add chopped tomatoes. Cook for about 3-4 minutes and add the tomato paste, salt, garam masala, chili powder & sugar. Cook for an additional 15 minutes or so until the sauce has come together nicely and fat is separating from the sauce. Add the tandoori chicken pieces and cook for an additional 5 to 8 minutes. Top with Cream and serve hot with Rice or Naan.
A quick note about Garam Masala. We make our own in the house in order to control the elements that go into this important ingredient. Buying store made masala is an obvious option but choose one that is balanced. Most garam masalas in the market tend to be made with a mix which is heavy on the cheaper ingredients (cumin, coriander, black pepper) and light on the expensive ones (cardamom, cinnamon). I am not entirely sure how you would know the balance other than just trying. Another option would be that you could get the packaged garam masala and in a $10 electric grinder add some extra pieces of green and black cardamom with a couple of slivers of cinnamon to enhance it. There is a recent but disturbing trend among some Indian women to add Star Anise to the masala. Help fight this trend. Don't let friends add Star Anise to Garam Masala :-)
The menu used to be laminated in plastic and was a simple and straightforward. The most famous dish to be ordered at Moti Mahal was and still is their butter chicken. Some might say it was their tandoori chicken but the butter chicken comprised of a tandoori chicken that was cooked in a rich butter sauce with tomatoes. The taste was simple yet elegant and in a recent visit to Delhi, I stopped by to try "THE BUTTER CHICKEN". All I can say is, the dish was as good on that day as it used to be 30 years ago. Wait, maybe even better. Our waiter told us that he had been working at Moti Mahal for about 20 plus years and the burly mustached guard had recently passed away much to our dismay. Since we had arrived around 6 PM there was no one in the restaurant, which allowed us to interact with our server at ease. We ordered Burra Kabab, Tandoori Chicken and of course, Chicken Makhani with Rumali Roti and Naan.
Can you say food coma? After having lived in the USA for 25 years, I have yet to find a place that can come within 15 miles of this delicious delicacy. So, the question of the day is? What is wrong with butter chicken in America? Why is everyone here so hell bent on trying to be so authentic that they lose authenticity. I sometimes wonder if the Chinese knock off watchmakers actually sat down and spent time on a great original watch will they be able to make a better watch than Rolex? I think so. Same can be said for the many Indian restaurateurs in America specially when it comes to this classic Indian Mughlai Dish. The only thing I can say to the defense of the hapless wannabe Indian Chef's in the USA is that the quality of the chicken itself cannot be replicated here. The chicken in India is of the smaller variety. A tandoori chicken for instance cannot be made with a hen weighing more than 2 pounds. In fact the ideal weight for a well made tandoori chicken is somewhere in the neighborhood of 700 grams. The only type of chicken in the USA that comes close is the cornish game hen and you would be hard pressed to find one which weighs less than 2 pounds. Here is a recipe from my wife that I believe comes pretty darn close to the Indian original. My advice is to find the smallest chicken/hen possible. Organic free range chicken from a reputable store such as whole foods would be a way to go.
A classic butter chicken requires that you make tandoori chicken first and then add it to a tomato/butter sauce which can be prepared ahead of time.
For the Tandoori Chicken
1 Small/Medium Size Organic Chicken cut up in roughly about 10 pieces and skin removed
Score the chicken pieces to allow the marinade to seep into the chicken (all the way to the bone).
This is an important step
First Marinade
Salt to taste
1 Tablespoon Red Chili Powder
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
Juice from 1 lemon
Mix the ingredients and the chicken together and let sit for 30 minutes.
Second Marinade
1 cup hung yogurt ( put about 1 1/2 cup yogurt in a muslin cloth and hang for about an hour or so until the water is drained)
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 tablespoon garam masala
pinch of mace (optional)
3 Tablespoon olive oil (Mustard oil is preferred)
Whisk the ingredients and rub it into the marinated chicken. Marinade for at least 1 hour and up to 6-8 hours in a fridge. Please take the chicken out for an hour prior to cooking. If you are only going to marinate the chicken for an hour leave it covered on your kitchen counter.
Cook the chicken on a charcoal grill to get the best flavor (gas grill should be your other option). Oven cooking just does not do justice to this chicken I am afraid. Get the edges of the chicken pieces to char a bit to add that extra flavor.
Butter Sauce
2 Tablespoon Grated Ginger (chopped ginger somehow does not work because of the chunks)
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon Garam Masala
1 Teaspoon Red Chili Powder
1 Teaspoon Sugar
4 to 5 Good Quality organic tomatoes Peeled, seeded and chopped (puree is fine as well)
2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
1/2 Cup heavy Cream
In a large pan heat butter without burning it. Add ginger paste and sauté for a few minutes. Add chopped tomatoes. Cook for about 3-4 minutes and add the tomato paste, salt, garam masala, chili powder & sugar. Cook for an additional 15 minutes or so until the sauce has come together nicely and fat is separating from the sauce. Add the tandoori chicken pieces and cook for an additional 5 to 8 minutes. Top with Cream and serve hot with Rice or Naan.
