[MOCK]® Butter Chicken

They say necessity is the mother of invention. This British favourite, 'butter chicken', made from spiced baked chicken in a creamy tomato sauce, gained popularity in post-Independence India. The Jaggi family, who ran the famous Moti Mahal restaurant, shared that the dish was born when late one evening, a large party arrived demanding a curried dish. The innovative Kundan Lal Jaggi looked to refresh day-old dry tandoori chicken by adding it to a simple curry, to bring moisture and a new layer of taste. He created an unctuous tomato-based sauced enriched with warming spices of garam masala (coriander, cumin, bay leaves), a touch of chilli, and finished with a knob of butter. However, the grandson of Mr. Jaggi's former business partner, Kundan Lal Gujral, claims it was his grandfather who invented both butter chicken and it's inspiration dish, tandoori chicken, in the 1930-40s, in pre-partition Pakistan. Out of necessity, Mr. Gujral repurposed the tandoor oven - traditionally used for baking breads - to cook savoury dishes by extending their moisture and life. This is a hotly contested origin story in the courts of India, but we can be grateful to both Mr. Jaggi and Gujral for bringing this warming, satisfying staple to the British palate.