For the Love of Butter Chicken: Chefs on 'Tailoring' the Dish for British Palate

Despite the love for Butter Chicken, one aspect that hasn't been picked up by many British eaters is using the hand!

“The first thing people want in here… it's always Butter Chicken.”

Standing in the kitchen of the modern upmarket fusion restaurant, Qavali, Birmingham-based chef, Deepak Sharma, accredits the appeal of this beloved curry dish in the UK to its combination of fragrant spices expected in a typical spicy curry, as well as the tomato and creamy richness that resembles that of a classic British tomato soup.

This love for Butter Chicken is "evident" to Sharma, who moved to the UK in the early 2000s, as it is “one of the most popular orders" at the restaurant.

Apart from the bustling streets of Birmingham, Indian cuisine has harmoniously manifested its way into the scene in other UK cities, sending rivers of fragrant scents through city centres.

But it is the popularity of Butter Chicken in Britain that begs the question of how its relationship with the UK has been shaped and amalgamated over time.

The Dish With Strong Indian Roots

Butter Chicken, or Murgh Makhani, has courted controversy in India when the source of its origin was disputed by rival chefs – Kundal Lal Gujral and Kundal Lal Jaggi. The consensus of its roots lies in the principle of waste reduction – using remaining dry Tandoori Chicken, it is traditionally chopped and simmered in that quintessentially decadent tomato-based gravy.

However, the rival figures are both said to have conceptualised this for each of their respective restaurants – Moti Mahal and Daryaganj. This public battle has led to an increased relevance of this dish in the culinary world. While this $188,000 legal battle of intellectual property rights has been closely followed by Indian television news channels, across the land masses of Europe and Asia, the UK has also found itself deeply invested in this salient issue, with the BBC and Sky reporting on it.

But the question arises – how has this controversial dish played such a significant role in feeding the British population?

While the previously Empire-dominated relationship between Britain and India has certainly played a role in instigating this fusion, the appreciation of Indian-inspired cuisine reflects the increasingly diverse and receptive audience of the British population. From the 1970s, the UK has seen an increase of over 8x in Indian restaurants, according to the British Hospitality Association.

Unlike dishes such as Chicken Tikka Masala, Butter Chicken is entirely accredited to Indian roots, and its popularity reflects the ever-evolving multicultural demographic of the UK population. The interconnected global landscape allows a foundational base for which to formulate an understanding of the changing attitudes towards these cultural foods.

Looking back, Qavali's Sharma told The Quint that his uncle had moved to the UK in the late 80s, as demand for workers in many industries rose. He took a job as a factory worker for an Indian catering company.

At this point, Sharma remarked, the demand for cultural dishes was steadily on the rise, unlike today where the Indian influence on the UK’s cultural landscape is made evident through a glance down the road in even the most secluded UK town, such as Swansea with a 91.5% white population and over 30 Indian restaurants in its expanse.

Nuts About Butter Chicken!

“Just take a look around us,” Sharma said, motioning towards the bustling Birmingham restaurant with a wide demographic, all cheerily tucking into their various steaming curry dishes. He had a point; despite the Indian and Pakistani demographic making up 21.5% of Birmingham residents, the array of ethnicities sitting among the dark green leather booths was overwhelming.

Another reason for this may be linked to alterations made to increase accessibility to this dish, tailored for the British palate.

Sharma stated that the deduction of nuts from the recipe was done specifically to better suit the UK’s preferences, given that one in 50 children and one in 200 adults have a notable nut allergy in the UK.

Does this challenge the authenticity of the dish, or rather allow the joys of flavour to be enjoyed by even more hungry foodies? Perhaps it is, rather, a natural repercussion that comes with sharing diets across the globe.

Despite the love for this cuisine, one aspect that has not been picked up by many British eaters is utilising the hand (a favourite tool among Indian households), with many preferring to stick to utensils such as forks and spoons. It is due to this that Sharma ascribes the preference for a boneless chicken curry for ease and a hands-free eating experience.

Without this direct physical contact with the dish, there seems to be a detachment from a full immersion into the culture via food. Beyond the dish of Butter Chicken itself, lies the culture it stems from; one that endorses the connection to food by controlling each mouthful, feeling for any bones and meticulously curating the perfect bite in their right hand. Without this, perhaps, there is a part of the Indian dining experience that is being overlooked by Western enjoyers.

Interpreting Butter Chicken in Many Ways

World-renowned institution – ‘Goila’s Butter Chicken’ – has taken London by storm after its Butter Chicken was rated the best by acclaimed ‘Topjaw’ food critic in 2022.

Yet, this establishment has retained the cashew nuts in the recipe without preventing it from attaining such prominent success. Does this indicate a UK audience ready to engage in the authentic Butter Chicken experience?

Given the increase in tourism to India, shifting from 2.7 million in 2000, to its pre-COVID peak in 2019 at nearly 11 million, perhaps the UK is on its way to becoming more attuned to the traditional methods involved in enjoying this Indian dish.

London has also seen the launch of many non-chain Indian restaurants, such as the namesake Moti Mahal, which opened in 1972, and serves the majority Indian borough, Southall, with both boneless and tandoori-style Butter Chicken on its menu.

Chef Satyender Rana, who moved to the UK in 2010, has worked as a chef at several Indian establishments. The appeal of Butter Chicken as a mild yet flavoursome dish, he says, has made it a particular “favourite all over the UK”.

Despite this Moti Mahal having no legitimate ties to the original Delhi-based institution, Rana offered his perspective on the interrelated nature of recipes, which demands alterations and influence.

While acknowledging the importance of recognising the source of recipes, he notes that “recipes can be interpreted in many ways”, highlighting that the beauty of food is found in the way that different hands can play a role in crafting this malleable universal language.

So, for restaurants benefitting from Butter Chicken’s coveted recipe, any backlash expected from the ruling of the battle on intellectual property may be minimal, given the culture surrounding food as a shared custom.

Ultimately, while culture continues to evolve and influences of new dishes continue to play their role in our increasingly diversified society, controversies surrounding Indian cuisine may affect the UK more than previously assumed.

Shaping the way that food is consumed is just one of the many ways globalisation manifests itself in the world. Perhaps, Butter Chicken in the UK is just the starting point as we move towards a united globe of shared food and flavours.

(The author is a university student in London studying Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) at the London School of Economics.)