What Is Butter Chicken?

Butter chicken is a mild North Indian curry of tandoor-cooked chicken in a sauce of tomato, butter and cream, finished with warm spices rather than hot ones. It was created in Delhi in the 1950s as a way of using leftover tandoori chicken, which is why the chicken is grilled first and added to the sauce afterwards rather than simmered in it. It differs from tikka masala in being sweeter, smoother and more tomato-forward, and from korma in being tomato-based rather than nut-based.

The chicken is cooked twice

This is the detail that makes butter chicken taste the way it does. The chicken is marinated and cooked in the tandoor first, so it picks up char and smoke, and only then goes into the sauce. Chicken simmered raw in the sauce gives you a perfectly nice curry, but not this one.

Butter chicken vs tikka masala vs korma

• Butter chicken — tomato, butter and cream. Mild, slightly sweet, smooth.
• Tikka masala — tomato and cream but more spiced and usually tangier.
• Korma — nut and yoghurt based rather than tomato. Milder again, and richer.

What to eat it with

Naan more than rice. The sauce is the point, and bread is a better tool for it.

On our board

Butter Chicken ($20), served with basmati rice, naan, fresh cream and cilantro. It also appears on the Chicken Thali ($20) and on the Buy 1 Get 1 featured menu.

Where to eat it

The Aroma Bistro & Bar is at 32760 Simon Ave, Abbotsford, BC. The kitchen is on from 11:30 every day — Monday to Thursday until 11pm, Friday and Saturday until 1am, Sunday until 10pm. Happy Hour runs 1–5pm daily and again from 9pm until close.

Walk in, call (604) 743-3131, or book a table. The full board is on the menu page.