A wonderfully rich dish that is orange, red in colour cooked with fresh tomatoes, a few key spices and butter. The word Makhani translated literally just means with butter and there are a number of dishes that are called makhani which all use butter but they are not produced in the same way.
There is the world famous Murgh Makhani or butter chicken which is a wonderful mildly spiced dish that is packed to the brim with amazing Indian flavours. The sauce is usually finished with butter, a little cream, some honey sweetness and Kasoori methi or the herb fenugreek (not the spice) to give it it’s very distinct and delicious flavour.
This has its roots firmly planted in the Punjab region and is thought to have been developed by chefs from the Moti Mahal hotel restaurant in Delhi. The sauce is a vivid colour which comes from cooking the sauce with lots of fresh ripe tomatoes and a little tomato puree.
Paneer makhani is a dish that is cooked in a similar way however Dhal Makhani is very different and although this also has butter added to it the dish is cooked in a very different way. The lentils are cooked very slowly over a long period of time which gives this dhal its characteristic buttery flavour.
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