They are two of the most ordered dishes in any Indian restaurant, they are both creamy and tomato-rich, and they are constantly mistaken for each other. But butter chicken and chicken tikka masala have different roots and different characters. Here is how to tell them apart.
Butter chicken (murgh makhani)
Butter chicken was born in Delhi. The story goes that leftover tandoori chicken was simmered in a sauce of tomatoes, butter and cream to keep it from drying out. The result is gentle and a little sweet, with warmth from fenugreek and a whisper of cardamom rather than heat. The sauce is smooth and glossy, the flavour rounded.
Chicken tikka masala
Tikka masala is spicier and more savoury, with a looser, more textured sauce. Its origin is hotly debated - many credit the British-Indian kitchens of the twentieth century - but the method is clear: chunks of marinated, grilled chicken tikka folded into a masala of onions, tomato and spice. Where butter chicken is mellow, tikka masala has more edge.
How to choose
If you want comfort and a softer, sweeter sauce, order butter chicken. If you want more spice and a punchier flavour, go for tikka masala. Both love a plain naan or some pilau rice to carry the sauce, and both are good first orders if you are new to the menu.
Taste them side by side
The best way to settle the debate is at the table. Both appear on our menu, served the same way at our Charing Cross and Soho restaurants.
