# How NYC’s Best Butter Chicken is Made | Made to Order | Bon Appétit Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXWkG771LFI Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/lXWkG771LFI Generated: 2026-01-06T17:42:27.921+00:00 --- ## Quick Overview Chef Chintan Kirn Pandya of Adda NYC demonstrates his nuanced approach to Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani), emphasizing a two-part marinade process for the chicken and a careful technique for achieving a velvety, perfectly seasoned Makhani sauce base. **Key Points:** - Chef Chintan Kirn Pandya of Adda NYC shares his recipe for Butter Chicken, which he calls the perfect version of the dish. - The chicken preparation involves a two-part yogurt-based marinade: the first to infuse flavor, and the second to coat the chicken to prevent moisture loss during cooking. - The Makhani sauce base requires simmering tomatoes, butter, ginger-garlic paste, and cashews for 30-45 minutes before being blended and strained for a smooth texture. - Pandya emphasizes using bone-in chicken yields a better taste and more depth compared to boneless. - Key aromatics for the sauce include cardamom seeds and cilantro stems, which are bundled into a spice pouch (potli) to infuse flavor without leaving chunks in the final sauce. - The final assembly involves searing the marinated chicken on a grill (or in an oven) until 75-80% cooked before adding it to the finished sauce and finishing with cream and fresh cilantro. - The chef specifically advises against adding nuts to the sauce base if making it at home, preferring to use them only in the chicken marinade for richness. ![Screenshot at 00:11: Chef Chintan Kirn Pandya introduces the video, standing next to Sous Chef Gurmehr Sahni, with the title card for 'Adda's BUTTER CHICKEN' appearing over the finished dish.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/lXWkG771LFI/00-00-11.jpg) **Context:** The video features Chintan Kirn Pandya, Chef/Owner of Adda NYC (a James Beard Award winner for Best Chef in New York), demonstrating his signature recipe for Butter Chicken, known in India as Murgh Makhani. He is joined by Sous Chef Gurmehr Sahni in the professional kitchen setting of Adda NYC, located on the Lower East Side of New York City. The demonstration focuses on the distinct two-step marination of the chicken and the creation of the rich, smooth Makhani sauce. ## Detailed Analysis Chef Chintan Kirn Pandya details his method for making his acclaimed Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani), which he divides into two main components: the chicken preparation and the Makhani sauce. For the chicken, he uses a two-part yogurt-based marinade, stressing that the yogurt coating helps prevent the chicken from losing moisture while cooking. He prefers bone-in chicken thigh pieces over boneless for superior flavor and juiciness, grilling them until 75-80% cooked before adding them to the sauce. For the sauce base, he combines chopped ripe tomatoes, butter, ginger-garlic paste, sliced garlic, red chili powder, and cashews, cooking them down for 30-45 minutes. He also shows how to create a spice pouch (potli) using cheesecloth filled with cardamom seeds and cilantro stems to infuse aroma without adding texture. After simmering, the sauce base is blended and then meticulously strained through a fine-mesh sieve to achieve a perfectly smooth, velvety texture, which he notes is critical for the dish. Finally, the grilled chicken is added back to the strained sauce, seasoned with sugar and salt, finished with cream, and garnished with fresh cilantro and ginger slivers before serving. ### Chicken Preparation - Two-part yogurt-based marinade to infuse flavor and retain moisture - Chef prefers bone-in chicken for better taste and complexity - Chicken is cooked 75-80% on a grill to achieve smokiness before being added to the sauce. ### Makhani Sauce Base - Simmer tomatoes, butter, ginger-garlic paste, sliced garlic, cashews, red chili powder, and a spice pouch (potli) containing cardamom seeds and cilantro stems for 30-45 minutes - Cashews are added for richness, though the chef advises against them for home cooks unless they prefer that texture. ### Sauce Finishing - The cooked sauce mixture is blended and then strained through a fine-mesh sieve to ensure a smooth, velvety texture, removing all solids. - The strained sauce is reheated, seasoned with sugar and salt, and finished with cream and fresh cilantro. ### Final Assembly - Grilled chicken pieces are added to the finished sauce and simmered briefly to combine flavors before plating. ![Screenshot at 00:00: Marinated chicken pieces cooking over open flame on a grill grate.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/lXWkG771LFI/00-00-00.jpg) ![Screenshot at 00:16: Chef Chintan Kirn Pandya introduces the dish, wearing a red shirt that reads 'BE COOL COOK BUTTER CHICKEN'.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/lXWkG771LFI/00-00-16.jpg) ![Screenshot at 00:38: Ingredients for the sauce base—tomatoes, butter, and spices—are combined in a saucepan.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/lXWkG771LFI/00-00-38.jpg) ![Screenshot at 01:00: Chef Chintan explains the two-part marinade process while his sous chef mixes the first marinade in a steel bowl.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/lXWkG771LFI/00-01-00.jpg) ![Screenshot at 02:44: Chef Chintan holds up a piece of grilled chicken, emphasizing the flavor gained from grilling before adding it to the sauce.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/lXWkG771LFI/00-02-44.jpg)