Best Of Singapore Hawkers & Casual Dining: Butter Chicken

Read (
Words) Edit

Best Of Singapore Hawkers & Casual Dining: Butter Chicken

Butter Chicken
Butter Chicken



Nothing was sponsored, we visited as regular paying customers. Photos in this post were taken between 2000 and 2022 (across 22 years!), as such, the quality of photos varies drastically due to advances in camera technology. Mobile smartphones were in their infancy and had yet to become widespread.


Also Known As:
Butter Chicken, Murgh Makhani, Murg Makhani


Average Price Per Serving:
SGD $5 - $20








.....


Description:
The Butter Chicken is a Singaporean Indian non-vegetarian dish, and is a popular choice of curry, loved for its luscious feel and enticing taste. It consists of pre-marinated boneless chicken chunks, in a rich curry gravy laced with butter. Also known as Murgh Makhani, or Murg Makhani, the Butter Chicken dish is usually priced around SGD $5 to $20 per serving. It's commonly eaten for lunch, tea, dinner, or supper.

The Butter Chicken is prepared North Indian style, which features a creamy thick curry gravy. The key spices used include garlic paste, ginger paste, powdered turmeric, powdered coriander, salt, fenugreek seeds, powdered chili, and powdered tandoori masala. Other spices used vary from stall to stall, but may include powdered cinnamon, red onion seeds, curry leaves, powdered cardamom, powdered cumin, cloves, paprika, white pepper, black pepper, or powdered garam masala.

The spices for Butter Chicken are blended with tomato puree, butter, and yoghurt to form the curry. It's sometimes thickened using cream, almond paste, or cashew nut paste, and finished with a drizzle of cream. This results in a rich, thick, creamy smooth luscious curry gravy, with enticing milky sweet savoury spice flavour. The boneless chicken chunks are marinated in a mix of garlic paste, ginger paste, lemon juice, yoghurt, powdered chili, salt, and powdered garam masala or powdered tandoori masala, then partially roasted in a tandoor oven. Finished by stewing in the curry gravy, the chicken becomes moist and tender, with its natural smoky sweet savoury flavour complemented by the flavour of the curry gravy.

Usually served as a main dish accompanied by bread or rice, Butter Chicken is said to have been created by accident in the 1950s, by chef-restaurateur Kundan Lal Jaggi and Kundan Lal Gujral, in their Moti Mahal restaurant in Daryaganj, Central Delhi, Delhi, India. These days, Butter Chicken is an ubiquitous North Indian dish, served and relished all over the world.


.....


1. ABC Nasi Kandar Restaurant
@ 67 Desker Road
Opening Hours: Daily 24 Hours

Taken in 2021


Taken in 2021


Butter Chicken (SGD $6.50) @ ABC Nasi Kandar Restaurant.

Luscious and creamy smooth, their rendition has a pleasant vegetal sweet milky savoury spice flavour to the thick curry, with the use of tomato being more pronounced.

The boneless chicken chunks are marinated and roasted, bordering moist and dry with a good chew to texture. Has mild smoky savoury sweet flavour. Garnished with fresh coriander for a vegetal herbal note.





.....


2. Al-Ameen Eating House / Ameen Makan House
@ 4 Cheong Chin Nam Road
Opening Hours: Daily 11am – 4am

Taken in 2011


Taken in 2021


Taken in 2021


Butter Chicken (SGD $8) @ Al-Ameen Eating House.

The blend of tomato puree, butter, yoghurt, and spices, create a rich and luscious smooth feel to the thick curry gravy. Addictively delicious with enticing milky sweet savoury spice notes.

The generous boneless marinated chicken chunks have a gentle tender chew, picking up the flavours of the delicious gravy, yum.

Great when paired with bread or rice.





.....


3. Al-Azhar Restaurant
@ 11 Cheong Chin Nam Road
Opening Hours: Daily 8am – 2am

@ 970 Geylang Road #01-02
Opening Hours: Daily 12pm – 12am

@ 201D Tampines Street 21 #01-1155
Opening Hours: Daily 8am – 11:30pm

Taken in 2021


Taken in 2021


Butter Chicken (SGD $9.50) @ Al-Azhar Restaurant.

Marinated, roasted, then stewed to finish in the curry, the large pieces of boneless chicken chunks are so tender, with a satisfying light chew and smoky sweet savoury salty spice flavour.

The curry gravy is creamy and smooth, the blend of tomato puree, yoghurt, butter, and spices (including fenugreek seeds and powdered coriander) lending bold vegetal sweet savoury milky spice notes.

Tasty enough to make you reach for more.





.....


4. Daawat Tandoori
@ 207 Upper Thomson Road
Opening Hours: Daily 11am – 3pm, 4:30pm – 11pm

Taken in 2011


Taken in 2022


Taken in 2022


Butter Chicken (SGD $13.50) @ Daawat Tandoori.

The curry gravy is rich, thick, and smooth, featuring a complex layering of spices with fresh blended tomatoes, yoghurt, and butter.

Has a delicious milky sweet vegetal spice savoury flavour, finished with a decadent drizzle of more butter and yoghurt.

The large yet tender boneless chicken chunks here are stewed directly in the curry gravy without any pre-marinade, absorbing the rich flavours directly.





.....


5. Jaggi’s Northern Indian Cuisine
@ 36 Race Course Road
Opening Hours: Daily 11am – 10:30pm

Taken in 2012


Taken in 2021


Taken in 2021


Butter Chicken (SGD $7.70) @ Jaggi’s Northern Indian Cuisine.

Their rendition features a medium thick curry gravy, with a distinct savoury spice milky flavour, light on the sweet notes.

Thankful for their choice of single or double portions, the former great as an appetizer, the latter well placed as a main.

The tender boneless chicken chunks carry a savoury spice sweet flavour from the marinade, and the prior tandoor roasting lends a smoky aroma.





.....


6. Madura's Restaurant
@ Paya Lebar Square, 60 Paya Lebar Road #01-08
Opening Hours: Daily 11:30am – 9:30pm

@ 115 Syed Alwi Road
Opening Hours: Daily 12pm – 1am

Taken in 2021


Taken in 2021


Butter Chicken (SGD $12.90) @ Madura's Restaurant.

A pretty lace drizzle of cream tops this decadent curry gravy, thick and creamy with bold meaty sweet savoury spice flavour.

The marinated boneless chicken chunks are decently tender with a light chew, picking up the rich flavours of the curry gravy, with an added layer of smoky notes that gently entice.

Lovely with bread or rice.





.....


7. Shahi Maharani North Indian Restaurant
@ Raffles City, 252 North Bridge Road #03-21B
Opening Hours: Daily 12pm – 2:30pm, 6:30pm – 10:30pm

Taken in 2022


Taken in 2022


Taken in 2022


Butter Chicken (SGD $34) @ Shahi Maharani.

This has a rich, thick, creamy smooth luscious curry gravy, full of milky sweet savoury spice flavour.

The spice mixture (including garlic paste, ginger paste, powdered turmeric, powdered coriander, salt, fenugreek seeds, powdered chili, powdered tandoori masala) is blended with tomato puree, butter, and yoghurt to form the curry.

The pre-marinated boneless chicken chunks are moist and tender, with delicious smoky sweet savoury spice flavour. Best paired with bread or rice.





.....


8. The Banana Leaf Apolo
@ 56 Race Course Road
Opening Hours: Daily 10:30am – 10:30pm

@ Downtown East, 1 Pasir Ris Close #01-309
Opening Hours: Daily 10:30am – 10pm

@ 20 Sixth Avenue
Opening Hours: Daily 11am – 10pm

@ Rivervale Mall, 11 Rivervale Crescent #02-10
Opening Hours: Daily 11am – 10pm

@ 48 Serangoon Road
Opening Hours: Daily 10:30am – 10:30pm

Taken in 2012


Taken in 2021


Taken in 2021


Butter Chicken (SGD $16.90) @ The Banana Leaf Apolo.

More casual dining than hawker, the portion here is large enough to share between 2 - 4 people.

Served in a metal pot, the thick curry gravy is rich and creamy, with a drizzle of cream over the top. Has lovely savoury sweet spice milky flavour that can be rather addictive.

The marinated and roasted boneless chicken chunks within carry a smoky aroma, picking up the flavours of the curry gravy well. Yields nicely with a tender chew to texture.

Best paired with bread or rice.





.....


- Bar Bar Black Sheep – Still Operating But With Different Kitchen Team & Menu
@ Cluny Court, 501 Bukit Timah Road #01-05C – Branch Closed

@ 362 Tanjong Katong Road – Branch Closed

Taken in 2015






.....


- Myra's Beach Club – Permanently Closed
@ 5 Changi Village Road

Taken in 2011






.....


- Prata Wala – Quality Different From Before
@ Jurong Point, 1 Jurong West Central 3 #01-71

@ Northpoint City, 930 Yishun Avenue 2 #B1-57

@ Chinatown Point, 133 New Bridge Road #B1-44

Taken in 2010


Taken in 2021


Taken in 2021






.....








.....


CONVERSATION