The Original Butter Chicken Done Properly - Chicken Makhni at Kinara
- May 12
- 8 min read
What Is Chicken Makhni?
If you have ever sat down at a great Indian restaurant and felt torn between the butter chicken and something more adventurous, Kinara's Chicken Makhni is the answer to that dilemma. It is not a compromise. It is the original.
Murgh makhani literally translates to "buttery chicken" in Hindi and Urdu, with murgh meaning chicken and makhni meaning enriched with butter. Long before butter chicken became a fixture of every high street curry house in Britain, it was a precise and deliberate creation: tender chicken in a spiced yogurt marinade, tandoori grilled until lightly charred, then folded into a rich, slow-cooked sauce of tomatoes and cream.
At Kinara, that is exactly what you get.
A Dish With a Remarkable History
Few dishes in the world have a more fascinating origin story than murgh makhani. According to Wikipedia's detailed entry on butter chicken, the dish is credited to Indian chefs Kundan Lal Gujral and Kundan Lal Jaggi, and is closely associated with their Moti Mahal restaurant in Daryaganj, Old Delhi, where it was popularised in the 1950s.
The story goes that leftover tandoori chicken was stirred into a tomato-and-butter gravy to keep it from going to waste. What emerged by chance became one of the most celebrated dishes in global cuisine. Both chefs had fled Peshawar during the 1947 Partition of India and rebuilt their culinary lives in Delhi. Their dish spread from the lanes of Old Delhi to restaurants across India, Britain, and eventually the world.
Today, a legal battle in Delhi's High Court is still ongoing over who can rightfully claim the invention, as Cooks Without Borders reports in detail. That level of dispute tells you something about how important this dish really is.
What makes the history relevant to Kinara is this: the original Chicken Makhni was always a tandoor dish first. The character of the sauce depends entirely on the quality of the chicken going into it. Chicken that has been properly marinated in spiced yogurt and grilled in a tandoor carries a subtle smokiness that transforms the finished sauce. At Kinara, under the culinary direction of award-winning Chef Shabu Natarajan, that process is respected fully.
Kinara's Chicken Makhni: What Makes It Different
Kinara is not your average Indian restaurant. Ranked among the top restaurants in Glasgow on TripAdvisor and highly praised on OpenTable, Kinara has built its reputation on regional Indian cooking made with fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Chef Shabu Natarajan brings deep knowledge of India's multifaceted culinary traditions to every plate.
Kinara’s Chicken Makhni follows the authentic sequence that defines a proper murgh makhani:
Step one: the marinade. Chicken is marinated in a blend of spiced yogurt, allowing the flavours to penetrate the meat before it touches heat.
Step two: the tandoor. The chicken is grilled in the tandoor, developing those characteristic charred edges and a smoky depth that no pan-fried chicken can replicate.
Step three: the sauce. A rich base of tomatoes and cream, built slowly and carefully, wraps around the grilled chicken. The result is silky, aromatic, and genuinely indulgent without being heavy.
At £17.95, it sits alongside Kinara's wider selection of regional curries including the coconut-based Seyal Chicken, the bold Nadan Chicken Kari, and the Tamil classic Chicken Chettiyar. The Makhni is the menu's nod to the grand North Indian tradition and one of the most frequently praised dishes in guest reviews.
As one diner wrote on TripAdvisor, Kinara's Chicken Makhni is "somewhere between a chicken masala and a korma," and another simply said "the makhni chicken is amazing."
How to Eat It: Kinara's Recommendations
Chicken Makhni rewards the right accompaniments. At Kinara, the kitchen's approach is to let the sauce do the talking, so choose sides that complement rather than compete:
With naan. Kinara's naan is consistently praised by guests as some of the best in Glasgow, described as thin and light, ideal for scooping up that tomato-cream sauce. A plain or garlic naan is the classic pairing.
With basmati rice. Fragrant basmati allows the full colour and texture of the Makhni sauce to come through.
With a cocktail. The bar at Kinara is a serious operation. The Masala-gini and tropical cocktails regularly receive specific praise from guests. A cocktail with bright acidity or botanical notes cuts through the richness of a butter-based sauce beautifully.
Why Chicken Makhni and Butter Chicken Are Not the Same Thing
This question comes up more than you might expect. In British Indian restaurants, "butter chicken" has often been simplified, sweetened, and softened to the point where the original dish is barely recognisable.
As Swasthi's Recipes explains in her thorough breakdown of authentic murgh makhani, a true makhani sauce never traditionally uses onion, and the rich texture should come from the slow-cooked tomatoes, a small amount of cashews or cream, and the smoky flavour of the grilled chicken itself. At Kinara, the Chicken Makhni is presented as what it always was: a balanced dish with complexity, not a vehicle for cream and sugar.
The key differences in Kinara's version:
The chicken is tandoor-cooked first, giving the dish its essential character. Many supermarket and takeaway versions skip this step entirely.
The spice blend is calibrated, not just spicy-sweet. You taste the depth of the marinade in every piece of chicken.
The sauce is built with real tomatoes and cream using technique, not a poured-in ready-made base.
This is not butter chicken in the lazy sense. This is murgh makhni as it was always meant to be made.
How to Make Chicken Makhni at Home (Serves 4)
Inspired by Kinara's approach, here is a home version of murgh makhani that respects the original method. The key is marinating the chicken properly and grilling it at high heat before it goes anywhere near the sauce.
If you want to go deeper on technique before you start, Swasthi's Recipes has one of the most thorough breakdowns of authentic murgh makhani available online, and both Masala and Chai and Lauren's Cravings offer excellent step-by-step guides with useful tips for home cooks.
Prep time: 30 minutes (plus 1 hour marinating) Cook time: 40 minutes Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the chicken marinade:
800g boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
150g full-fat greek yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder (or mild chilli powder)
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
For the makhni sauce:
2 red peppers (roasted)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
400g passata or tinned chopped tomatoes, blended smooth
1 tablespoon tomato puree
150ml double cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, to finish
1 teaspoon caster sugar
1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi), crushed between your palms
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander to garnish
Method
Marinate the chicken. Combine all marinade ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly until the chicken is evenly coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or overnight for the best results.
Grill the chicken. Preheat your oven grill to its highest setting, or use a griddle pan over high heat. Cook the marinated chicken in batches for 8 to 10 minutes, turning once, until charred at the edges and cooked through. Set aside. This step is what gives the dish its smoky, restaurant-quality depth.
Build the sauce base. Melt the butter with the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring regularly, until soft and beginning to turn golden.
Add aromatics and spices. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the Kashmiri chilli powder, ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, and garam masala. Stir for 1 to 2 minutes to bloom the spices in the butter.
Add the tomatoes. Pour in the passata and tomato puree. Stir well to combine with the spice base. Simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce darkens and the oil begins to separate slightly at the edges.
Blend the sauce. Allow the sauce to cool slightly, then blend until completely smooth. Return to the pan over low heat. If using a standard blender, remove the centre cap of the lid and cover with a folded cloth to release steam safely.
Add cream and finish. Stir in the double cream, the remaining tablespoon of butter, and the sugar. Simmer gently for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust salt as needed.
Add the chicken. Add the grilled chicken pieces to the sauce and stir to coat. Simmer together for a further 5 minutes so the chicken absorbs the flavours of the sauce.
Finish with kasuri methi. Crush the dried fenugreek leaves between your palms directly over the pan and stir in. This is the ingredient that gives murgh makhani its distinctive, slightly smoky-sweet aroma. As The Spice House notes in their guide to Chicken Makhani, kasuri methi is the flavour that separates a great makhani from a good one.
Serve. Ladle into bowls, garnish with fresh coriander, and serve with warm naan or basmati rice.
Tips for the Best Result
Chicken thighs over breasts. Thighs stay more tender and flavourful when grilled and then simmered. Breast meat can dry out.
Kasuri methi is not optional. Dried fenugreek leaves are widely available in Asian grocery stores and online. They are the key behind any great murgh makhani and cannot be substituted.
Get colour on the chicken. The charring from the grill is not decorative. It is flavour. Do not rush this step or cook the chicken on too low a heat.
Blend the sauce completely smooth. A fully blended sauce is what gives murgh makhani its characteristic silky texture.
Experience It Properly at Kinara
A home recipe will always be a satisfying project, but to taste Chicken Makhni made with tandoor-grilled chicken, fresh locally sourced ingredients, and Chef Shabu Natarajan's expertise, there is only one place in Glasgow to go.
Kinara is open Monday and Wednesday to Sunday from 12:00 to 22:00. Whether you are visiting for a weekday lunch, a celebration dinner, or a pre-show meal near the Barrowlands, the Chicken Makhni at £17.95 belongs on your table.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Chicken Makhni very spicy?
No. Murgh makhani is traditionally a mild-to-medium dish. The warmth comes from the marinade spices and the slow-cooked tomato base, not from chilli heat. It is one of the most approachable dishes on the menu and a great starting point for those newer to Indian cuisine.
Can I order Chicken Makhni for takeaway?
Yes. Kinara offers takeaway options. Visit kinara.co.uk for details.
What does "makhni" mean?
Makhni means "buttery" in Hindi and Urdu. Murgh means chicken. The full name, murgh makhani, refers to the butter-enriched tomato and cream sauce that the tandoor-cooked chicken is finished in.
How is Kinara's Chicken Makhni different from a standard takeaway butter chicken?
The key difference is the tandoor. Kinara grills the marinated chicken in a traditional tandoor oven before adding it to the sauce, giving the dish its smoky depth and authentic character. Most takeaway versions skip this step. Chef Shabu Natarajan's approach respects the original recipe and uses fresh, locally sourced ingredients throughout.
Is butter chicken the same as Chicken Makhni?
They are the same dish. Butter chicken is the English name that became popular outside India. Murgh makhani, or Chicken Makhni, is the original Hindi and Urdu name. At Kinara, the dish is presented under its authentic name to reflect the care and tradition behind it.