Chemmeen (Prawn) Moilee
Onion Jeera Pulao (with Seeraga Samba rice)
Tiffen Sambar
Chicken Thoran
Maggi Drunken Noodles
Pineapple Rasam
Pondicherry Toast
Trivandrum Fish Curry
Vatthakuzhambu
Prawn Ghee Roast
Navratan Pulao
Chettinaadu Chicken Curry
Shakshuka
Pav
Chana Masala
Ulli Theeyal
Butter Chicken
A little bit of science behind the Butter chicken. Let's start with brining. Letting meat sit in brine has two advantages. One, it adds flavour and two, it keeps the meat juicy when you cook it. This is the *only* way to prevent boneless chicken from overcooking
This might sound counterintuitive because while salt dehydrates plants, it helps muscle tissue retain water. This is precisely why we drink salted sugary water when are dehydrated. The salt prevents further water loss from muscle tissue.
There are two ways of adding a smoky flavour to meat - charcoal or wood. For butter chicken, I prefer ghee on hot charcoal. You can also try and heat a stick of cinnamon and use that directly (without ghee).
The smoke flavour does not come from the charcoal. It comes from ghee hitting a 500C object and disintegrating into some very aromatic compounds that impart that "smoked" flavour.
If you use "Liquid smoke" that's wood smoke (pyroligneous acid) dissolved in diluted soy sauce. Don't use more than a few drops or your dish will taste like it was artificially smoked
The dominant flavour profile of the Makhani gravy is tomato and butter, that's why a smaller amount of onions are used and they are not browned (to avoid a dominant onion taste).
When you grill chicken, the bits that get stuck to the grill are super flavoursome products of the Maillard reaction + rendered fat, so I use a bit of alcohol and water to deglaze it and add it back to the dish
If you use bone-in chicken, the dish will taste more intensely meaty and savoury while the boneless version will highlight the gravy and smoke flavours a lot more. As @angadc put it, the bone-in version will remind you of the hills while the boneless, the bustle of old Delhi.
So, on that note, if you like these videos and the accompanying food science explanations, you will enjoy my upcoming book with @PenguinIndia - Masala Lab: The Science of Indian Cooking amazon.in/Masala-Lab-Sci… (pre-order link)
