Butter Chicken

Butter chicken is the dish that travels. It crosses borders, shows up on every Indian restaurant menu on the planet, and gets diluted along the way. This version does not take shortcuts. The chicken is marinated overnight in yoghurt and spices, then cooked in a tandoori style before it goes into the gravy.

The gravy is where the patience pays off. Tomatoes, cashews, butter, cream, and a spice blend built from whole spices roasted that morning. It simmers low and slow until the sauce is thick, rich, and deeply orange. No food colouring. No premade base. The colour comes from the tomatoes and the kashmiri chili.

This is comfort food at its most honest. Creamy, warming, and the kind of dish that makes you close your eyes when you take the first bite. It is the most requested dish at Toronto Canteen, and I understand why.