I wasn’t in New Delhi long enough to do anything in particular — I flew in one afternoon and left the next morning. I did notice, however, that there was a location of Moti Mahal near my hotel. Considering that they invented butter chicken, I figured I should probably give them a shot.
I got the thali, which comes with butter chicken (of course), dal makhani, rice, naan, and galub jamun (it also comes with a “salad” that appeared to be mostly undressed onions. I didn’t bother with that).
I knew after one mouthful that I had probably made a mistake. Not because it was bad — quite the opposite. It was so good that I’m pretty sure butter chicken is ruined for me forever. It was amazing.
The flavour is spectacular. It’s creamy, garlicky, and almost ridiculously complex; there’s so much going on, but not in a way that feels busy or overly assertive. It’s perfect. It’s not all that different from any number of butter chicken dishes I’ve had back home — it’s just a billion times better. It’s like the difference between a finger painting by a four year old, and a piece of art hanging in the Louvre. They’re essentially the same thing, but…
Everything else was quite good, but all I really wanted was a bucket’s worth of that butter chicken.
And the naan was the perfect vehicle — it had that perfectly crispy/chewy contrast along with a pleasant amount of char that you can only get from naan that’s been properly cooked in a blazing hot tandoor. I could eat that butter chicken with that naan every day for the rest of my life. It was so good.
Location: A-7, Street Number 1, Block B, Mahipalpur Village, Mahipalpur, New Delhi, Delhi 110037, India
How to find it: The sign is in English. They also have several other locations in the Delhi area.