British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay often goes viral for roasting people over their cooking videos. However, this time, Ramsay is at the receiving end of the criticism for his recent video of a well-known Indian dish – butter chicken.
Butter chicken, a classic Indian favourite, is also known as murgh makhani in India. The rich and creamy dish was an accidental discovery by an Indian chef and restaurateur Kundan Lal Gujral in the 1950s.
Over the years, the recipe travelled from northern India to many parts of the world. Today, butter chicken could easily be called one of the best-known Indian dishes.
On February 17, the Michelin-starred chef shared a short video clip making butter chicken and serving it with rice.
“Tag someone who loves butter chicken curry! Learn how it’s made on the @gordonramsayacademy evening Butter chicken class, or half-day Taste of India,” read the video’s description.
The dish does not look like butter chicken, declared purists. And, not all Indian food is referred to as “curry” opined Indian Instagrammers.
Though the video shows only quick glimpses of the cooking process and not the entire recipe, it was enough to irk those who love the dish. The video, which has since garnered over 2.5 million views, soon started receiving backlash, with many commenters calling the dish bland and lacking of main ingredients.
Instagram user, @himanshukhandatae2 commented: “All Indian ancestors crying….”
And @sumitavo replied: “Butter chicken is not ‘curry’. Let’s get the facts right. We don’t call everything curry.”
Another Instagrammer @kshitij_128_, who shares Indian food recipes, explained: “Gordon, the thing you made is not butter chicken. First, for the gravy, we cook onions, tomatoes, some Indian spices, cashews [and other ingredients]. We cook it for a couple of minutes and make a fine paste out of it. Then we fry the marinated chicken. For marination – chili powder, ginger-garlic paste, dried fenugreek, some oil, some more spices if needed, and curd. After frying the chicken you add your chicken to the gravy and finally top it with butter. There are many more ingredients that I haven't included….”
Here's a video guide to making the perfect butter chicken
However, some commenters defended Ramsay’s take on this dish.
“Fellow Indians complaining about this not being butter chicken, please don't forget that we also take the liberty to make modifications to various international cuisines,” wrote Instagrammer @avb.diaries.
@pandelifoods replied: “I’ve eaten at Gordon Ramsay restaurants, and believe me, the butter chicken on the menu, would give many fine Indian restaurants a run for their money! Fantastic work, great team, book a class, leave your ego at the door."
“All you going crazy in the comment section saying that isn't butter chicken. There can be many versions of the same dish,” commented @lisa_serene.
Ramsay’s fans often voluntarily send him videos of poorly made dishes to get his reaction. The insults in the videos are often taken light-heartedly and go viral on Instagram.
