Food writer Robert Sietsema spotlights the “butter chicken experience” unveiled at Adda’s new East Village digs (107 First Avenue), where chef‑owner Chintan Pandya turns the classic Delhi dish into a $38‑per‑person tableside spectacle: half a tandoori‑roasted bird is briefly cold‑smoked over cherry‑blossom or apple wood, then simmered in a tomato‑fenugreek masala enriched with flavored butters (diners choose options like methi or smoked chile) before being plated alongside chile‑flecked lacha paratha, basmati rice, and Adda’s signature dal makhani. Sietsema traces makhani murgh’s post‑Partition origins, distinguishes it from the Glasgow‑born chicken tikka masala, and notes that New York may have coined the “butter chicken” name at the nearby Gaylord restaurant in 1975—making Adda’s revival a full‑circle moment. He concludes that while Adda’s expanded menu also touts dishes like bone marrow with green‑peppercorn gravy and goat brain “bheja fry,” the theatrically smoky, richly spiced butter chicken remains the most compelling introduction to the revamped Unapologetic Foods flagship.
Title author:
Robert Sietsema
Photo credit:
Robert Sietsema