Butter chicken,Tikka masala,Chicken curry,Biryani,Korma - difference

Hi,

What is the difference between Indian cuisine meals Butter chicken, Chicken Tikka masala, Chicken curry, Chicken Biryani and Chicken Korma ?

Are all of them spicy ?

Curry is a dish with sauce, based on the mixture of spices and vegetables. There are many variations of curry. Depending on the dish, the sauce may contain coconut cream, coconut milk, tomato purée, dairy cream or yoghurt.

The choice of spices is often different for each dish.

Dishes Butter chicken, Chicken tikka masala and Chicken korma are all curries.

Chicken biryiani is a mixed rice dish.

All these dishes are at least a gently spicy, beacuse of the curry powder. Some dishes may contain chilli peppers, but the "heat" depends on the region, where they are served.

Dishes in US or Europe are often not so spicy as they are in India or some Asian countries.

The difference between these Indian dishes is in the taste, because each of them contains some specific ingredients, different type and amount of curry powder. The hotness of curries may vary, depending on location where the dishes are served.

• Butter Chicken (Chicken Makhani) - is a tomato based cream dish with smooth texture and slightly sweet taste. It is more creamy because of butter. Butter chicken is usually less spicy.
• Chicken Curry - is a general curry dish with sauce, chicken, mixture of vegetables and spices. There is no exact "chicken curry" recipe, so for example, if you try chicken curry in 5 restaurants, all of them can be different. Basic curry ingredients are onions, garlic, ginger and curry powder.
• Chicken Korma - is a rich and creamy curry dish, made with coconut cream and yoghurt. It contains a wide range of spices, but the taste is not too hot.
• Chicken Tikka Masala - is a creamy dish with chicken chunks, cooked in an aromatic yoghurt and tomato sauce. Tikka Masala is generally more spicy than Butter chicken.
• Chicken Biryani - is not a curry. It is a rice based dish with chicken, some vegetables and many different spices. It may appear to be a bit plain, but in fact it has a very rich flavour.

I recommend to try all of them and find your favorite dish.