Here’s the Dish: Kebab Aur Sharab’s Famous Butter Chicken 

By Abigael T. Sidi 

Reading through the Rag recently, I noticed that a replacement still had not been found for Ava Stryker-Robbins’ popular Upper West Side food column, “Here’s the Dish,” which highlighted outstanding dishes from restaurants throughout the neighborhood.

I wondered, could I take over? I was raised in a French household with a strong, diverse foodie culture, an unhealthy obsession with the NYC restaurant scene, and I’m an amateur cook myself. So, I wrote to the Rag’s editors and they agreed to give me a try.

What better way to audition than with Kebab Aur Sharab’s “Famous Butter Chicken?” 

Foodies typically flock to the UWS’s Kebab Aur Sharab on West 72nd Street from all over the city for their juicy lamb, goat, and chicken kebabs, which Pete Wells wrote a glowing review of last year in The New York Times. However, I come for one dish and one dish only, and a kebab it is not. It is their aptly named Famous Butter Chicken. 

Indian food aficionados have undoubtedly had many versions of this dish and enjoyed its creamy, silky, not-too-spicy flavor. Famous Butter Chicken has all that, and something more. The secret to the dish, shared with WSR by Chef Dipesh Shinde, is that the chicken is cooked not in a pan, but a tandoor, a clay oven capable of high temperatures.

Shinde told WSR the dish was “invented in the 1950s by one of the founders of the Moti Mahal restaurant in India…” when he “… utilized the leftover tandoori chicken and mixed it with a velvety and rich tomato and cashew nut-based gravy.” As a result, the bird has that unmistakable charred texture, along with incredible tenderness. The spicy char adds an extra layer of flavor to the already complex dish.

Kebab Aur Sharab, which translates to Kebabs and Cocktails, is located about midblock between Broadway and West End Avenue. Despite its plain name and improbable location, it is an enchanting place where colorful Punjabi symbols and elegant colonial décor somehow blend together to create an eccentric yet intimate, old Delhi ambiance. A giant glass peacock (India’s national bird), which rules over a majestic bar, will greet you on your way to your table. 

The dish is $30, but it’s a generous portion that, along with an airy basmati rice, can easily feed two people. Get ready for a truly “galawati” (melt in your mouth) experience! And if you’re looking for a perfect opportunity to visit, go for someone’s birthday. The restaurant’s celebration tradition is unlike any other!

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