Name: Kiran Patnam's Winning Butter Chicken Masala
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1.5-inch pieces; 1/2 cup Greek yogurt; 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste; 1 tbsp kashmiri chili powder; 1 tsp garam masala; 1/2 tsp turmeric powder; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 4 tbsp unsalted butter, divided; 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced; 1 cup crushed San Marzano tomatoes; 1/2 cup heavy cream; 2 tsp coriander powder; 1 tsp cumin seeds; 4 dried Kashmiri chilies, whole; 2 bay leaves; 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped; 1.5 tsp kosher salt; 1/2 tsp black pepper

The Baltimore Sun covered the win — which is the kind of thing that happens when a Marriott Waterfront sous chef beats the most televised cook in America with the dish his grandmother made.

Butter chicken masala is engineered to be misunderstood. American restaurants make it too sweet; British restaurants make it too thick; home cooks make it too thin. The version Patnam grew up on is none of those — it is the velvet middle, built on tomato cooked down to jam, cream cut with the right amount of yogurt, and a tempering of whole spices in ghee at the very end. The tempering is the whole game.

Bobby skipped the tempering.