When Cashew Paste Explodes and Cinnamon Rolls Away – The Untold Story of Our Butter Chicken Shoot

Filming THE TASTY CINEMA Episode 3, “Butter Chicken,” was like stepping into a storm of aromas, spices, and heat. What you see in the final three and a half minutes looks seamless: chicken marinated in yogurt and spices, fried golden, folded into a silky tomato-cashew sauce, and finished with cream. But behind that calm surface, we wrestled with timing, steam, and a room that smelled so intensely of garam masala it stayed with us for days.

The hardest part wasn’t cooking — it was showing the cooking. Thick sauces tend to bubble in chaotic ways. For a macro shot, that chaos can either look rich and alive or completely out of control. We must have repeated the same bubbling scene ten times, waiting for just the right rhythm of steam and sauce. My wife teased me: “It’s not a volcano, it’s dinner!” But when we finally captured the sauce swelling like molten gold, it was worth every retry.

Lighting was our second battle. Tomatoes and cream don’t forgive sloppy illumination. Too much intensity, and the sauce looked harsh and artificial. Too soft, and it lost its glossy allure. After countless shifts with our main light and subtle LED fills, we achieved a cinematic warmth — the kind that makes you almost taste the butter.

Then came the chicken itself. The moment where the golden-brown pieces hit the sauce had to be perfect. Too early, and the sauce swallowed them whole. Too late, and they looked like floating leftovers. We rehearsed it like a performance: she poured, I tracked with the motion slider, and together we tried to sync our moves like musicians in a duet. After endless takes, one shot stood out — chicken sliding in, sauce embracing it, steam curling upward like applause.

And yes, there were mishaps. Cashew paste sprayed half the counter, yogurt dripped onto my tripod, and at one point, a cinnamon stick rolled dramatically out of the pan mid-shot. We laughed instead of cursing. These moments remind us why we love what we do: every “mistake” is a story, every retry a step toward beauty.

When the final beauty shots were taken — creamy butter chicken glowing in its copper bowl, naan on the side, steam rising in lazy swirls — we finally exhaled. The audience sees a polished cinematic dish. We see hours of trial, laughter, adjustments, and love. And that’s exactly the flavor we hope comes through.

Watch it here (again) - https://youtu.be/zQ7sjnkItHI