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Butter chicken reaches the table within minutes at Curry and Clay Oven on Langston Boulevard, but the speedy finish follows hours of marinating, simmering and preparation.

Chef Raythan Choduri counts the dish among his favorites, along with lamb curry and biryani. Customers also frequently order the restaurant’s chicken masala.

The butter chicken begins with large chunks of white-meat chicken marinated overnight in yogurt and masala. Choduri’s uncle, Mohammed Rashed, handles the kabobs, placing the chicken on skewers and baking it in the clay oven at 200 degrees. The cooked pieces are then held until an order comes in.

For the sauce, Choduri heats Jones Farm vegan butter in a small aluminum skillet before adding chopped garlic. He briefly sautés the garlic, then ladles in tomato sauce that has already simmered for several hours with butter and masala.

Next comes a purée of white onions cooked slowly with ginger, garlic, masala and tomato purée. Choduri adds cashew purée, salt, more masala, about a tablespoon of granulated sugar and a few drops of yellow food coloring.

Chili powder can provide extra heat, but the kitchen adjusts recipes to customers’ tastes. Choduri’s brother and business partner, Khled Oyalid, said one family dislikes chili powder, so the restaurant uses green chilies in their dishes instead.

Choduri returns the skillet to high heat, adds the chicken kabobs and swirls everything together for about two minutes. He finishes the dish with freshly chopped coriander and mezzi, then serves it with steamed rice.

The same kitchen produces roughly 145 to 200 pieces of naan each day. A large batch of dough—made with 5 pounds of flour plus yogurt, milk, baking powder, sugar and salt—can yield about 75.

Workers shape the dough into small balls, arrange them on trays and refrigerate them. When an order arrives, they flatten each ball by hand and then roll it out on a floured surface.

Oyalid slaps the flattened dough against the inside wall of the deep clay oven. It bakes for about 15 minutes, until the crust is browned and crackling. He then slices the hot naan, tops it with butter and places it in a basket for serving.

Meanwhile, other orders keep the kitchen moving. Samosas go into hot oil, fish curry is requested and multiple dishes demand attention at once.

“You have to concentrate on a lot of things at once,” Choduri said.

Oyalid also cooks, but considers his brother the restaurant’s main chef. Choduri has been teaching him how to prepare lamb, sauces and other dishes.

Choduri began his kitchen career as a dishwasher in Columbia, Maryland. After a month, he advanced to cutting meat and vegetables, learning new skills as he moved through the kitchen.

“I love to cook and people like to eat good food,” he said.

He later worked at Jewel of India in Silver Spring, where he prepared a wide range of dishes. During that time, he made several meals for the president of India while the leader was visiting Washington, D.C.

After another two years at a vegetarian restaurant, Choduri and his brother opened Curry and Clay Oven in Arlington.