Not Your Butter Chicken host Shiva Reddy. (Photo: Burdock and Co Sommelier)

By David Opinko

‘Not Your Butter Chicken’ highlights South Asians in Lethbridge

May 1, 2025 | 9:58 AM

A new documentary series from TELUS celebrates the untold stories of South Asians in Western Canada.

Not Your Butter Chicken sees host Shiva Reddy travelling to Lethbridge, Fort McMurray, Kamloops and Kelowna, to speak with locals of South Asian descent, particularly Indian.

At the same time, Reddy tries to connect to her mom, who has dementia, through traditional Indian recipes.

“Having to try to hold on to these stories and try to understand her memories, as well, I need to figure out her cooking. It’s one of those things where it’s like, you get to see the journey of me connecting with my mom, trying to take care of her, trying to hold on to as much as possible,” says Reddy. “While doing that and travelling, I’m getting to see very similar stories in these communities as well.”

The four-episode series is directed by Priyanka Desai, who says the name, Not Your Butter Chicken, is an entry point for more serious conversations about identity, the silent sacrifices women make and more.

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Butter chicken is the most popular Indian dish in Canada, yet it is something that most Indians do not eat very often. Desai grew up in Mumbai and says she had only eaten butter chicken a few times before moving to Canada seven years ago.

Reddy adds that Indians are so much more than just butter chicken, and she wants to share the varied real-life stories of people in different communities.

Desai and Reddy came to Lethbridge to film content for the show last fall, and Reddy says it was bizarre to see nobody on the streets at first, only a few tumbleweeds.

Reddy’s perception instantly changed when they entered the Good Times Lethbridge Comedy Club to meet with stand-up comedian Laksh Gill.

Desai says she appreciates how Gill is a convention-breaker, as many young Indians are pushed into careers like engineering and medicine.

“He’s finding his own path with stand-up comedy, and it’s really amazing to see a brown man standing there and being applauded and being laughed at, but in a good way,” says Desai.

The pair then met with CKXU radio host Madeson Singh, who told the documentary crew that she has often struggled with her identity, being Punjabi and Cree. Singh says it was an empowering moment when she realized that she did not have to choose between her two halves, and that they both inform who she is.

Other locals highlighted in the series are agri-food scientist Dr. Harwinder Sidhu and community builder Dr. Pardip Athwal.

Desai told LNN that she was surprised to see such a large and thriving South Asian community in Lethbridge.

She and Reddy were invited to a Diwali celebration at the Galt Museum, which is India’s largest annual festival.

Reddy says she will never forget the experiences she had while creating the docu-series.

“I think the biggest thing that Priyanka and I have realized is, every time we share Not Your Butter Chicken, it’s so funny because we’re seeing a room that’s just like laughing, crying, kind of hungry at the same time – it’s just a really precious room and I was just not expecting to encounter that,” says Reddy.

Not Your Butter Chicken is available on Telus Optik TV, CBC Gem and select domestic WestJet flights. You can also learn more on NotYourButterChicken.com

Lethbridge comedian Laksh Gill shown in this still image from Not Your Butter Chicken. (Photo: Richard Tran and Lon Gross)

Lethbridge agri-food scientist Dr. Harwinder Sidhu is shown in this still image for Not Your Butter Chicken. (Photo: Richard Tran and Lon Gross)

A behind the scenes photo of Not Your Butter Chicken host Shiva Reddy interviewing CKXU radio host Madeson Singh. (Photo: Joanna Wong)

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