This finger-licking Butter Chicken is the creamiest Indian curry you can make in the comfort of your home. Being an exotic dish preparing butter chicken is always an exciting experience for me. Butter Chicken is one of the most popular Indian curries favoured by people around the world. Butter Chicken or Murgh Makhani is a combination of tandoori chicken cooked in tomato base gravy with butter and dry fruits. Cashews add to the sweetness and richness of the dish. This recipe is lightly spicy and layered with different flavours.
Table of contents
1. About the recipe
2 . Ingredients
3 . Step-by-step method
4 . Tips
Serving Suggestions: 4
Marination Time : 3 hours
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
1. About the Recipe
You may think Butter Chicken is centuries old, but it came about in the mid-1900s. This dish was developed accidentally by the chef of a famous restaurant in Delhi a long time ago. He added leftover tandoori chicken in a tomato base gravy; this dish would become their signature dish. In Indian and Pakistani homes, butter chicken is a special occasion dish. It can be as mild or spicy as you wish by adjusting the spices. Butter Chicken goes well with Paratha, Butter Naan, Garlic Naan or plain rice. Today, we see Butter Chicken served not only by itself but in wraps, sandwiches, pizza toppings and more. This dish has truly become world famous for its richness and bold flavours.
In this dish, chicken is marinated and then cooked in tandoor. Grilled, roasted, or pan fry are other cooking options, Since we are not equipped with tandoor at home, the marinated chicken has to be either roasted in a pan or oven or grilled on fire. The sauce is tomato-based with various spices, while cashew and cream are used for a creamy, velvety, sweet texture.
2. Ingredients
a. For Gravy :
- 500 gm boneless chicken
- 2 medium size onions ( chopped or roughly sliced)
- 4 to 5 chopped tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon of ginger paste
- 1 tablespoon of garlic paste
- 1 ½ tablespoons red chilli powder
- ½ tablespoon of turmeric powder
- 1 tablespoon of coriander powder
- 1 tablespoon of cumin powder
- 1 tablespoon of garam masala powder
- 4 to 5 chopped green chilli
- 8 to 10 cashew
- 2 tablespoons full-fat cream
- 1 tablespoon of Fenugreek leaves ( kasoori methi)
- 2 tablespoons of refined oil
- 3 tablespoons of butter
- Salt
b. For Marination:
- 1 tablespoon of ginger paste
- 1 tablespoon of garlic paste
- 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon of cumin powder
- ½ tablespoon of garam masala powder
- 1 tablespoon red chilli powder
- Salt
- 50 gm yoghurt
c. For Grilling
- 3 tablespoons of oil
- 1 piece of coal ( for tandoor flavour)
3. Step-by-step method
- Soak cashews for one hour in hot water and then strain and grind the cashews into a fine paste.
- Cut the chicken into a 1-inch cube.
Marination:
- Marinate chicken with salt, lemon juice, ginger, garlic paste, yoghurt, red chilli powder, garam masala powder and cumin powder.
- Mix well and leave in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours.
Grilling:
- Heat a tablespoon of oil on a hot nonstick pan or griddle. Add chicken pieces and cook on each side for a few minutes until they turn golden brown. Remove them from the pan and keep them aside.
- To smoke the chicken, place a small steel bowl in the middle of the chicken.
- Heat a piece of coal on an open flame until red hot, then place it in a steel bowl. Pour a spoon of oil or ghee over it and cover it with a lid as soon as it starts smoking.
Make Butter Chicken Gravy:
- In a kadhai, heat butter and oil.
- Add chopped green chillies and onion. Fry for a few minutes.
- Add tomatoes, ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, and cumin powder. Saute for a few minutes until tomatoes turn soft. Add soaked cashews and green chilli, and cook for another few minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Cool the mixture. In a blender, transfer all the mixture, and add little water ( around 100 ml). Blend it into a soft, velvety puree. The dish has a lovely tang from the tomatoes and is slightly sweet, with a creamy and velvety feel.
- Heat a thick-bottomed pan or a heavy pan. Keep the flame to a low or medium-low. Add 2 tablespoons butter OR 1 tablespoon oil + 1 or 2 tbsp butter in a pan.
- Adding oil prevents the butter from browning too quickly. Keep the flame to a low. Pour the prepared tomato base puree.
- Mix it well. Add salt ( according to your taste), a little sugar, and crushed kasoori methi ( Fenugreek leaves).
- Begin to cook the tomato puree on a low to medium-low flame. Stir at intervals.
- You will notice that the tomato puree mixture will start simmering.
- Stir and saute tomato puree.
- Cook on low flame.
- Sauté, till the butter starts leaving the sides of the pan and the entire tomato puree mixture comes together as a whole.
- This entire cooking and sautéing of the tomato puree takes about 8 to 10 minutes on a low to medium-low flame.
- Now add chicken pieces to the gravy. Stir and mix the chicken pieces gently in the gravy.
- Cook for another 5 minutes.
- Add 2 tablespoons of fresh cream or malai to the gravy.
- Stir gently and switch off the heat. Serve Butter Chicken hot, garnished with 1 to 2 tablespoons of chopped coriander leaves (cilantro) and the remaining ginger julienne. You can also drizzle some cream or dot it with butter while serving.
- Butter Chicken gravy is slightly sweet and very mildly spiced. Thus making it an excellent gravy to go with roti or chapati. It also goes well with jeera rice or plain rice.
- Naan, Butter Naan, and Rumali roti are great combinations for this dish.
4 . Tips
- The marination of chicken will give you more flavours.
- Use red, ripe and fresh tomatoes.
- The rich gravy taste comes from cashews and cream, So don’t skip it.
- You can make the gravy ahead and refrigerate it. Grill the marinated chicken pieces, heat the gravy, and mix it.
- It’s a great option for a party dish.
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