Indian Butter Chicken
Indian food is something that I have grown to love. Whilst it is not very popular in the USA, it has become a popular cuisine in places that I have lived before like England and Dubai.
Butter Chicken, known as Murgh Makhani in India, is a staple dish in Indian cuisine. It combines tender chicken pieces with a spicy tomato gravy - absolutely delicious. There are three steps to this dish, and I have separated the ingredients and I recommend that you do the second marinade overnight to give extra tenderness to the chicken. I also recommend to make the sauce / gravy the day before and let the flavors mingle overnight too before reheating !
Ingredients - marinade 1
2 lbs chicken - washed, patted dry and cut into small pieces – (feel free to use chicken with or without bones, chicken thighs or a combination of breast and thighs)
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon salt
Oil/butter/ghee to baste while grilling
Ingredients - marinade 2
3/4 cup plain yogurt or use 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons kasuri methi/dried fenugreek leaves
1/2 – 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
1 1/2 tablespoon mustard oil (or any other cooking oil to substitute)
1 1/2 tablespoon ginger paste
1/2 tablespoon garlic paste
Ingredients - sauce
2 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoon ginger paste
4 tablespoon garlic paste
2 fresh green chili pepper (depending on your prefered heat levels, keep whole and slit lengthwise, remove the seeds to limit spiciness or keep seeds in to give extra hotness)
4 tablespoon melted butter
4 green cardamoms
1 1/2 – 2 inch cinnamon sticks (whole)
2 cloves
1 black cardamon
3/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
3 cups tomato puree
1 tablespoon red chili powder (or cayenne powder)
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves (very lightly toasted on a dry skillet and crushed)
1/2 tablespoon honey
3/4 cup heavy cream
Marinade 1
Season the chicken with salt. Sprinkle with red chili powder and lemon juice. Massage the marinade into the chicken, coating all pieces evenly. Set aside in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
Marinade 2
Combine all ingredients of marinade 2 (see ingredient list above). Take the chicken out of the fridge and apply this marinade to the chicken and refrigerate for at least four hours; overnight works better.
Sauce
Heat butter in a thick bottomed pan. Add green cardamons, black cardamon, cloves and cinnamon. Sauté for a couple of minutes or till they start to sizzle and get fragrant. Add the fenugreek seeds. When the fenugreek seeds sizzle, add ginger paste and garlic paste, and the slit green chillies. Cook over medium heat for five to eight minutes (the water from the paste will reduce and the quantity will reduce).
Add tomato puree or paste, red chili powder, and salt. Cook over medium heat for about 15 – 20 minutes. The puree will reduce to a thick paste. After the tomatoes are cooked down, blend the cooked sauce (along with all the spices) into a smooth puree.
Return puree back to the pan after blending and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes; add honey and crushed fenugreek leaves.
Cooking the chicken
Put the chicken pieces on skewers and cook on a grill or a preheated oven at 400°F, for about 10 minutes while turning them over half-way. Cook until done. Do not overcook, as the chicken will dry out. Set aside once done.
Finishing off
Add cooked grilled chicken pieces to the sauce. Stir well to combine – the chicken will be well coated with the sauce. Cover and simmer for eight to ten minutes; Lower the heat and add garam masala powder and the heavy cream. Stir in the cream and simmer at low heat for about five more minutes.
Serve with a dash of heavy cream and chopped cilantro as garnish. Sides to go with the curry can range based on your personal tastes. Some examples are plain basmati rice, pilaf rice, aloo gobi, naan bread, crispy poppadoms or onion salad.
Additional Tips :
- For the sauce consistency, I prefer a thicker gravy. If you want a thinner sauce, add some hot water to the pan until you get your preferred consistency.
- Some of the ingredients are hard to find in a standard grocery store. I managed to find mine at FoodMaxx as it is our local international food store.
middleeastcoastchef