Butter Chicken

Butter Chicken a delectable Indian dish with a rich silky, buttery, creamy and very flavorful gravy with succulent pieces of chicken and no doubt the best ever.

Butter chicken a dish which needs no introduction, famous worldwide. Being a Punjabi this dish holds a special place in my heart. Not only butter chicken there are a lot of dishes which I cannot do without my kekabs, chicken tikka, not to forget one of my favorite dal makhani, paneer tikka, chicken biryani, chole bhature, rajma rice how can I forget…this one being the most favorite. Butter chicken is an absolute hit in my house especially with both my babies, they just love it with butter naan…in no time they polish off their plates J I mean seriously. This delicious dish can be made right at home a few pantry staples. Trust me this is simply finger lickin good and I keep getting a lot of compliments for the same…it feels so good when people love your food, isn’t it! Sometime back I had hosted a dinner for friends where I made Shahi paneer as one of the dish and can you imagine the entire quantity which I had made was polished by all. I keep getting requests for making it again and again.

Butter Chicken or murg makhani whatever you call it is believed to have its origination at a restaurant in Delhi named Moti Mahal. It’s rightly said food brings people close together. There is no place where I have not eaten this yummy dish being the topic of discussion today, from the most famous restaurants; to road side dhabas…I liked the one which is served at copper chimney in Mumbai. But trust me friends this one which is so finger licking good and to die for, the makhani gravy is so luxurious, creamy and rich in flavors and those tender pieces of chicken just melt in your mouth. This recipe is simple enough, all you need to do is to follow the instructions and there you have the most rich and creamy butter chicken right on your dining table, just watch the compliments that follow and you will simply thank yourself for making this and hey dearies don’t forget to thank me as well…just kidding.

Butter chicken is all about the sauce…how rich, buttery and silky your sauce is which is quite simple to put together. The chicken needs to be marinated ahead of time with ginger garlic, yogurt, maybe 5-6 hours or more before the actual preparation. The more you marinate the more juicer and tender the chicken will be. Once the marination is done we need to grill the chicken to get that smoky flavor. The rich and creamy sauce here is the real hero of the dish, warm aromatic spices and the addition of honey strikes a perfect balance between sweet, spice, tangy flavor from tomatoes. The cashew nuts added adds to the richness of the sauce and the fresh cream gives that creaminess to the dish. The makhani gravy is the perfect partner to the chicken tikkas that we grilled. Once the makhani gravi is done the chicken tikkas are added and cooked till blended. Butter chicken as a dish has evolved over the years, there are recipes available across the globe
in different forms. Every household today has their own version, some like it sweet, some add more spices, some make it more rich with more cream and cashew nuts, some like to keep it healthy simply by avoiding cream and butter. So what I mean to say is the dish has evolved according the taste and preference of an individual. The recipe that I am sharing with you lovely people is simply a gem which you will treasure the way I do.

Sharing the recipe :

Ingredients:

·
First marinade:

·
Chicken breast about 300 grams cut in ½ inch pieces

·
Lemon juice 1 tablespoon

·
Kashmiri red chilli powder 1 teaspoon

·
Salt to taste

·
Butter about 2 tablespoons

·
Second Marinade:

·
Yogurt ½ cup

·
Ginger – garlic paste 2 teaspoons

·
Kashmiri red chilli powder ½ teaspoon

·
Garam masala powder ½ teaspoon

·
Salt to taste

·
Mustard oil 2 teaspoon

·
For Makhani Gravy

·
5 large tomatoes roughly chopped

·
Cloves 2

·
Cashew nuts 6-7

·
Ginger – garlic paste 2 teaspoons

·
Onions roughly chopped about ½ cup

·
Chilli powder 1 teaspoon

·
Fresh cream ¼ cup

·
Garam masala ½ teaspoon

·
Kasoori methi ½ teaspoon

·
Honey 1 teaspoon

·
Oil 1 tablespoon

·
Butter 1 tablespoon

·
Salt to taste

Directions
Hang the yogurt in muslin cloth to remove extra water for 15 – 20 minutes.

2.
Apply a mixture of red chilli powder, lemon juice and salt to chicken. Set aside to marinate for half hour in the refrigerator.

3.
To the hung yogurt add ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, salt and mustard oil. Be careful with the salt as we have added it to the first marinade as well.

4.
Apply this yogurt marinade to the already marinated chicken pieces and refrigerate for minimum 5 – 6 hours.

5.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. String the chicken pieces onto the skewers and grill for about 15 minutes or till done.

6.
Baste with butter and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Remove and set aside

7.
While the chicken is in the oven lets get down to the making of makhani sauce. Heat a pan, add tomatoes, cloves, cashew nuts, onions and oil with ¼ cup of water and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes
till the tomatoes are mushy. Cool completely.

8.
Once cool blend into a smooth puree. Strain through a sieve and keep aside.

9.
Melt the butter in a pan, add the ginger garlic paste and sauté for a few seconds.

10. Add the strained tomato puree, chilli powder, garam masala, salt, honey and bring to boil. Cook for about 10 – 12 minutes. Adjust seasoning according to taste.

11. Add ¼ cup cream and kasuri methi. Cook for 3 – 4 minutes

12. Now add the cooked chicken pieces to the makhani sauce.

13. Cook for about 2 – 3 minutes or till well blended.

14. Enjoy this extremely delicious butter chicken with butter naan, jeera rice or with laccha parantha just the way we did.

Love,