• BUTTER CHICKEN

    Date: 2009.04.25 | Category: Chicken Recipes | Tags:

    Butter chicken or murgh makhani is an Indian dish from the Punjab region popular in countries all over the world that have a tradition of Indian restaurants.

    Preparation Time : 4 hours

    Cooking Time : 30-40 minutes

    Ingredients

    Chicken – 800 grams
    Lemon juice – 1 tablespoon
    Kashmiri red chilli powder – 1 teaspoon
    Salt to taste
    Butter – 2 tablespoons
    FOR MARINADE
    Yogurt – 1 cup
    Salt to taste
    Garlic paste – 1/2 teaspoon
    Garam masala powder – 1/2 teaspoon
    Kashmiri red chilli powder – 1 teaspoon
    Ginger paste – 2 tablespoons
    Lemon juice – 2 tablespoons
    Mustard oil – 2 tablespoons
    FOR MAKHNI GRAVY
    Butter – 50 grams
    Ginger paste – 1 tablespoon
    Green chillies, chopped – 4-5
    Red chilli powder – 1 tablespoon
    Salt to taste
    Dry fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) – 1/2 teaspoon
    Whole garam masala – 1 tablespoon
    Garlic paste – 1 tablespoon
    Tomato puree – 400 grams
    Garam masala powder – 1/2 teaspoon
    Honey – 2 tablespoons
    Cream – 1 cup

    Method

    Make incisions with a sharp knife on breast and leg pieces of the chicken.

    Apply a mixture of red chilli powder, lemon juice and salt to the chicken and set aside for half an hour.

    Hang yogurt in a muslin cloth for fifteen to twenty minutes to remove extra water. Add red chilli powder, salt, ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice, garam masala powder and mustard oil.

    Apply this marinade to the chicken pieces and refrigerate for three to four hours.

    Put the chicken onto a skewer and cook in a moderately hot tandoor or a preheated oven (200°C) for ten to twelve minutes or until almost done. Baste it with butter and cook for another two minutes. Remove and set aside.

    Heat butter in a pan. Add green cardamoms, cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon. Sauté for two minutes, add ginger-garlic paste and chopped green chillies. Cook for two minutes.

    Add tomato puree, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, salt and one cup of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for ten minutes. Add sugar or honey and powdered kasoori methi.

    Add cooked tandoori chicken pieces. Simmer for five minutes and then add fresh cream.

    Serve hot with naan or parantha.

    Recipe Tip

    : Heat kasoori methi in the oven for sometime or broil kasoori methi on a tawa/griddle plate to make it crisp. It can easily be crushed to a powder with your hand.