Butter chicken

You go to any restaurant in India & I mean any restaurant in India, their menu will have butter chicken without fail. It is like that one dish which has become the face of Indian curries. Doesn't matter if you are a Punjabi, a Maharashtrian, a South Indian from the East or from Far East or from another country altogether, one always loves the Butter  Chicken.

It's that one dish which has everlasting love for it and whenever it is offered one just cannot say no. The creamy tomato based curry, with a slight sweet, tangy & spicy flavor, bursting with the flavors from traditional but exotic spices topped with a slab of butter & served with butter naan... just... yummmm.  

Every great Indian cook wants to master the butter chicken, as a mastery of this dish is not an easy task. There are many variants to the butter chicken, some make it tangy, some make it sweet and some make it spicy but the real challenge is getting the right mix of all these three. As the creamy gravy combined with the soft and succulent chicken bathing in butter hits your taste buds, the flavor  & aroma from the spices shoots you straight to the heart of Punjab and then there is just waaahs and wows to be heard with every bite.

This recipe I am sharing with you today will give you the taste of what real home made , healthy but yet tasty and original butter chicken tastes like. I have adopted no short cuts in the cooking process as I want to do justice to this dish and give it the respect it deserves. So go ahead along with a plate of  hot butter naan in your hands and experience the love from Punjab for yourself and your loved ones .

First Marination

• 450 grams chicken (1 lb.)
• ¾ tbsp. lemon juice
• ¼ tsp. Salt
• ½ tsp. Red chili powder
• Second marination
• ¾ tsp. kasuri methi
• ⅛ tsp. turmeric
• ½ tsp. garam masala powder
• ¾ tbsp. oil
• 1 tbsp. ginger garlic paste
• ½ cup thick curd/ hung yogurt (or greek yogurt, refer notes)

Makhani Masala (gravy)

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tsp. ginger garlic paste
• One thin 2 inch cinnamon stick
• 2 green cardamoms
• 2 cloves
• Generous pinch of methi powder (fenugreek seeds powder)
• 1 to 2 green chilies slit
• 4 large tomatoes (pureed in the blender and filtered to remove skin and seeds) or tinned puree as needed  
• 1 tsp red chili powder (adjust to suit your taste and color)
• 8 cashew nuts or blanched soaked almonds paste
• ½ tsp. garam masala powder (refer notes)
• ½ tbsp. kasuri methi
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 80 to 100 ml chilled cream (refer the notes)
• Coriander leaves for garnishing

Instructions

1. Wash chicken under running water and pat dry. Marinate chicken with lemon juice, chili powder and salt for 20 minutes.
2. Marinate chicken from step 1 with yogurt, kasuri methi, oil, turmeric, ginger garlic paste, and garam masala powder. Refrigerate for at least 3 to 4 hours, overnight works best.

3. Grill the chicken in an oven or stove top. For stove top method, Add one tsp. butter and add the chicken and fry on high flame till all the moisture evaporates. Keep stirring constantly to prevent burning. Cook till the chicken is cooked.

4. Transfer this to a plate and set aside.

5. Heat a pan with butter, add dry spices (cinnamon, cardamom and clove) fry for a min or two. Add ginger garlic paste, green chilies and fry till it turns fragrant.

6. To the pan, add the tomato puree, red chili powder and salt. Mix and cook until the tomato puree becomes thick and begins to leave the sides of the pan.

7. Pour 1 cup water and add methi powder, cashew paste or almond paste. Adjust the water to suit your desired consistency

8. Bring the mix to a boil and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Add kasuri methi and garam masala now, or add at a later step for the best aroma.

9. Add chicken and simmer for about 5 to 7 minutes till the chicken becomes soft and tender.

10. Add garam masala, kasuri methi. Stir and simmer for about 2 to 3 minutes. Pour chilled cream and switch off the stove.

11. Garnish  with coriander leaves and extra cream if desired

Notes

• You can use bone-in chicken or boneless chicken.
• curd/yogurt: If you do not have hung curd or greek yogurt, you can use thick yogurt too, but the cooking time takes a little longer.
• If you do not have almonds, you could use 10 cashew nuts or 1 ½ tbsp. magaz seeds
• cream: If you don’t want to use heavy cream, you can go ahead using nestle thick cream that is used for deserts, but do not cook for long after you add to the gravy. Chill the cream and add it to the gravy and switch off the stove otherwise the gravy could look curdled.