Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani) - South Asian Recipe

Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)

🌍 South Asian, Punjab Difficulty: ●●●○○

Invented in 1950s Delhi when a cook added tomato and cream to leftover tandoor chicken.

Ingredients

• 1 kg chicken thighs, skinless, cut into pieces
• 200 g plain yogurt
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tbsp oil
• (sauce) 4 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp oil
• 2 onions, roughly chopped
• 6 garlic cloves
• 2 in ginger, roughly chopped
• 4 large tomatoes, chopped (or 400 g canned)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 100 ml heavy cream
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt to taste
• Fresh cilantro to garnish

Method

1. Mixing — Mix yogurt, lemon juice, chili powder, garam masala, turmeric, and oil. Marinate chicken minimum 4 hours or overnight.
2. Grilling — Grill or broil chicken at high heat until charred at edges, about 8–10 min per side. Set aside.
3. Step 3 — In a heavy pan, heat butter and oil. Add cumin seeds, sizzle 30 seconds.
4. Adding — Add onions, cook until deep golden, 15 min.
5. Adding — Add garlic and ginger, cook 2 min.
6. Adding — Add tomatoes, coriander powder, chili powder. Cook until oil separates, 20 min.
7. Cooling — Cool slightly, blend until smooth, pass through sieve back into pan.
8. Adding — Add chicken to sauce, simmer 10 min.
9. Stirring — Stir in cream, sugar, and garam masala. Adjust salt.
10. Garnishing — Garnish with cilantro and swirl of cream.

Tags: chicken thighs, plain yogurt, lemon juice, kashmiri red chili powder, garam masala · Source: Brittani's Almanac