Butter Chicken
Murgh makhani, invented in Delhi to use up leftover tandoori chicken. Mild, tomato-rich and faintly sweet - the curry to cook for people who say they don't like curry.
- Time
- 50 mins
- Serves
- 4
- Steps
- 7
- Ingredients
- 10
Method
- 01
Marinate the chicken in the yoghurt, half the ginger garlic paste, 1 tsp garam masala and 1 tsp chilli powder. Leave it at least 1 hour.
- 02
Sear the chicken in a hot pan in batches until charred at the edges but not cooked through. Set aside.
- 03
Melt the butter in the same pan and fry the remaining ginger garlic paste for 2 minutes.
- 04
Add the tomato puree and the rest of the spices. Simmer 15 minutes until it darkens and the butter separates at the edges.
- 05
Blend the sauce smooth with a stick blender - this is what gives it the velvety texture rather than a rustic one.
- 06
Return the chicken and simmer 10 minutes until cooked through.
- 07
Stir in the cream and sugar, then crush the fenugreek between your palms over the pan. Serve with naan.
Cooking Tips
- Blend the sauce smooth before the chicken goes back in. That is what gives butter chicken its velvety texture.
- Crush the dried fenugreek between your palms over the pan - it is the flavour most people cannot place.
Ingredient Substitutions
- Kashmiri chilli gives colour without much heat; ordinary chilli powder will make it considerably hotter.
- Coconut cream can replace dairy cream, though the flavour shifts noticeably.
What to Serve With It
- Serve with naan and plain rice.
Storage and Reheating
- Keeps 3 days. Freezes well, though the cream is best stirred in after reheating.
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