Butter chicken. Butter chicken originated in a Delhi restaurant when the chef was looking for a way to serve unsold tandoori chicken from the night before. He created a mild tomato curry spiced with cinnamon. Butter chicken is prepared with marinated chicken that's first grilled and then served in a rich gravy (a.k.a. curry) made with tomato, butter, and a special spice blend as a base.
In its purest form, it is yogurt-and-spice-marinated chicken dressed in a velvety red bath comprising butter, onions, ginger and tomatoes scented with garam masala, cumin and turmeric, with a cinnamon tang.
Butter chicken was first created in India just a few decades ago, and was actually born out of a need to re-purpose unsold chicken.
So he created a creamy tomato sauce full of spices and butter to rehydrate the chicken and create.
You can cook Butter chicken using 28 ingredients and 25 steps. Here is how you cook it.
Ingredients of Butter chicken
- You need 400 gm of boneless chicken breast/ thigh (cut into chunks).
- You need 1 tbsp of lemon juice.
- You need 1 teaspoon of Kashmiri red chilli powder -.
- It's to taste of Salt.
- You need 2 tbsp of Butter.
- Prepare of Ingredients for marinade.
- Prepare 1/2 cup of Yogurt.
- You need 2 teaspoons of Ginger paste.
- You need 2 teaspoons of Garlic paste.
- It's 1/2 tsp of Kashmiri red chilli powder (can add up to 1 1/2 tsp according to preference).
- Prepare 1/2 teaspoon of Garam masala powder -.
- It's to taste of Salt.
- You need 1/2 of lemon - Lemon juice.
- Prepare 3-4 teaspoons of Mustard oil.
- You need of Ingredients for gravy.
- It's 2-4 tbsp of Butter.
- It's 2-4 of Green cardamom.
- It's 2-4 of Clove.
- You need 3-4 of Black peppercorns.
- Prepare 1 inch of piece - Cinnamon.
- You need 1 tsp of Ginger paste.
- It's 1 tsp of Garlic paste.
- It's 3-4 of small tomatoes - Tomato puree.
- You need 1/2 tsp of Red chilli powder (can be increased upto 1 1/2 teaspoons according to spice preference).
- You need to taste of Salt.
- You need 2 tablespoons of Sugar or honey.
- It's 1/2 teaspoon of Kasoori methi.
- It's 1/2 cup of - Plain cashew nuts (Nut alternative - Fresh cream 1- 1 1/2 cup, add according to preference).
Butter Chicken is an easy recipe that's full of savory flavor with warm spices. This mild curry has tender chunks of chicken simmered in a creamy spiced curry sauce. It's quick to make with chicken, tomato sauce, cream, and handful of pantry spices. Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani) is one of the most popular curries in the world and yet happens to be one of the easiest!
Butter chicken instructions
- Cashew paste (SKIP IF you are allergic to cashews/ don't like the taste, please use plain yoghurt as substitute) Place the cashews and add 1 cup of water into your blender or food processor and blend on high until completely smooth. Add more water IF needed. It needs to be a thick paste and not runny! Pour into a bowl and set it aside. Don't clean your blender yet - you'll need it again.X.
- Tomato puree (SKIP if you have store bought) Place roughly chopped tomatoes and blitz. No need to add extra water. Consistency needs to be thick and similar to paste. Set aside..
- PART 2: MARINATION.
- Apply a mixture of red chilli powder, lemon juice and salt to the chicken pieces and set aside for half an hour in the refrigerator..
- Hang the yogurt in a muslin cloth for fifteen to twenty minutes to remove extra water. (Add curd to a cloth, tie it up, suspend it from a tap, let the water drip from the cloth).
- Marination paste: After this, add the ginger and garlic pastes, red chilli and garam masala powders, salt and mustard oil to the yogurt. Mix well..
- Apply this marinade to the chicken pieces and place them in the refrigerator for 2–4 hours..
- PART 3 a & b can be done simultaneously to save time! Both take roughly the same time; and the chicken is to be added to the gravy when it's almost cooked..
- PART 3 a: COOKING THE CHICKEN (10–15 minutes).
- Heat skillet, add 2–4 tbsp of butter or oil. Keep on medium - high heat flame Add the chicken and brown on both sides, about 10–12 minutes total. You don't need to cook the chicken all the way. Chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces after.
- PART 3 b: GRAVY (10–12 minutes).
- While the chicken is browning, start cooking the curry!.
- Heat the butter/ oil in a non-stick pan on low flame for a 1 or 2 minutes. Butter heats/ burns real quick; so keep it on low flame..
- Add the green cardamoms, cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon..
- Sauté for two minutes, add the ginger and garlic pastes and sauté for two minutes. Add the tomato puree, red chilli powder, salt and half cup of water. Increase flame to high, bring to a boil for 1–2 minutes..
- Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for ten minutes..
- Add the cashew cream, the chopped chicken and stir. Add couple of tablespoons - 1/2 cup of water if it's too thick/ dry and stir on medium flame..
- Add the white/ brown sugar or honey and powdered kasoori methi..
- Add the cooked tandoori chicken pieces. Simmer for five minutes. Add the fresh cream and stir gently..
- Serve hot with naan or parantha..
- Notes:.
- Cashew pieces are less expensive than whole cashews and work well in this recipe. If you don't have a high-powered blender, I recommend soaking the cashews in water for a few hours. Rinse the cashews and discard the water before you blend them..
- Place the marinated chicken in the fridge for 2–4 hours for best results. Recommend one hour minimum..
- Be generous with mustard oil in marination process as adds to flavour and makes the chicken softer..
- Onions in gravy : I skipped this, but if you like, chop them up finely, add them to the pan after heating the butter and cook them for 4–5 minutes. Once the colour and fragrance have drained, add the spices, pastes, etc..
No hunting down hard to find ingredients, this is a Chef recipe that makes the most incredible curry sauce. The chicken is incredibly tender and injected with flavour from a yogurt marinade, and the Butter Chicken sauce is so ridiculously delicious, you'll want it on tap! WHY IS IT CALLED BUTTER CHICKEN. Created by Kundan Lal Gujral, you may notice that Butter Chicken (known as murgh makhani — chicken with butter), is similar to British tikka masala. Prepared in a buttery gravy with the addition of cream gives the curry sauce a silky smooth rich texture.