Butter Chicken Recipe (Indian Chicken Makhani)
Classic Indian Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani) featuring tender marinated chicken in a silky, aromatic tomato-cashew cream sauce.
Equipment
Ingredients
Marinade
boneless chicken (boneless)
500 g
lemon juice
15 ml
salt
3 g
Kashmiri red chili powder
3 g
garam masala
4 g
kasuri methi
1 g
turmeric
0.5 g
cumin powder
2 g
coriander powder
2 g
oil
10 ml
ginger garlic paste
12 g
Greek yogurt
80 g
Sauce
butter
30 g
ginger garlic paste
12 g
green chilies
10 g
Kashmiri red chili powder
5 g
garam masala
6 g
cumin powder
2 g
coriander powder
3 g
kasuri methi
1 g
cinnamon
1 piece
green cardamoms
4 piece
cloves
4 piece
onion
130 g
tomatoes
600 g
cashews
42 g
water
350 ml
Instructions
Prepare chicken for marinade
Pat dry chicken with paper towels. Add chili powder, salt and lemon juice. Mix well, cover and rest for 20 minutes.
Complete marinade
Add ginger garlic paste, garam masala, cumin, coriander, kasuri methi, turmeric and Greek yogurt. Mix thoroughly, cover and refrigerate for minimum 12 hours.
Prepare onions for sauce
Heat oil in pan, add sliced onions and sauté on medium heat until slightly golden, 7-8 minutes. Cool slightly and add to blender.
Make tomato-cashew puree
Add tomatoes, cashews and ½ cup water to blender with onions. Blend to smooth puree. Strain if needed.
Temper spices for sauce
Heat butter in pan, add whole spices (cinnamon, cloves, cardamom). Once sizzling, add ginger garlic paste and green chilies. Fry 1-2 minutes.
Add ground spices
Turn off heat. Stir in chili powder, garam masala, cumin and coriander powder.
Cook tomato puree
Pour in tomato-cashew puree. Bring to boil on medium-high heat, then partially cover and simmer 12-15 minutes until thick.
Add cashew cream and water
Stir in cashew cream. Pour 1½ cups hot water and simmer partially covered for 10 minutes until sauce thickens.
Grill the chicken
Pan-fry chicken on medium heat with oil/butter for 2 minutes per side until just done. Optional: increase heat to brown chicken pieces.
Combine chicken and sauce
Add grilled chicken pieces to the thickened sauce. Simmer together for 2-3 minutes. Garnish with cream if desired.
Original recipe
Storage
Sauce may thicken when refrigerated; add splash of water when reheating
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