Butter Chicken is among
the best known Indian foods all over the world. Its gravy can be made as hot or
mild as you like so it suits most palates. Also commonly known as Murg Makhani,
Butter Chicken tastes great with Kaali Daal (black lentils), Naans and a green
salad. This is my recipe for Butter Chicken and it is the real deal! It has
been tried and tested numerous times and is loved by everybody that has eaten
it.
Ingredients:
·
1 kg boneless chicken skin removed
·
Juice of 1 lime
·
Salt to taste
·
1 tsp red chilli powder (adjust to suit your taste)
·
6 cloves
·
8-10 peppercorns
·
1" stick of cinnamon
·
2 bay leaves
·
8-10 almonds
·
Seeds from 3-4 pods of cardamom
·
1 cup fresh yoghurt (must not be sour)
·
3 tbsps vegetable/canola/sunflower cooking oil
·
2 onions chopped
·
2 tsps garlic paste
·
1 tsp ginger paste
·
2 tsps coriander powder
·
1 tsp cumin powder
·
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
·
400g/ 14 oz of chopped tomatoes, ground into a smooth paste in a
food processor
·
1/2 litre chicken stock
·
2 tbsps kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
·
3 tbsps unmelted, soft butter
·
Salt to taste
·
Coriander leaves to garnish
Preparation:
·
Mix the chicken, lime juice, salt and red chilli powder in a
large, non-metallic bowl. Cover and allow to marinate for 1 hour.
·
Heat a flat pan or griddle on medium heat and gently roast
(stirring frequently) the cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, bay leaves and almonds
till they darken slightly. Cool and add the cardamom seeds. Now grind into a
coarse powder in a clean, dry coffee grinder.
·
Mix the yoghurt, above whole spice powder (from previous step),
coriander, cumin and turmeric powders together and add them to the chicken.
Allow to marinate for another hour.
·
Heat the oil in a deep pan on medium heat. When hot, add the
onions. Fry till a pale golden brown in color and then add the ginger and
garlic pastes. Fry for a minute.
·
Add only the chicken from the chicken-spice mix and fry till
sealed (chicken will turn opaque and the flesh will go from pink to whitish in
color).
·
Now add the tomato paste, chicken stock, kasuri methi and
remaining part of the yogurt-spice mix to the chicken.
·
Cook till the chicken is tender and the gravy is reduced to half
its original volume.
·
Melt the butter in another small pan and then pour it over the
chicken.
·
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with Naan and Kaali Daal.
·
For an authentic and traditional cooked-over-the-coals flavour:
When the Butter Chicken is cooked, make a small bowl shape with aluminum foil
and place it on top of the curry ('floating' on it). Heat a briquette of
charcoal on an open flame till red hot and gently put the charcoal in to the
aluminum foil bowl. Cover the dish immediately. Remove the cover just before
serving, discard the foil bowl and charcoal and serve. The curry will be
infused with a smokey flavor!
Comments
Post a Comment