Butter Chicken is a Moghlai dish, and as is clear from the name, it's cooked in a lot of butter, which makes it extra delicious. Typically available in almost all Indian restaurants, in India and abroad, here's the recipe as it's made in India!
Ingredients
- 300 grams Chicken, cut into small pieces
- 2 inch pcs Cinnamon
- Salt to taste
- Cashew & Almond paste - A handful, ground smoothly
- 2 tsp Ginger & Garlic paste
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
- 2 tsp Red Chilly powder
- 1 tsp Coriander powder
- One finely chopped Onion
- A pinch Orange color
- 3 tsp Butter
- 2 tsp Oil
- 2 tomatoes blended smoothly Tomato purée
- Fresh cream (Table cream)
Procedure
- Sauté (fry) onions in oil till transparent.
- Add cinnamon and continue frying.
- Then add ginger & garlic paste along with a little water.
- Stir continuously.
- Add turmeric, chilly, coriander powder with salt and mix well.
- Pour in tomato purée, cashew & almond paste - mix well with water.
- When it starts to boil, add the chicken which should be mixed with a little colour.
- Then add sufficient water for the chicken to cook.
- Add an appropriate amount of Fresh Cream & mix it well. Adding the cream will make the gravy thicker & it'll get the taste of traditional butter chicken.
- Garnish it with coriander, ginger juliennes & dab of cream.
- Serve hot with parathas or roti.
@ Manas's modification, And the red colour
You just comepleted the full circle of modifications .. hehe
The origins of the 'butter chicken' aka murg makhani are baked chicken kind of ... the authentic butter chicken is supposed to be the leftovers of tandoori chicken added to the fresh cream and tomato gravy, which gives it the rich texture as well as the smoky flavour.
Also, the red color is supposed to have originally been a 'spice' called ratanjot. Its is banned and therefore not availble in India reason .. its use in black magic .. no i'm not kidding ..
good neews for the us .. it is available in canada for sure & likely in the US too.. try it in the pakistani owned stores ..
add a pinch in the warm oil tempering. Be careful thou it burns very easily .. just needs a second of frying.
Deepali
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butter_chicken
tip (cook slower and authentic punjabier)
This I learnt from a friend of mine (an ex roomie).
This lengthens the process, increases the amount of dishes to clean, and kinda brings on more work to the person preparing this dish. But you may like the end result.
After step 5. take the entire mixture prepared so far and blend it using a mixer-blender. a paste is formed. you may have to reheat/refry this mix for some more time as onions tend to give out some water. but if they have been properly fried then its not a big hassel.
take this paste and continue to step 6.
tip (cook faster and yet make tastier)
When I used to cook a butter chicken like this, the curry would taste great and the chicken would taste slightly bland. The reason was the chicken would cook but the essence of the recipe doesnt permeate into the chicken.
I slightly altered my process of cooking this dish. The process of preparing the curry remains the same. On the other hand, marinate the chicken in the same masalas for 10-15 mins (about while the curry is being prepared),(also if you think that marinating the chicken in these masalas may make it spicier, adjust the masalas from the curry onto the chicken), so marinate the chicken for 10-15 mins in these masala.
Next in a different pan take 3-4 tbsp of butter or rather as much as required. Fry the marinated chicken in this butter till it is semi cooked and yellow to brownish in looks. (u can say just like the saute with a dash on the e -ing of the onions)
now mix the curry and this butter fried marinated chicken. also dont hesitate to add in the watery mixture at the end of the frying session into the curry that brings in an amazing aroma.
And now let the chicken cook as per step 8 of this recipe. Continue step 9 10 and 11.
Enjoy!
Better yet, cook the chicken completely first!
Hey Shailen, I use a modified version of the modified version you mentioned. Basically, marinate the chicken for a few hours before serving time, and cook it in an oven. Then add to the gravy at the right time, so it all blends really well.
The main advantage is the same as you what you said, that the flavors permeate the chicken much better, which is the essence of all Indian cooking. (No, we can't just bake the chicken first and dip it in a sauce later, à la some other cuisines!)