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Butter Chicken Recipe (Indian Chicken Makhani)

Butter Chicken Recipe (Indian Chicken Makhani)

Recipe Book: Test from Mukul

Make the BEST Butter Chicken at home with this authentic Indian recipe. This Murgh Makhani is flavor-packed, creamy, delicious and tastes better than your favorite Indian restaurant version.

Ingredients

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Cooking for
4 people

Scaled to 4. The saved recipe makes 4 people — nothing here is saved.

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    First Marination

    Second Marination

    Sauce

    Preparation


    1

    Step 1

    Marinate chicken with lemon juice, chili powder and salt. Cover and rest for 20 minutes.

    2

    Step 2

    Next add yogurt, kasuri methi, oil, turmeric, ginger garlic paste, coriander powder, cumin powder and garam masala powder.

    3

    Step 3

    Marinate and rest for a minimum of 30 minutes, or overnight for best results. Cover and refrigerate.

    4

    Step 4

    Optional – If using onion, sauté in 1 tablespoon oil until lightly golden, for 7 minutes. Cool down.

    5

    Step 5

    To a blender, add tomatoes, sautéed onions, cashews and water. Blend to a smooth puree.

    6

    Step 6

    Remove the chicken from the refrigerator, to bring it close to room temperature.

    7

    Step 7

    Melt butter in a pan & add all the whole spices – cinnamon, cloves and cardamoms.

    8

    Step 8

    When they begin to sizzle, stir in the ginger garlic paste & green chilies. Fry on a low heat, for a minute or 2, till it turns fragrant but not burnt.

    9

    Step 9

    Turn off the heat and stir in red chili powder, garam masala, cumin and coriander powder.

    10

    Step 10

    Stir in the tomato cashew puree. If it is not smooth, strain it to the pan.

    11

    Step 11

    Mix well and cover partially. Bring it to a boil on a medium high heat, reduce the heat to low or medium. Cook until the puree turns thick, keep stirring occasionally.

    12

    Step 12

    Pour hot water and simmer for 10 mins, until the sauce thickens & traces of fats are visible on top of the sauce. Remove the whole spices and discard at this stage.

    13

    Step 13

    Spread one tbsp. butter or ghee in a griddle/pan and heat it well. Place the marinated chicken pieces, spacing them a little apart.

    14

    Step 14

    Fry on a medium heat for 2 mins and turn them. Don’t burn and do not overcook. Cook till the chicken is just cooked and all the marinade dries up.

    15

    Step 15

    Add chicken to the butter chicken gravy. Pour more hot water (about ½ cup, not in the recipe) if the sauce is too thick. Cover and simmer for about 5 to 7 minutes till it becomes tender.

    16

    Step 16

    Stir in salt, sugar and kasuri methi. Taste test and optionally add more garam masala & another tablespoon butter for additional flavour (both are optional).

    17

    Step 17

    Turn off and stir in the heavy cream. Garnish Butter Chicken with chopped coriander leaves and some cream.

    18

    Step 18

    Serve with Turmeric rice, steamed Basmati Rice, Butter naan or Cumin Rice.

    Notes

    Marination is the key to get flavorful, tender & succulent pieces of chicken.
    Yogurt in the marinade tenderizes the chicken so do not skip it.
    Makhani recipe never uses onion. However using them helps to balance the tang/sour taste of tomatoes, especially if you are using passata or canned tomatoes.
    The rich taste in the gravy comes from the cashews (or almonds) & cream.
    You can make the gravy ahead and refrigerate. Just grill the marinated chicken when needed and heat up the gravy. Then add the grilled chicken.

    • Prep Time

      15 min
    • Cook Time

      30 min
    • Serves

      4 people
    • Calories

      385
    Recipe By

    Recipe By

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