Garam Masala Tuesdays: Butter Chicken

Flavorful indian butter chicken recipe. Serve it with Naan or rice for a great Indian meal.

Edited to add in June 2020: The recipe for this flavorful butter chicken has been updated with a print friendly recipe. The recipe has also been edited with minor tweaks that I made to the original recipe over the years . Its mostly the same, but after making it many times I have reduced a few ingredients and added others, while keeping the technique more or less the same. The images in this post have also been updated. 

Original Post published in May 2011:

I actually look forward to calling people home. Not only does it feel nice to have a a house full of friends and laughter, but it forces me to to clean my house- and no, I am not talking about the “it-would-do” kind of cleaning but the “your-mom-will-give-a-pat-on-your-back” kind of cleaning.

Now, when you call people home or host a party of any sorts, you do expect certain hiccups. You expect it would be too hot to cook. You also expect that you would be out the previous day of the party and get a heat stroke and get a mild migraine because of that. You also expect that the party would fall on that day of the month when women get their stomach cramps and the likes. So you are cooking with a slight migraine, stomach cramps in a hot kitchen. Well, you expect all that and don’t think any of it would cause a big problem. And then you hear a shatter- more specifically you hear glass shattering and that too on your kitchen floor. Ohh..kay… – its a setback but one can get past it- its just a bottle, you can clean that. But then your realize- the bottle had oil. Not only is there glass on the floor but there is oil on the kitchen floor ( and of course you needed that oil for your party!) Now who could anticipate that! You wouldn’t, right! But, I do, thanks to my track record. I have butter fingers and I am very serious when I say that. Ask my friends. Things just slip from my hands and the more I am careful the more likely they are to slip! In fact the degree of the damage I do always depends on the cruciality of the whole situation.

But then when you have a husband like V whats there to worry. He knew I was upset plus he knew I was in all probability to slip on the oil or prick my finger on broken glass (the latter happened and the former almost did), so he opted to mop the floor when my cleaning with the newspaper trick did not work.

Well, thanks to my husband’s helping hands, I was able to get the house clean and ready for the party at home. We had our eclectic International friends for dinner and I made Indian. The menu consisted of butter chicken, dal makhani, mixed vegetable, raita and roti. For dessert, we had mango kulfi and these awesome gluten-free cupcakes that our friend had got for us. I have already posted the recipe for Dal Makhani previously on Garam Masala Tuesdays (GMT). You can find the recipe for Mango Kulfi here. For today’s GMT, I will be talking about Butter chicken.

ORIGINS OF BUTTER CHICKEN

Originating from the period of the Mughal Empire, Murgh Makhani aka Butter chicken has survived through the ages and continues to grow in popularity due to it’s rich and flavorful gravy. It is said that the modern version of the Butter Chicken recipe was invented by a person working in the kitchen of the original Moti Mahal restaurant in Daryaganj, Delhi, during the 1960s to use up leftover Tandoori Chicken.

Butter chicken is a definite order at restaurants in India and has become quite famous abroad as well, though in a slightly modified version named Chicken Tikka Masala.

Well back in India, restaurants do not serve CTM, at least I have never seen it. I have never read it on any menu card in India, even though chicken tikka is always there under appetizers but no chicken tikka masala. Butter chicken, on the other hand, is a must in every North Indian restaurant.

CTM, primarily is a UK born dish.

Chicken Tikka Masala was apparently invented in Great Britain about the same time as the modern version of butter chicken. There is a popular story that some restaurant owner poured Campbell’s condensed tomato soup on top of Chicken Tikka because a customer demanded gravy. The topic, though, is controversial as some claim it to be originating from street food in India.

CTM became popular when it was declared as British National Dish by Robin Cook (nope, he is not the famous author of Coma, Brain and the likes, but was UK’s foreign secretary). Robin Cook’s Tikka Masala speech states CTM as “a perfect illustration of the way Britain absorbs and adapts external influences.“

For long I thought chicken tikka masala is what foreigners called butter chicken. But, after googling I found there are slight differences, though the concept is pretty much similar- grilled chicken in a tomato based curry. The slight differences arise in the preparation of the gravy, the kind of chicken used and the spices added.

Whereas, Butter chicken uses fresh tomatoes, CTM generally uses canned tomato puree. The gravy for butter chicken also is pretty heavy on the butter and cream, while CTM doesnt use butter at all (though I have seen recipes of CTM that do! confused? so am I!) and instead has onions. Another supposed difference lies in the kind of chicken used- one uses tandoori chicken and the other uses chicken tikka (nope, no points for guessing which uses which). Also, CTM always uses boneless chicken (since that’s what the recipe for chicken tikka calls for), whereas butter chicken is best prepared with chicken with bones, though one could use boneless pieces too. Someone also observed the use of thigh pieces or whole chicken in butter chicken, whereas CTM uses breasts pieces. Dried fenugreek leaves play a heavy role in the chicken marination for butter chicken, while they do not feature in the other, instead CTM uses cilantro/coriander in the marination.

I can not confirm the authenticity for these difference, since it is based on my observation of different recipes online and personally I feel that since both are modern recipes, originating in restaurants, the difference is primarily one of nomenclature- a difference that arose because people wanted to get attributed to the origin of the dish. For me, though, the authentic Indian dish will always be butter chicken and that is what we are making for GMT today.

Butter chicken is made by marinating chicken overnight in a yogurt, garlic, ginger paste, pepper, dried fenugreek leaves, cumin and red chilli powder mixture. The chicken is traditionally cooked in a tandoor (how I wish I had one at home), but can also be grilled, or broiled in the oven.

Makhani, the sauce, true to its name is cooked in butter (calories! but so worth it!) and pureed fresh tomatoes with various spices. Kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) which is also added to the dish, lends most to the characteristic flavor of the dish. Cashew paste can also be added, and will make the gravy thicker and richer (translate: yummier).

The recipe that I use is a mix of my mother’s and Nandu’s, our cook in India. My mom gives the recipe a nice smoky twist by cooking the gravy in charcoal smoke. It adds a lot of flavor to the gravy and is pretty easy to do!

MURG MAKHANI/BUTTER CHICKEN

Garam Masala Tuesdays: Butter Chicken

 

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Prep time

12 hours

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

13 hours

 

Home made flavorful and authentic butter chicken recipe with a from scratch makhani sauce. Serve it with Naan or rice for a great Indian meal. Use the same makhani gravy to add paneer for a vegetarian version.

Author: Shumaila

Recipe type: Dinner, main, gluten free

Cuisine: Indian

Serves: serves 4

Ingredients

For the first marination

• 750 gms boneless chicken (preferably skinless bone-in, but boneless thighs work too)
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• Juice of 1 lemon
• salt, to taste

For the second marination:

• ½ cup hung curd (strain yogurt in a muslin cloth and keep for 1 hour so that excess water drains out)
• 1 tsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves), crushed
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 Red chilli powder
• 2 tsp mustard oil ( can use vegetable oil)
• ¼ tso turmeric powder
• ½ tsp garam masala (I used homemade and you can find the recipe in the blog archives)

For the makhani sauce:

• 400-500gms tomatoes (about 6-7)
• 1 small onion, peeled and cut in half
• 1 red bell pepper, roasted (skin peeled and seeds removed)
• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• 2-3 dried red chillies
• 1 tbsp butter (add more if you feel like- the more the tastier the results)
• 2 inch stick of cinnamon
• 2 cloves
• 3-4 small green cardamoms
• 1 teaspoon fenugreek/methi seeds
• ¼ cup cashews (you can substitute with blanched almonds as well)
• 1 tbsp kasoori methi
• 2-3 tbsp chopped coriander/cilantro
• ½ tsp garam masala (optional)
• ¼ cup water
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1-2 tbsp ketchup (optional) (you could also use tomato paste with a bit of sugar)
• 2-3 tbsp milk/cream

Instructions

First Marination:

1. Marinate the chicken with salt to taste, lime juice, ginger and garlic paste for 30 mins.

Second Marination:

1. Mix together the second marination ingredients and add to the chicken. Keep it for 10-12 hrs/overnight in the refrigerator.
2. Next day grill the chicken for about 20-25 mins at 220 deg. (I broiled the chicken at high setting for 20 minutes, turning the chicken over once).

For the makhani sauce:

1. While this step is optional, I like the taste of roasted red bell pepper in my makhani sauce. To roast the red bell pepper, oil the bell pepper and place on foil lined baking tray. Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes at 200 deg C, rotating it time to time to get a nice char on all sides. Once roasted, remove the skin, and add to blender.
2. Boil the tomatoes with the onion and cashews.
3. Then churn with the roasted red bell pepper in a blender.
4. Heat butter in a pan and add the whole spices- cinnamon, green cardamom, cloves and methi seeds.
5. Once the seeds start to sizzle, add the dried red chillies in it. Add the tomato-onion-cashew puree. (Tip: Take ¼ cup water to clean the blender of any residual puree.)
6. Cook the gravy well, till the oil separates. Since tomatoe puree splutters a lot I cook the gravy on low, and cover it with a lid, making sure to run the spatula now and then so that it doesn't stick at the bottom. This takes about 15-20 minutes. Once the oil separates, you could leave as is, but in case you don't want the whole spices to come in your mouth while eating, you can puree the sauce. (Tip: I don't wash the blender after pureeing the tomatoes the first time. This way I do not need to keep washing the dishes).
7. Return the sauce to the pan. Add in the ketchup/paste (and sugar) to give the gravy some red color. Add in the water and let come to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.
8. Add grilled chicken and cook till the gravy is thick and coating the chicken. Add the cilantro/coriander, kasoori methi and the cream. Check seasoning and adjust spices.

To make ahead:

1. You can cook till Step 5 and puree the sauce once the oil separates from the pureed tomato mix. Freeze the makhani sauce once it cools down in an airtight container. Thaw in the fridge overnight, and use thawed sauce Step 6 onwards.

Giving the gravy a smoked flavor!

1. If you have charcoal, heat it to red hot on the stove fire. Put a steel bowl (or make bowl one out of aluminium foil) in the pot with the gravy. Once the charcoal piece is red hot, quickly put int he steel/aluminium bowl. Add some butter or ghee on top. (You can also add 2 pieces of cloves on top of the charcoal- just make sure it doesn't fall in the gravy and stays only in the aluminium/steel bowl) and cover the pan. Do it two three times to get the smoke flavor. (see images below)
2. Serve the chicken garnished with chopped cilantro with either Naan or rice.
3. Enjoy cooking and then eating!

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