Butter Chicken

Chicken Makhani

Ingredients

Chicken – 1 kg

Kashmiri red chilli powder – 1 tsp

Salt to taste

For marination

Yoghurt – 1 cup

Kashmiri red chilli powder – 1 tsp

Butter – 2 tbl.sp

Ginger paste – 2 tbl.sp

Garlic paste – 2 tbl.sp

Lemon juice – 2 tbl.sp

Garam msala powder – ½ tso

Mustard oil – 2 tsp

Salt to taste

For gravy

Tomato puree – 400 gm

Butter – 3 tbl.sp

Ginger paste – 1 tbl.sp

Garlic paste – 1 tbl.sp

Red chilli powder – 1 tbl.sp

Kasoori methi – ½ tsp

Chopped green chillies – 1 tsp

Whole garam masala – 1 tbl.sp

Sugar/honey – 2  tbl.sp

Salt to taste 

Method

Clean and wash the chicken pieces. Make slit on leg pieces and breast with a sharp knife. Make a paste of red chilli powder, lemon juice and salt and apply to the chicken and leave aside for an hour. In a pan, take thick yoghurt, red chilli powder, salt, ginger garlic paste, lemon juice, garam masala and mustard oil. Apply this to the chicken and marninate it for 4 hours. Put the chicken on a skewer and fry on a tandoor or oven at 200 degree Celsius for ten to twelve minutes. Remove from oven and keep aside.

In a pan, heat ghee or butter, add whole garam masala, when it crackle, add ginger garlic paste and cut green chillies, fry for two minutes. Then add tomato puree, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, salt and a cup of water and bring to boil. Lower the heat, and add sugar or honey and kasoori methi and then add chicken pieces. Add fresh cream if you need. Serve hot with naan.

Butter Chicken

 Ingredients

          Boneless chicken – 1 kg

·         Lemon juice - 1

·         Salt  and red chilli powder as per taste

·          Cloves -6

·          Peppercorns - 10

·          Cinnamon – 1 inch

·          Bay leaves - 2

·         Almonds - 10

·          Cardamom - 4

·          Fresh yoghurt – 1 cup

·         Cooking oil 3 tsp

·         Onions  - 2

·         Garlic paste – 2 tsp

·         Ginger paste – 1 tsp

·         Coriander powder -  2 tsp

·         Cumin powder – 1 tsp

·         Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

·          Tomato paste – 400 gm

·          Chicken stock – 500 gm

·         kasuri methi  - 2 tsp

·         Unmelted, soft butter – 3 tsp

·         Coriander leaves to garnish – 1 cup

Preparation:

Wash and cut chicken in to medium pieces, add salt, red chilli powder, lime juice to it and leave it for marinating for 1 hour. Heat a flat pan and roast clove, black pepper cinnamon, bay leaves and almonds till they are slightly dark. Cool and add cardamom seeds to it. Grind this to a coarse powder.

Mix this powder along with yoghurt, coriander, cumin and turmeric and add it to the chicken and allow it to marinate for another hour.

Heat little oil in a pan and fry only the chicken from the chicken spice mix, till the chicken pieces turn from pink to whitish in color. Now add tomato paste, kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), chicken stock and remaining pat of the chicken spice mix. Cook till the chicken is tender and the gravy has thickened.  Melt butter and pour it over the chicken. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with Naan.