Butter Chicken Recipe (Indian Chicken Makhani)
Directions
- 1Marinate chicken with lemon juice, chili powder, and salt; rest for 20 minutes. Add yogurt, kasuri methi, oil, turmeric, ginger-garlic paste, coriander powder, cumin powder, and garam masala; marinate for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.
- 2Sauté onions (optional) until golden; cool.
- 3Blend tomatoes, sautéed onions, cashews, and water into a smooth puree.
- 4Melt butter, add whole spices, then ginger-garlic paste and chilies; fry until fragrant.
- 5Stir in red chili powder, garam masala, cumin, and coriander powder.
- 6Stir in tomato-cashew puree; bring to a boil, then simmer until thickened.
- 7Pour hot water and simmer until sauce thickens.
- 8Grill or bake chicken until cooked.
- 9Add chicken to the gravy; simmer until tender.
- 10Stir in salt, sugar, kasuri methi; add more garam masala and butter if desired.
- 11Stir in heavy cream; garnish and serve with rice or naan bread.
Ingredients
- 0.5 kg boneless chicken
- 0.5 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (or paprika, adjust to taste, reduce for kids)
- 0.25 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- 0.75 tablespoon lemon juice
- 0.33 cup Greek yogurt (hung curd/thick curd)
- 0.75 tablespoon ginger garlic paste (or ½ tbsp fine grated ginger + ½ tbsp fine grated garlic)
- 0.125 teaspoon turmeric (haldi, optional)
- 0.75 teaspoon garam masala (adjust to taste)
- 0.5 teaspoon cumin powder (optional)
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder (optional)
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi (optional, dried fenugreek leaves)
- 0.75 tablespoon oil
- 2 tablespoons butter or ghee (divided)
- 2 inch cinnamon piece (optional, for extra flavor)
- 2 to 4 green cardamoms (optional, for added flavor)
- 2 to 4 cloves (optional)
- 1.5 cups onions sliced (optional, cuts down acidity from tomatoes)
- 600 grams fresh tomatoes (or 1 cup passata/canned tomato puree or ⅓ cup double concentrate tomato paste)
- 0.75 tablespoon ginger garlic paste (or ½ tbsp each fine grated ginger and garlic)
- 1 to 2 green chilies (optional, deseed, slit or chop)
- 28 whole raw cashews (soaked in hot water, sub with ¼ to ⅓ cup heavy cream)
- 0.5 cup water to blend (more if required)
- 1 to 2 teaspoons Kashmiri chili powder (reduce for kids, adjust to taste)
- 1 to 1½ teaspoons garam masala (divided, adjust to taste)
- 1 to 1½ teaspoons coriander powder (optional, adjust to taste)
- 0.5 teaspoon cumin powder (optional, adjust to taste)
- 0.5 to ¾ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- 1 teaspoon sugar (to balance the flavors)
- 0.5 tablespoon Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
- 1.5 cups hot water to make gravy (cut down to 1 cup if omitting cashews)
- 0.33 cup heavy cream or whipping cream (divided)
- 2 tablespoons coriander leaves (fine chopped to garnish)
Equipment
blenderpangriddle/tawawooden skewers (optional)oven (optional)
Tips
- Marination is key for flavorful, tender chicken.
- Using onions helps balance the tomatoes' acidity.
- Cashews (or almonds) and cream create the rich gravy.
- Gravy can be made ahead and refrigerated; grill chicken when needed.
- Adjust spice amounts to your preference; fresh tomatoes and spices impact color.
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