Name: Butter chicken (Murgh Makhani)
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 120 min
Ingredients: 500 g chicken breast or skinless, boneless tights; 250 g yogurt; 2-3 tbsp lemon juice; 2 tsp garam masala spice mix; 1 tsp turmeric; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp powdered ginger or 2 cm fresh ginger; 1 tsp chili powder; 2 cloves garlic; 1 tsp salt; 300 g tomato paste; 40 g butter; 2+1 tsp garam masala (1 tsp to be added at the end with the cream); 1 tsp turmeric; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 1 tsp powdered ginger or 2 cm fresh ginger; 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped; 1 tsp peanut butter; 1 dried chili, chopped; 1 tsp sugar; 100-150 ml liquid cream (whipping cream); 50 ml whole milk

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Butter chicken (Murgh Makhani)

Butter chicken (Murgh Makhani) packs a lot of flavors and you are going to love the complex taste.

Course Tags Chicken, Main course

Cuisine Tags Indian

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Waiting 1 hour

Total Time 2 hours

Servings 4

Extravagance House

Ingredients

500 g chicken breast or skinless, boneless tights

Marinade

250 g yogurt
2-3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp garam masala spice mix
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp powdered ginger or 2 cm fresh ginger
1 tsp chili powder
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt

Sauce

300 g tomato paste
40 g butter
2+1 tsp garam masala (1 tsp to be added at the end with the cream)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp powdered ginger or 2 cm fresh ginger
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
1 tsp peanut butter
1 dried chili, chopped
1 tsp sugar
100-150 ml liquid cream (whipping cream)
50 ml whole milk

Instructions

Marinade

Prepare the spices for the marinade.
Mix the spices, garlic, fresh ginger, and salt. Mix with the chicken. Add the lemon juice and mix. If you have the time, marinate for 30 minutes.
Add the yogurt and mix until has a uniform color and the chicken is well covered. Marinate for 30 minutes or overnight.

Sauce

Put the butter in a pan to melt and keep on until the liquid evaporates (clarified butter - water evaporates and butter becomes ghee).
Add the spice mix and keep on low heat for 1-2 minutes.
Add the garlic and ginger (if using fresh). Keep on low heat for another 1-2 minutes.
Add the tomato paste (if thick add 100 ml water), peanut butter, sugar, and chopped chili.
Boil for 20-30 minutes or until oil starts to appear on the sides of the pot and around the bubbles (darker dots).

Assemble the dish

Fry the chicken in two batches.
After the chicken is fried, add the rest of the chicken and the remaining marinade sauce, mix and cook on low for 1-2 minutes.
Add the cooked tomato sauce and 100 ml water. Boil for 3-5 minutes. Taste and add salt and chili if necessary.
Turn the heat off. Let rest for 1-2 minutes and add the cream mixed with milk. Mix.
Add another teaspoon of garam masala spice mix for a more intense taste. Keep covered until ready to serve.

Serving

Serve with white rice, naan, or chapati. I choose white rice.
Serve with raita or slices of cucumber and tomato.

Enjoy!

Notes

Depending on how much you like spicy food, this dish is hot ***.

If you want your dish to be mild use just 1/2 teaspoon chili for the marinade and the dried chili for the sauce.

If you do not like spicy, don't use chili in the marinade and use 1/2 teaspoon chili in the sauce. You are not going to feel much heat because of the cream.

If you want the sauce to be creamier use 150 ml cream mixed with 50 ml whole milk.

Serve with Cucumber raita - Indian cucumber salad.

Here you can find the quantities and ingredients for the spice mix Garam masala.