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Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)














Ingredients

Quantity
Chicken – skinned , boned and cut into 8 pieces
1
Garlic cloves – mashed
3
Fresh ginger – size of a walnut – peeled and finely minced
1 piece
Lemon – juice only
1

Sauce:


Tomatoes – seeded and pureed
900gms
Butter
1 stick (110g)
Lemon juice 
3 tsp or to taste
Ground roast cumin seeds
1 tsp
Salt
½ tsp
Generous grinding of pepper

Heavy cream
200 ml
Green chillies  (Serrano or jalapeno) – julienne
2
Chopped cilantro leaves  - for garnish
2 tbsp

If you have leftover tandoori chicken, bone and cut into small chunks, and set aside until sauce is prepared. Otherwise, begin from scratch and rub chicken pieces with garlic, ginger and lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate; marinate at least 10 hours or overnight.

To roast:              Preheat oven to 500 degrees at least 1/2 hour before using. Set the chicken pieces in
a shallow pan and roast 15 minutes on the first side, about 10 minutes on the second.

To grill:                 Brush grill with a bit of oil to prevent sticking. Place chicken pieces over extremely hot bed of coals and grill for 15 minutes on one side, and another 10 minutes on the other. Baste once on each side.

To make sauce:                 In a wok or heavy skillet, simmer the tomatoes gently until their liquid evaporates, leaving a thick paste. This will take about 10 minutes. (The tomatoes can be cooked earlier in the day and refrigerated.) Add the butter, lemon juice, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir in the cream and the chilli, then add the chicken pieces. Simmer gently 5 minutes.

Transfer the chicken to a heated serving dish, and garnish with the chopped cilantro. Serve
with rice or any Indian bread.

Makes about 4 to 5 servings.