Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Butter Chicken


Butter Chicken Recipe (Murg Makhani) the best known Indian foods all over the world. Butter chicken is usually served with naan, roti, parathas, ghee rice, or steamed rice and its gravy can be made as mild or spicy as you like. Butter Chicken comes in many variations; some contain cashews while others contain many different spices such as turmeric and cumin. For this dish all the ingredients should be easy to find; most spices are readily available in major supermarkets. Ghee is a common ingredient in Indian cooking. If you can find it you can always replace it with butter or olive oil. This dish is great to eat it with rice, roti canai or spring onion paratha.

Marinate:

1 ½ pound of diced chicken (thigh or breast)
1 clove garlic – finely chopped
1 tsp grated ginger
1tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp chili powder (or to taste)
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp garam masala


For the sauce:

2 tsp finely chopped garlic
1 onion, finely diced
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup cream
1 tbsp garam masala
Salt to taste
some cilantro - roughly chopped

1. Marinate the chicken for an hour. Heat up the saute pan with 1 tbsp of ghee or butter. Add in onion and garlic. Sauté until soft and lightly brown. Add in tomato paste. Continue to stir for a few second.
2. Add in the chicken, do not stir the chicken. Let is cook for a minute before turning it over and cook on the other side.
3. Add in the garam masala and continue to stir fry until the chicken changes color. Add in about 1 cup of water, salt and sugar. Cover and let it simmer slowly until chicken is tender. Stir occasionally.
4. Stir in the cream and bring it up to slow boil and sauce thickens. Add in chopped cilantro. Dish out and serve with rice or bread

17 comments:

ReeseKitchen said...

Oohh...this really goes well with a bowl of white steamed rice..:) Btw, do you think I replace the cream with just fresh milk?
Thanks for this recipe..:)

Little Corner of Mine said...

Looks great, I love Indian curry.

lena said...

when i saw the title of your post, i thought it's the chinese style of butter chicken ( lai yao kai). I'm not sure if i have taste dthis before from the indian stall but this looks very inviting, i sure ask abt this chicken the next time i take indian food.

sotong said...

Mouthwatering! Love Indian food anytime!

Shereen said...

Gert,
This is J's favourite Indian food ever.He will surely love you to death if you prepare this dish for him..hahaha.Don't know why Butter Chicken here from Indian restaurants all very orangy in colour,thick and very very sweet!It's like eating sugared water.What about your version?sweet tak?

Min said...

Yummy! I love this to be served with roti canai :)

ann low said...

Gert, I just someone made this and your butter chicken looks very delicious, makes me hungry now :)

pigpigscorner said...

This is my favourite Indian curry! So creamy and so tasty!

m said...

This is one of the most-loved curry! I adore it so much!

mycookinghut said...

ops.. the above comment was me.. sorry.. accidentally hit enter.

My Little Space said...

I'm still wondering what's the difference between butter chicken & curry chicken. They both look quite the same except the tomato paste & garam masala. Though, I'm tempted and will surely give this a try soon. I just bought a big fat chicken today. ha... Thanks for sharing. Have a great day.
Best regards, Kristy

Lisa Ho said...

Definitely Butter chicken and garlic Naan for me...
I first heard of it many years ago and eaten many times but I still wonder... why is it called Butter Chicken?

Jeannie said...

I love thick curries and this fits the bill perfectly! WOuld be delicious with naan or even bread! yum!

ICook4Fun said...

Reese, I think it is better to replace it with plain yogurt. Milk might dilute the sauce.

LCOM, is my hubby fav too.

Lena, ha ha I think I already made the Chinese version of butter chicken. I think this dish is popular in the Western world and not our Asia.

Sotong, me too :)

Shereen, I didn't add any sugar to this dish so it is not sweet. The cream actually give this dish a nice natural sweetness to it.

Min, we had this with roti canai actually.

Ann, thank you.

Pigpigscorner and Leemei, I understand this dish is very popular in the UK.

ICook4Fun said...

Kristy, no curry powder in this dish. Just tomato paste and garam masala.

Lisa, It is called butter chicken because has some butter in this dish.

Jeannie, yes this dish is perfect with naan.

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

I would like to have this with a plate of white rice, sound really yummy.

Jun said...

hi gert..isk3, nampak sedap plak chicken tu..nice eh? i masuk dalam list dulu lah...hehe