Best Ever Butter Chicken – Murg Makhani Recipe, How to make Butter Chicken – Murg Makhani

Butter Chicken – Murg Makhani Recipe with step by step photos and easy to follow instructions:

Butter Chicken – Murg Makhani along with Tandoori Chicken is one of the most popular dishes served in restaurants in India and abroad. Butter Chicken recipe is known to be originated by Moti Mahal restaurant in Delhi, India and is deeply rooted in Punjabi cuisine. Butter Chicken is best served with fresh naans slathered with butter. Bites of crispy naan dunked in creamy fragrant gravy …. will make anyone salivate just thinking about it.

I have made Butter Chicken numerous times for family and friends and is always on the list of foods to be packed for my son when he comes home from university to visit us. Making Butter Chicken is the best way to make use of left over Tandoori Chicken (if there is any).

The process to make Butter Chicken seems complicated and the list of ingredient seems like you have to take a special trip to the supermarket but it, really is not. All the ingredients are common and most of them repeat in marinades and making of the makhani gravy or butter sauce. The process is broken into three steps and they all not have to be done on the same day. Make the butter sauce when you have some spare time on hands and keep it in the fridge or freezer. You can marinate the chicken on another day and the day you feel like to eat butter chicken, all there is left to do is, grill the chicken and add it to the butter sauce. It is so easy!!

When it comes to making Butter Chicken, I take no short cuts. I like to do it authentically and truly enjoy every minute of making it. The words such as “instant”, “microwave”, etc. does not go in the same sentence with Butter Chicken for me. It is worth the time and effort. It reminds me of a scene that makes me laugh every time I visualize it. Once, I made some Butter Chicken for a potluck lunch at my office. It didn’t take long before the Butter Chicken disappeared. While we were eating, I noticed a person was wiping my Butter Chicken container with a slice of bread to eat … I just mumbled to myself “Wow! it must be really really good.”

Don’t be intimidated by the process, just take one step at a time and I assure you that you will come back to this recipe over and over again. Drop me a line by email or in the comments section if you have any question … will be happy to hear from you.

See the recipe below.

How to make the Best Ever Butter Chicken – Murg Makhani:

1. After washing and pat drying the chicken, cut it into about one inch pieces. Rub the chicken with lime juice, salt, red chili powder, garlic and ginger paste. Leave it aside while preparing the yogurt marinade.
   
2. To make the yogurt marinade, make sure the yogurt is plain (no flavors added) and thick. To make thick yogurt, put the yogurt in a thin tea towel or a cheese cloth. Gather the four ends of the tea towel and tie it together with a strong rubber band. Hang the towel over the sink to allow the moisture to drip down. Once the moisture stops dripping (usually takes about an hour), transfer the yogurt from the tea towel to a bowl.
   Tip: Wet the tea towel and squeeze out any excess water before adding the yogurt to it. This will prevent the yogurt from sticking to the towel.
   Add all the spices to the yogurt and mix well. Add the rubbed chicken pieces and mix well to ensure all the pieces are covered with marinade. Leave the chicken in the fridge at least 2 hours before grilling. I marinate the chicken for at least 24 hours before grilling it. It gives the chicken enough time to absorb all the flavors from the spices and herbs and yogurt works as a tenderizer for the chicken.
   
3. Preheat the oven. Line a baking pan with a foil wrap (saves me from scrubbing the baking pan). Place the chicken on the lined baking pan in a single layer.
   
4. Grill the chicken for about 20 minutes. No need to turn the chicken over through midway but you can, if you wish too.
   
5. While the chicken is grilling, prepare the makhani gravy or the butter sauce. In a large heavy saucepan, add oil, bay leaf and cardamoms. Let the oil heat a little to infuse it with the bay leaf and cardamom aroma. Carefully add the garlic and ginger paste (it will splatter when added to the hot oil). Stir quickly. You can also remove the saucepan from the heat to add spices. Add the spices, tomato puree, tomato paste and the Cooked Onion Puree. Mix all the ingredients well. Cover and cook until oil starts to separate; stirring often.
   
6. Add fresh milk, fresh cream and cashew nut paste; and mix well. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for about 20 minutes; stirring occasionally. It is important to keep the cooking temperature on low side to prevent the sauce from sticking at the bottom of the saucepan. The cashew nut paste is more prone to sticking at the bottom of the pan. If the gravy becomes too thick, you can add some water to thin it down.
   How to make cashew nut paste:
   Soak cashew nuts in warm water for about 20 minutes. Drain the water and add the nuts to the mixer. Grind the cashew nuts into a paste. Add water in small quantity as required.
   
7. After 2o minutes, remove the chicken from the oven and add it to the cooked makhani gravy or the butter sauce along with all the liquid from the grilled chicken. Don’t throw out the liquid. It has lots of flavor in it. Mix well; cover and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Now, add Kasoori methi leaves, nutmeg and mace and let it cook to allow the flavors to meld.
   There is no artificial color added to this dish. The beautiful red vibrant color is from tomatoes.
   Remove the Butter Chicken from the heat. Garnish and enjoy!!
   
   
   Best Ever Butter Chicken - Murg Makhani

    

   

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   Prep time

   15

   Cook time

   40

   Total time

   55

    

   Tender pieces of chicken marinated and grilled, then simmered in a rich and buttery gravy of yogurt, tomato and fresh cream is absolutely delectable.

   Author: Raj Brar

   Recipe type: Main - Non-vegetarian

   Cuisine: Indian

   Serves: 4-5 servings

   Ingredients

   • 1 kg (2 lbs)chicken, boneless, skinless

   For Rub

   • 1 tbsp lime juice
   • ½ tsp salt
   • ½ tsp red chili powder
   • ½ tsp ginger paste
   • ½ tsp garlic paste

   For Marinade

   • ½ cup plain thick yogurt
   • 1 tsp ginger paste
   • 1 tsp garlic paste
   • ½ tsp ground black pepper
   • ½ tsp red chili powder
   • ¼ tsp turmeric
   • ½ tsp cumin powder
   • ½ tsp coriander powder
   • ½ tsp salt or to taste
   • 1 tsp Kasoori methi (dry fenugreek) leaves, crushed

   For Makhni Gravy

   • 4 tbsp olive oil
   • 1 bay leaf
   • 2-3 whole green cardamoms
   • 1 tbsp ginger paste
   • 1 tsp garlic paste
   • ½ tsp coriander powder
   • ½ tsp red chili powder
   • 1 tsp salt or to taste
   • 1 cup tomato purée
   • 2 tbsp tomato paste
   • 1 cup cooked onion purée
   • 1 cup fresh milk
   • ½ cup fresh cream
   • 2 tbsp cashew nut paste
   • 2 tsp Kasoori methi (dry fenugreek) leaves, crushed
   • 2 pinches nutmeg powder
   • 2 pinches mace powder
   • Water as required
   • 2-3 green chilies, sliced
   • 1 tbsp fresh ginger, julienne
   • 2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

   Instructions

   1. Wash and pat dry chicken. Cut into one inch pieces. Make a paste of lime juice, salt, red chili powder, ginger paste and garlic paste. Rub the paste on the chicken pieces and leave it aside for 20 minutes.
   2. In a medium size bowl, whisk yogurt, ginger paste, garlic paste, black pepper, red chili powder, turmeric, cumin powder, coriander powder, salt and dry methi leaves. Add chicken and mix well. Leave it in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight for better results.
   3. Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a baking pan with foil. Place chicken on the lined baking pan in a single layer and bake it for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and keep it aside.
   4. To make makhani gravy:
   5. In a large heavy saucepan, heat oil over medium low heat. Add bay leaf, green cardamoms. Cook for about a minute to infuse the oil with bay leaf and cardamom aroma. Carefully add ginger and garlic paste. Cook slightly stirring frequently.
   6. Add coriander powder, red chili powder, salt, tomato purée, tomato paste and onion purée. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes stirring frequently.
   7. Add milk, fresh cream and cashew nut paste. Cover and cook on medium-low heat for about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add water if required, to thin down the gravy.
   8. Add grilled chicken pieces with liquid from the chicken. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add methi leaves, nutmeg powder and mace powder. Simmer for another 2 minutes. Turn off the heat.
   9. Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with sliced green chilies, ginger julienne and fresh coriander.
   10. Serve hot with Naan or Tandoori Roti.

   Notes

   Kasoori methi leaves – Kasoori methi leaves are dried fenugreek leaves, available at some North-American supermarkets and easily available at all Indian grocery stores.

   3.5.3208
   
   

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