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Indian cuisine: how to cook butter chicken masala
Butter chicken, also known as murgh makhani, is one of the most famous dishes of Indian cuisine. Essentially, it is a chicken stew that is stewed in a creamy tomato sauce. Unlike most Indian dishes, the dish is characterized by a delicate, not too hellish taste.
Butter chicken is considered a fairly new dish: it was invented in the mid-1950s. Back then, a visitor ordered curry in a New Delhi restaurant. The restaurant didn't have this particular dish at the time, but they did have chicken cooked in a tandoor oven. The chef came up with the idea of stewing the meat in a creamy tomato sauce with garam masala spices and thus created a new dish. The original recipe uses heavy cream, which can be replaced with yogurt.
We warn you right away: don't be afraid of the amount of ingredients needed to prepare the dish. Almost all spices can be bought in any hypermarket or at the market from oriental spice merchants.
So, for 4 servings you will need:
- chicken thigh fillet – 800 g
- lemon – half
- hot paprika – 1 tbsp
- salt – to taste
- butter – 20 g
- boiled rice – for serving
- cilantro – for serving
For the marinade:
- natural yogurt – 3/4 cup
- garlic – 2 cloves
- grated ginger – 1.5 tbsp
- turmeric – 1 tsp.
- Tandoori masala mixture – 1 tsp.
- Garam masala mixture – 1 tsp.
- oil – 1 tbsp.
For the sauce:
- grated tomatoes – 500 g
- grated ginger – 3 tbsp
- garlic – 8 cloves
- chili pepper – 1-2 pcs.
- butter – 80 g
- cardamom – 5 grains
- cinnamon – 1 stick
- cloves - 3 pcs.
- fenugreek seeds – 1 tsp.
- bay leaf – 2 pcs.
- cashews – 10 pcs.
- garam masala mixture – 1 tsp.
- sugar – 0.5 tbsp.
- heavy cream – 3/4 cup
- salt – to taste
- Wash the fillet, pat dry, and cut into pieces the size of half a matchbox.
- Sprinkle with the juice of half a lemon, season with salt and paprika, and set aside for 20 minutes.
- Grate the ginger, crush the garlic, and mix with the rest of the marinade ingredients. Put the chicken in the marinade, mix, and refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours or preferably overnight.
- Heat a frying pan and fry the chicken on all sides, brushing with melted butter.
- Prepare the sauce. Melt the butter, add cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves, and fry until the spices are fragrant. Add fenugreek, heat a little, and stir in grated ginger, crushed garlic, and finely chopped chili. Fry, stirring constantly, for three to four minutes, then add the grated tomatoes, sugar, and bay leaf.
- Cook the sauce until it thickens for about 15-20 minutes, then rub it through a sieve to get rid of seasonings and spices.
- Grind the cashew nuts or crush them in a mortar to a paste and season with a little salt. Pour the nuts into the pan and dilute the sauce with hot water to the desired consistency.
- Put the pieces of fried chicken in the sauce, stir, cover, and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
- Add garam masala and cream 5 minutes before the end and mix well.
- Serve butter chicken with boiled rice, garnish with cilantro if desired.