Ria's Collection: BUTTER CHICKEN / MURGH MAKHANI

Friday, April 29, 2011

BUTTER CHICKEN / MURGH MAKHANI

Butter Chicken
After the lecture I gave you in my last post as to comparing homemade to restaurant made, this is such a contradiction. The first time I ever ate a Butter Chicken was in a restaurant and so whenever I make it at home, I compare it with the restaurant made. It usually doesn't even come close to that but I used to think that's the maximum I could do. But I was proved wrong. Very very wrong.
Tandoori Masala
When we went to Chicago last July, I read Monica's article in a magazine/newspaper,cannot remember which one it was now...getting old, I suppose! I jumped up with joy because she is a food blogger and I get excited everytime I see 'one of us' in the media. I told everyone there that I knew her and how good she is with with her stuff. That recipe was stuck in my mind.But month's flew by and then I won a copy of her lovely book, Modern Spice. I cooked my way through it,mostly for parties and whatever I cook for parties never rarely appear on this space as I want to serve them all hot to our guests :-)
Tandoori Chicken
So last week, we went to a popular Nepali/Tibetian restaurant in St.Paul and ordered Butter Chicken. It smelt so good and tasted even better but towards the end, we kind of felt sick and heavy because of the enormous amount of butter in it.As we walked towards the car, I rubbed on my belly and was thinking, 'I could have done without that'. That's something I hate...eat happily and then feeling guilty about it as soon as it goes down your throat! So I was determined to make this at home, in a healthier way...less butter and less cream. I have made a Murgh Makani before and thought it was 'the best' then, but I would say this one wins hands down over the other one :-)
Tandoori ChickenBUTTER CHICKEN
Recipe courtesy : Monica Bhide

Ingredients:
1c thick yogurt
1 tbsp peeled ,grated ginger
1 tbsp peeled, grated garlic
1/4 canned tomato puree (I used tomato paste)
2 tbsp lemon/lime juice
2 tbsp melted butter/ghee

1 whole chicken, cut into 14 pcs. Slit the pieces to allow the marinade to penetrate.

For the sauce:
4 tbsp butter ( I used only 2)
1 tbsp peeled, grated ginger
1 tbsp peeled, minced garlic
2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
Salt to taste
1 green chilli, snipped fine using a kitchen shear
1 tsp Kasuri Methi
1/2 c cream

Method:
Marinade: Mix together all the ingredients including the chicken .Cover and let it marinate in the fridge for 1.5 hours.

Pre-heat the oven to 400 F and bake the chicken (along with the left over marinade)for 30 mins or until the juices run clear.

During the last 15 mins of baking, you can start with the sauce.
In a large pan,on medium heat, melt the butter.Add the ginger & garlic and saute for 30 secs.
Add in the chopped tomato and cook for 10 mins mashing it up with the back of your spoon as you go. By the end of 10 mins, it will be an orange sauce with hardly any pieces of tomatoes to be seen.
By now the chicken would have been baked to perfection.
Add the chicken, the remaining marinade, salt, chili & fenugreek leaves. Simmer covered for 10 mins
Add the cream and simmer for a minute.
Serve hot!


Verdict: I cannot describe in words as to how much we loved this curry. It's just PERFECT! When you make this and taste it, you will thanks heavens! This is actually Monica's father's recipe and I have to say a big Thank You to him for coming up with such an incredible recipe!!

27 Comments:

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

That looks succulent! A dish I will have try one of those days...

Cheers,

Rosa

Rose from Magpies Recipes said...

Oh my God! This looks sooo good! I HAVE to make it! Never mind that I already have some chicken curry in my fridge that I just made yesterday!
Thanks once again Ria! you keep making my life more and more delicious!

Sumi said...

Oh my , Oh its so juicy and looks beautiful...

Nitha said...

Looks so delicious Ria.... I love this but never tried to prepare at home.. Just because I count calories when adding butter :)

Sunanda said...

OMG! it looks sooo tempting dear...

Priya Suresh said...

Omg, soo tempting and inviting..

Lijna said...

Delicious !

Unknown said...

Looks delicious...yumm!

mathew said...

waaah..i should try this sometime soon..has been ages since i have tried something different!:)

Prima said...

I just made this! Must say it was AWESOME!!!

Miriam Korula said...

looks amazing ria....totally fida over it...

Sapna Anu B.George said...

Ria, great to meet you here, from flickr pages to blogs, are you a cook whos article pages i saw in Flickr or writer? any how do keep in touch here , FB and in email sapnaanubgeorge@gmail.com please

divya said...

Wonderful presentation, tempting n looks fabulous..

Naseela said...

The butter chicken is so inviting..and so is the ghiradelli wrapper on your blog header..what is it??

FoodLovers said...

looks great ria

Preethi Pinto said...

Hi Ria. Tried this one. Quick, simple and easy. The chicken was baking in the oven and as I was making the rest of the stuff on the top, the mixed aromas filled the entire place and made the dish so irresistible that it just disappeared even before it got to the table. The tandoori powder is simply great. I thought the gravy would be too little if I used the proportions mentioned, as we are the gravy people, so I doubled the ingredients for a about 1.5 kgs cleaned chicken. Thanks for this!

Anonymous said...

Hi Ria! Long time reader. I've always kept away from Butter chicken just because I've always felt it's really plain. After trying your recipe though, I've got to say - it was a HUGE success. I loved it, the gf loved it. The sauce was just unbelievable.

Nivedita Thadani said...

hi Ria
today it was in my house for the dinner.
superb taste..
we all loved it...

Jobin said...

hello,

I made this as I had few buddies over, it turned out good. I am impressed by the recipe and my capability to make it. I was out of ginger / garlic for the sauce but it did not matter.

Karishma VP said...

Hi Ria,
I thought I had chanced upon the easiest butter chicken recipe from Aditya Bal's Chak Le India book, and that was even my last blog post, but this one beats even that, hands down! I will be making this for sure...thanks again for a delicious recipe...as usual, your pics have me drooling...Enjoy your time in Kannur.. I am from neighbouring Mahe :-), so nostalgic!

easyfoodsmith said...

OMG! The curry looks amazing and delectable. It is creamy and full of flavours. Thanks for sharing.

Chris G said...

Hi Ria,
This looks absolutely delicious. Can you please tell us the approximate size of the chicken? Really looking forward to trying this dish.
Cheers, Chris

Ria Mathew said...

A big thanks to all who tried it :-)
Chris, about 2-2 1/2 pounds . I hope you enjoy it :-)

Unknown said...

Ria, will it taste different if the cream in the sauce is replaced by thick yogurt? I mean, butter chicken allathe aavumo. please respond, nale undakkananu.

Ria Mathew said...

Selma, thanks for all the comments you have been passing on :) It's highly appreciated! I haven't tried substituting curd for cream,so cannot really comment on it. If you are trying to cut calories, maybe you can use half cream and half milk. If you are going to use curd, don't let it boil. It will split. Engane ondennu ariyikkane!

Unknown said...

Tried it.!! Yay!! such a yummy butter chicken. Couldn't go out to buy cream (FYI, in saudi, women can't go out on their own. And desperate me couldn't influence him for a shopping after a tiring day). So used half milk and half yogurt :) .. Still, it was the best butter chicken i have ever made. Your recipes could be followed without a second thought, a credit my family earlier gave only to lakshmi nair..

mari said...

Tried it out for a party with chicken and later on with paneer for the veg folks. Huge success. I was wondering if the chicken can be cooked on stove top and then added to the sauce. Great work ria..!!

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