BUTTER CHICKEN / MURGH MAKHANI

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.

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 :-)

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 :-)

BUTTER CHICKEN
Recipe courtesy : Monica Bhide

Ingredients:

1c thick yogurt

1 tbsp peeled ,grated ginger

1 tbsp peeled, grated garlic

2 tbsp Homemade Tandoori Masala

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!!

HOMEMADE TANDOORI MASALA

Ilove anything 'Tandoori'. It has a unique flavour and is so Indian. Whichever Indian restaurant you go to(atleast to the ones I've been), you will always find a Tandoori Chicken/Butter Chicken/Chicken Tikka Masala on the menu. It is so Indian. I think we should have a 'National Masala' and there will be a tough competition between 'Tandoori & 'Garam' masala for that title:-) I really wouldn't know which one to choose because I love both!

There are some thoughts which bother me when I try to find the 'perfect' recipe. For me, if I have tasted anything homemade first and then go to a restaurant, I always compare it  'homemade' to 'restaurant'. But if I have eaten anything in a restaurant for the first time and I try to make it at home, then it's restaurant to homemade comparison. Whatever it is, I think it should be the former first as I feel that is the real cooking with real ingredients! It's not that the restaurants are serving anything plastic, but a lot of unhealthy amounts of butter,cream & oil goes into it. Some people feel that if you add  lumps of butter, your dish can go from poor to rich and taste exceptional and I've been a victim of that, a sad victim. It was like I was drinking butter in the form of a curry :-D

It's all about the freshness of ingredients, how much you add and where you add it  makes all the difference. Again, this is my personal opinion .Now what does all this have to do with a simple Tandoori Masala, you may ask! I just shared what was in my mind, that's all :-) I made the BEST EVER Butter Chicken for dinner last night with this homemade masala and that is for another post. So till then , find some time to make this masala and keep it ready! When I post the butter chicken recipe, if you feel like it, you can make it for dinner that night or else you can use it for other recipes :-)

HOMEMADE TANDOORI MASALA
Recipe source : My very good friend Sadhana Ginde

Ingredients:
2 tbsp garam masala
2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp coriander powder
4 tsp paprika (you can use Kashmiri Mirch)
2 tsp Kasuri Methi /Dried Fenugreek Leaves
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp red chilli powder

Method:
Combine all the ingredients above using a whisk/spoon/coffee grinder and store it in an airtight container. It stays fresh for 4-6 weeks.

Verdict: It tastes exceptionally good!! Jobin found me reaching for the bottle this morning to have a whiff of it :) It smells so nice!