I am a great fan of food shows. I remember watching Sanjeev Kapoor’s Khana Khazana on Zee tv with my mom and sister though I hardly ventured into the kitchen in those times. You may know how long back that would have been! I watch some episodes on Food Food channel when I am in India, but there isn’t any particular chef or show that I count as my favorite. Indian food shows have lost that charm. After that, it was only Masterchef Australia that caught my interest and kept growing with every new season. In my belief, there hasn’t been any food competition show on television that has come anywhere closer to MA. There is no one who can match the charisma of Gary and Matt, and the kind of “want-some-more” feeling the show exuberates. That said, the other day I was flipping through the channels while my focaccia dough (recipe coming soon!) rested and hubby entertained Little A at the mall, that my fingers suddenly stopped on Food Network. It was airing My Kitchen Rules, which looked a lot like how MA worked. Quick search through the world-wide web gave me more detailed information – it was the repeat of season 4, held in 2013 and winners were Dan & Steph Mulheron. Since there was nothing else to watch and I had to pass my time till the boys came back home for dinner, I continued watching with intrigued interest. There came a point when the cousins, Sam and Chris, decided to cook up Butter Chicken in the round 2 of spice challenge. I was like, really? Butter chicken in less than an hour without marination and fenugreek leaves? The color of the dish too didn’t match what a traditional butter chicken would look like. As my guess was, their dish didn’t impress the judges. What I have discovered while I still learned to cook a perfect butter chicken, was that it is fenugreek which is a hidden ingredient. A real hidden gem, that takes the dish one notch higher.
I have been meaning to post my recipe for butter chicken from a long time now. I have looked up on the internet, read through few cookbooks that I own, managed to understand the flavors at the restaurant and not forgetting the years of experiments in my kitchen ,that made me come up with a recipe of this most favorite/ordered Indian dish that my family’s taste buds are finally satisfied with. As the judge mentioned in MKR, butter chicken has a tradition – the way the sauce is prepared, manner in which it is cooked and flavored with spices to get that perfect creamy, sweet and tangy dish on the table in front of your guests.
Long and short of it is, that there’s something really comforting about the dish and if cooked right, it can be a perfect rich meal. It pairs fabulously with naan or a simple peas pulao. This recipe needs some preparation and a lot of patience. Patience for the right color to come in while it is still cooking on the gas.
Recipe for Butter Chicken/Murgh Makhani.
Ingredients -
For Marination :
- Chicken – 500 gms (with or without bone)
- Curd – 1/2 cup
- Ginger Garlic Paste – 1 tbsp
- Salt – 1/2 tsp
- Fenugreek leaves – 1 tbsp, crushed.
For Gravy :
- Tomatoes – 6 nos, medium sized roughly chopped.
- Garlic – 8 cloves
- Ginger – 1 inch
- Laung/Cloves – 5 nos
- Green Cardamoms – 4, pounded
- Whole Kashmiri Chillies – 2 nos
- Water – 2 cups
- Oil – 2 tbsp
- Butter – 2 tbsp
- Red Chilli Powder – 2 tsp
- Cashewnuts – 4 tbsp, soaked in hot water and then ground to smooth paste.
- Cream – 1/4 cup
- Garam Masala – 1 tsp
- Salt to taste
- Tandoori Masala – 2 tsp
- Sugar – 1/4 tsp
- Fenugreek Leaves – 1 tbsp, crushed
- Orange Food Color – a few drops, optional.
Method :
Wash and pat dry the chicken. Mix all the ingredients listed under the marination and rub the chicken well till it is fully coated. Keep aside for an hour or preferably overnight in the fridge. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce and keep it ready. Boil tomatoes with ginger, garlic, laung, cardamoms, whole kashmiri chillies in 2 cups of water. Cook covered for 15 minutes till slightly reduced. Remove from fire. Cool and grind to a smooth puree. Strain puree through a metal strainer. After an hour of marination, cook chicken with the marinade in 4 tbsp oil in a pan. Cook on high heat for 5 minutes and then cook covered till tender. Remove and keep aside. Heat 2 tbsp oil and butter in a kadhai. Add ginger garlic paste nd still till golden. Add red chilli powder. Stir and add prepared tomato puree . Boil. Cook for another 5 mins. Add cashew nuts paste, cream, sugar, salt, tandoori masala and garam masala. Cook on medium heat till you get the desired color and thickness. Add a pinch of color at this point, if needed. Now, add cooked chicken and crushed fenugreek leaves. Simmer for a few minutes till the gravy turns to bright color. Garnish with slit green chillies and serve hot.
