Sunday 26 August 2012

"Murgh Makhani" or Butter Chicken

"Murgh Makhani" is the most popular Punjabi non-vegetarian dish after Tandoori Chicken.
This is nothing but Butter Chicken cooked the authentic way!
Its a slight variation to my "Granny's Butter Chicken" already published on my blog. My granny's version has onions, but this one has no onions and is more creamy than that.
A dish we all love!
Very easy to  make and needs no fancy ingredients. Cook this at home and am sure you will cook it every weekend at home, without wanting to order it in a restaurant!
This dish is a big hit with kids due to its creamy and its very mildly spiced gravy.


Serves 4
Ingredients:
Chicken - 1 kg - preferably with bone cut into medium sized pieces
For marination:
Curds - 6 tbsp
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Dry mango powder or Amchoor - 1 tsp ( Optional)
For Gravy:
Butter - 2 tbsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Bay leaf or Tej Patta - 1
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tbsp
Tomatoes - 1/2 kg or medium sized around 7 - blended to a smooth puree
Cashewnut paste - 3 tbsp ( make paste my soaking 10 cashewnuts in warm water for 15 minutes, then blending to a paste in a mixer)
Red chilly powder - 1/4 tsp (preferably Kashmiri since it gives color but no spice/heat)
Cream - 4 tbsp + 1 tbsp
Garam masala - 1/4 tsp
Sugar - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
For garnishing:
Cream - 2 tbsp
Coriander leaves - chopped - 1 tbsp

Method:
Preparing the chicken:
Mix all the ingredients under "for marination" , and apply to the chicken pieces and allow to sit in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
When ready to make the dish, take a heavy bottomed pan, keep on high heat, and fry the marinated chicken pieces with 2 tbsp of oil, till the chicken is brown. Then switch off heat and keep aside.

If you have tandoor or barbeque, you could fry the chicken pieces in the tandoor or barbeque.


Preparing the gravy:
Now take another pan, keep on medium heat, add 2 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp ghee and add the bay leaf. Fry for 1 minute and then add the ginger garlic paste and fry till they change color. Add the pureed tomatoes, red chilly powder and sugar and cook till the gravy becomes thick and fat separates. Add salt and then the cashewnut paste, stir well, turn the heat to low for a 2-3 minutes mixing well, and then add in the cream and mix well. 
Now add the fried chicken pieces to the gravy, mix well and boil for about 15-20 minutes adding another 1 tbsp of cream and garam masala. Stir well.
Garnish with fresh cream and chopped coriander leaves.
Serve hot with "Butter naan" or any other Indian or non-Indian bread. Tastes Great!

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