A popular dish from the Indian sub-continent, butter chicken is prepared using spiced tomato, butter and cream sauce. You may adjust the amount of butter and cream used as per your taste as most restaurants add in copius amounts of butter to this gravy. You may also substitute some of the butter with oil in this recipe (half and half).
Serve it with jeera rice or tandoori naan or rotis.
Ingredients:
For marinade:
Chicken (boneless) cut into cubes – 750 gms
Curds – 3/4 cup
Kashmiri Chillie powder – 1 tsp
Lime juice – 2 tsp
Red colouring (optional though I have not used it)
Salt to taste
For Gravy:
Onions Chopped Fine – 2 medium
Ginger Garlic paste – 2 tsps
Tomatoes blanched and ground – 2 large
Store bought tomato paste – 1 tsp
Cumin powder /Jeera powder – 1 tsp
Cashew nut paste/Badam (Almond) Paste – 2 tbsp
Sugar – 1/2 tsp
Cream – 2 tbsp
Dried Kasuri Methi leaves – 1tsp
Red chillie powder – 1 1/2 tsp
Butter – 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Preparation:
In a bowl, mix all the ingredients for marinade together and keep it overnight (preferable) or for 1 – 2 hrs. The chicken is usually cooked in a tandoor or charcoal grilled and added to the gravy. Or you could brush the sides of a micro oven proof dish and place the marinated chicken in it. Grill on high for 3 minutes and take it out. Reserve the left out marinade juices for later use and do not discard it.
If you do not have an oven, you may add some oil in a pan and pour the chicken and marinade in it. Cook it in low flame for 5 minutes and keep it aside.
Make a paste of blanched tomatoes and keep it aside.
In another pan, heat the butter. When it becomes hot, add the chopped onions and saute till it turns translucent. Then, add the ginger-garlic paste and saute until the raw smell disappears followed by blanched tomato paste, store bought tomato paste, cumin powder, chillie powder, turmeric powderand the left over marinade. Saute it well for 3 – 4 minutes and add the lime juice. Next, add the chicken and cashewnut or almond paste and 1/2 cup of water and let it boil for 3 – 4 minutes. Cover and cook it well. Lastly, add sugar, kasuri methi leaves and cream (optional).
Garnish it with coriander leaves and serve with a little butter on top alongwith parathas, naan, rotis…
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