Butter chicken, a real crowd pleaser
While preparing traditional butter chicken is a bit of a lengthy process, Chef Anoop from Malé was kind enough to teach me his foolproof shortcut recipe for making this authentic Punjabi dish. Butter chicken is absolutely delicious! It's not the lightest dish, but it's worth every bite!
What is butter chicken?
Butter chicken, originally called murgh markhani, is a mild and succulent curry made with tomatoes, cream, spices and butter - lots of butter. It is without doubt one of the most popular and widespread Indian dishes recreated around the world.
A bitter family feud
The story behind butter chicken dates back to Peshawar, before India gained its independence. Two cousins worked together at a local restaurant called Moti Mahal, which was relocated to Delhi after the partition of the British East Indies. There are two conflicting versions of how butter chicken came to be. One says it was invented by Kundan Lal Gujral and the other says it was invented by his cousin Kundan Lal Jaggi. What we do know is that the restaurant and the chicken dish became a favorite among local politicians and international heads of state. Over time, both sides of the family opened their own chain of restaurants and claimed to be the true inventors of butter chicken. As can only happen in a dramatic Indian movie, the dispute has recently ended up in the local courts.
What goes with butter chicken?
There's nothing better than serving basmati rice with butter chicken. You can use regular steamed rice, but I highly recommend saffron rice.
Recipe: Butter chicken
Ingredients for 4 people:
- 750 g chicken, thigh and fillet
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- A few sprigs of cilantro
- 1 lime, in wedges
For the marinade:
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground fenugreek leaves (mehti)
- 100 ml yogurt
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
For the sauce:
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 cloves
- 1 star anise
- 1 piece of mace
- 3 cm ginger root, grated
- 4 cloves of garlic, pressed
- 1 bottle of tomato passata (about 600 ml)
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- 100 g diced butter
- 100 ml cashew cream
- 75 ml cream
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground fenugreek leaves (mehti)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Salt
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Step 1: Marinate the chicken
Mix the spices, yogurt, and lime juice to make the marinade. Add salt to taste. Put the chicken pieces in a bowl and pour the marinade over them. Mix well, cover and let the chicken marinate for a few hours.
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Step 2: Cook the chicken
Heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a pan and add the chicken. Cover and simmer gently until the chicken pieces are cooked through, about 25 minutes. Meanwhile let's make the sauce.
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Step 3: Prepare the sauce
Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the cumin seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and mace. Let everything simmer while you keep stirring until the spices release their aroma. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry for one minute. Add the passata with just a pinch of salt. Let the sauce stew until all of the water has completely evaporated. You should end up with a dry, thick puree. You'll probably find that some of the oil has come out again.
It's the perfect time to add more spices. Just make sure you're never adding spices to an aqueous base. Always use a fat base instead.
Now, add the ground cumin, coriander, and chili powder to the sauce. Give it a good stir. Next, add two cubes of butter and let them melt while stirring. Repeat with another two cubes of butter. Now it's time to add the cashew cream and mix until it's nice and emulsified. Then add the plain cream to the sauce and let it simmer on a low heat, with constant stirring. Add the fenugreek to the sauce, then mix the rest of the butter, cube by cube, into the sauce. Season to taste with sugar and salt. If the sauce gets too oily or starts to separate, add a little cashew cream, but no water.
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Step 4: Serve the butter chicken
Add the pieces of fried chicken to the sauce and let the flavors blend. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Transfer the butter chicken to a bowl, sprinkle with coriander leaves and serve with the lime pieces and basmati rice.
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