Easy Butter Chicken
Butter Chicken is a luscious preparation with chunks of grilled chicken cooked in a smooth buttery & creamy tomato based gravy. The addition of cream and cashewnuts gives the curry sauce a silky smooth rich texture.
Equipment
- 1 grill pan
- 1 Mixer grinder
Ingredients
- 400 grams Chicken
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 4 tablespoon Butter
- 1 small bay leaf
- 3 pieces green cardamom
- 4 pieces cloves
- 1 small cinnamon stick
- 2 medium onion roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
- 1 large tomato roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon chilly powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon kasuri methi
- 3 tablespoon fresh cream
- 1-2 cups water
For Marination:
- 1 teaspoon red chilly powder
- 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon thick curd/ yogurt
- ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
Instructions
- Take the marination ingredients and marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour. You can keep it overnight or 2 to3 hours.
- Heat oil in a pan. (You can also grill in oven or grill pan). Layer the chicken pieces in single layer and grill/roast them over medium heat for 5-7 minutes each on both sides.
- Heat half portion of butter in a pan. Add the cashew nut, whole spices and saute for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the chopped onions, ginger garlic paste and saute for 2 minutes.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, salt and saute till tomatoes turns mushy.
- Add chilly powder, garam masala powder, coriander powder and saute for 2 minutes.
- Let it cool down, remove bay leaf and blend together with little water to a smooth puree. Set aside.
- In the same pan pour the puree and add the grilled chicken. Mix well, cover the pan and continue to cook on low heat for around 5 to7 minutes stirring continuously to prevent burning.
- Add 1 cup water and cook for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Add crushed kasuri methi and half portion of cream and give a quick stir and take off the heat.
- Drizzle the remaining butter and cream and garnish with crushed kasuri methi and serve.
Notes
- Do not skip the marinade. It makes sure every piece of chicken is flavourful all the way through.
- Be generous in using the butter while making butter chicken so it doesn't compromise on the taste.
- We recommend using chicken thighs and chicken drumsticks. It stays juicy even after simmering in the sauce, unlike breasts which can dry out and turn hard.
- Use cashews in the gravy. They elevate the taste of the chicken and also thickens the gravy and adds natural sweetness to the dish. If you don’t have cashews, feel free to substitute with blanched almonds (almonds soaked in water and skin taken off). Cashews and almonds naturally add creaminess to the gravy.
- Fresh cream adds creaminess and richness to the butter chicken. You can use homemade malai ( cream collected from the milk) instead of store bought fresh cream.
- Kasuri methi is a must in butter chicken recipe. That little pinch of kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) is what makes it authentic and taste truly restaurant style.