Butter Chicken translates, as “Murgh Makhani” A cross-continental dish in its purest form comprised of yogurt, butter, and tomatoes cooked with curry masala. It is so buttery, rich and flavorful, not your everyday chicken recipe but once in a while it is totally okay to feed your soul.
Butter chicken is a staple in Pakistani/Indian cuisine, originated by Mughals and got popular in Britain in recent years gradually found its way to the USA by Indian/Pakistani immigrants. Everyone who adapted it has tweaked the recipe but the method remains the same.
Growing up, I didn’t have much of butter chicken; we would only enjoy this delicacy while eating out. My mom was a curry and rice person, so she rarely made it. I started admiring this buttery concoction after moving here to states, lots of Indian/Pakistani restaurants around the area serve this along with rice, roti or naan bread, and I happen to love it.
I’ve been experimenting with this recipe and perfected it. People who had it at my place rave about this buttery chicken dish. It’s an ultimate comfort food!! Perfect for winter nights supper. You cannot go wrong with this easy to prepare recipe. All you need is few ingredients and a blender, and you got butter chicken for dinner.
Here’s the recipe for all you butter chicken lovers like me ☺
Butter Chicken
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 15 min
Total Cooking Time: 30 min
INGREDIENTS
1-pound boneless chicken breast and thighs 1 stick unsalted butter 2 medium size onions, peeled and diced 2 tbsp. ginger garlic paste 2 tsp. cumin seeds 1-cup yogurt 3/4 cup cream ½ tsp. ground turmeric 1 tablespoons garam masala 1 ½ tsp. ground cumin 1 tsp. red chili powder 2 medium-size tomatoes diced 2 red chilies, or 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced 1 tsp. salt (adjust according to taste) 1 ½ teaspoons tomato paste ½ bunch cilantro leaves stems removed
Directions
Whisk together ½ cup yogurt, turmeric, red chili powder, garam masala and cumin in a large bowl. Put the chicken in, and coat with the marinade. Cover.
In a large pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions, and cook, frequently stirring until lightly colored. You want nice golden brown. Take them out and lay out on a paper towel.
Add the garlic/ginger paste and cumin seeds in the same pan with butter. Add tomatoes, chilies and salt, let cook. Add the chicken and marinade to the pan, and cook for 5 minutes.
Blend onions with remaining ½ cup yogurt and tomato paste and cream. Blend until smooth. Add to chicken mixture. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then lower the heat and simmer, covered, for approximately 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
Garnish with garam masala or cilantro leaves.