Indian Authentic Butter Chicken Recipe(Murgh Makhani)

Butter Chicken, also called Chicken Makhani, is a classic Indian dish made by simmering grilled chicken in an aromatic, spicy, creamy, buttery tomato gravy. Butter chicken is one of the most popular curries amongst Indian food lovers across the globe, and it happens to be the easiest. You don't have to hunt down hard for ingredients; they are readily available, making the butter chicken recipe authentic. Also, it makes the most incredible curry sauce.


If you are wondering what butter chicken tastes like, it is incredibly tender and rich in flavor from the marinade, making it ridiculously delicious. It will leave you wanting more. The butter chicken recipe is amongst the best that you can give a try. You can opt for butter chicken masala if you love it less creamy with lesser tomato intensity. It's impressive how easy you can prepare it in the comfort of your home, especially with freshly homemade peas pulao.

How To Make Best Butter chicken Step by Step?

With perfectly spiced and creamy Indian sauce with a lot of spice to mop up with warm rice and tender chicken, you will confirm this butter chicken recipe authentic. With this step-by-step guide, you don't have to worry about what butter chicken tastes like. Butter chicken is the ultimate delicious food that your entire family will love. Use the best recipe to make the best creamy, flavor-packed, delicious Indian butter chicken at home. Serve your delicacy with Jeera or basmati rice for a simple Indian meal. There are many versions of butter chicken recipes. However, in this post, you will find our butter chicken recipe authentic.

Ingredients

For Sauce
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp garam masala
  • 2 tsp butter
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 tbsp coarsely chopped garlic
  • 2 tsp paprika or red chili powder
  • 2 ½ cups chopped onion (about two medium-large)
  • 2 cups diced canned tomatoes without added salt
  • Chopped cilantro for garnishing(optional)
  • ¾ whipping cream
  • 2 tsp kosher salt or to desired taste
For Marinade
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 kg skinless, boneless chicken breast cut into cubes
  • 1 tbsp garam masala
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
To Serve
  • White rice
  • Basmati rice
  • Naan bread

Instructions

Marinade
1. For a smooth sauce, mix all the marinade ingredients except the chicken, place them in a food processor and blend until smooth. However, blending is optional.
2. Mix all ingredients in a shallow baking dish or zip-top bag and massage the marinade into the chicken. Allow it to stand at room temperature as you prepare the sauce, or let it marinate in the fridge overnight. Consider refrigerating for a maximum of 24 hours and a minimum of 3 hours.

For Sauce

1. Heat oil in an oven or large saucepan under medium heat. Add your chopped onions and cook slowly for about 20 minutes until golden; reduce the heat if you notice they are browning fats or are getting crispy.

2. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute until fragrant. Stir in paprika, garam masala, cinnamon, and salt, then cook for an extra 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in the cream and carefully puree with an immersion blender.

Also, you can opt for a standing blender, but consider doing it in batches to avoid the steam blowing them off the top.

3. Place back the sauce into the saucepan and allow it to simmer. Take the chicken from the marinade and place it in the spices. Discard the remaining marinade. Cover the saucepan and let the chicken simmer under medium-low heat until thoroughly cooked for about 12 minutes. Check a few pieces to ensure they are no longer pink inside. A gentle simmer must gently cook the breast to avoid overcooking or becoming rigid.

4. Pour in the butter, and add more salt to taste.

5. Sprinkle some cilantro and serve when hot with your favorite rice side dish or naan bread.

Recipe Notes

1. When using a young chicken, your marination time shouldn't exceed 4 hours. Also, the size of the chicken matters a lot, so when using bigger or older chicken, allow it to stay in the marinade for about 12-16 hours. Marination is the key to getting tender, flavorful and succulent chicken pieces.


2. Gram Masala is a mixture of spices that is readily available in the market. Check it in the spice section, which will cost almost the same amount as other spices.


3. Cream. You might use heavy cream/whipping cream, sterilized or thickened cream. Also, you can use low-fat cream, butt the gravy won't be very rich. Start by chilling the cream, then add it to the sauce. Ensure you turn off the source of heat to avoid gravy from splitting.
Otherwise, you can take a small amount of flavoring and add it to the cream in a separate bowl. Stir completely then and add the cream to the saucepan. It will prevent curdling the cream.


4. Pure chili powder. Opt for cayenne pepper or pure chili powder for an extra spice kick if you use chili powder. The spiciness is relatively mild since this is not chili powder, as most Americans know. The American chili powder comprises other things other than grounded dried chili.


5. Butter used in Indian cooking recipes can be substituted with ghee, clarified butter, or any neutral flavored cooking oil.


6. Tomato passata is typically pureed tinned tomatoes. Currently, it's readily available in supermarkets; check them near pasta sauces. It costs almost the same or a little bit more than canned tomatoes. You can puree your canned tomatoes with a blender if this isn't available.


7. If almonds are used, consider soaking them in hot water for one hour and getting rid of the skin.


8. No quick fry papadums. The store-bought raw papadums are cheap, about $1 for a whole packet. Take your raw papadum and place them in the microwave on the edge of a turntable. Microwave for about 45 seconds to 1 minute or until they puff up. They will crisp up after cooling.


9. For a lighter version, make use of OR. Use ¼ cup of whole milk and ¾ cup light cream for a light version. This works perfectly for butter chicken masala, which is less creamy.

Butter is a very important ingredient in butter chicken recipes. Direct use of frozen butter may affect the flavor of dishes. So, we found a better way to store butter without a refrigerator, making your cooking easier! Sweese Porcelain Butter Crock keeps your butter soft and spreadable for use with high-quality porcelain. It is an ideal butter crock for storing butter.

Shop link: Porcelain Butter Crock
Apply discount code BUTTER to get 15% OFF for any items

You might also want to know...

Is Butter chicken Really Indian?
Butter Chicken, also known as Murgh Makhani, originates from Northern India. However, it's a mild curry compared to most Indian curries. It has become everybody's favorite curry outside of India favorite.


Can You Substitute Milk for Cream in Butter Chicken?
Mixing butter and milk is an effortless task, a straightforward substitute for heavy cream that works perfectly for various recipes. This substitute works best in baking and cooking recipes where heavy cream is applied to add creaminess and flavor. Unfortunately, it doesn't whip similarly to how the heavy cream does.


What Goes with Butter chicken and Rice?
Peas pulao side dish is the perfect option when deciding what to serve with butter chicken. The rice is fluffy and light and great for soaking up the creamy butter chicken sauce. Again, peas contribute an element of sweetness to the dish, while the spices add complementary flavors and colors.


Why Is Some Butter chicken Red?
Usually, it's a tomato-based gravy containing a lot of heavy creams added, making the color appear more orange than bright red. At the same time, most restaurants use some sought of food coloring to make the curries red. For instance, Kroger brand butter chicken sauce uses Cochineal for color.


What Does Butter chicken Taste Like
Curious about what butter chicken taste like? You will probably want to try out a version of butter chicken. This is a prevalent Indian dish. However, there are various ways of preparing it. Try our recipe version for a mild creamy dish rich in flavor. Our simple and best Butter chicken recipe is authentic, healthy and quite delicious.

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