Murg Makhani is a delicious mildly spiced chicken curry in which chicken pieces are marinated in yogurt and spices, pan fried or grilled and cooked in buttery onion tomato sauce. Refer to step by step instructions with pictures and know how to make Butter Chicken at home just like restaurant style.
What is butter chicken?
Butter chicken is a curry in which marinated chicken is cooked in mildly spiced tomato sauce. This dish originated in the Indian sub-continent. In the year 1947, the founders of a restaurant named Moti Mahal in Delhi, accidently developed this chicken curry by mixing left over chicken in a tomato gravy rich in butter and cream. Since then the dish became famous and is now prepared in many countries all over the world.
Chicken is marinated with yogurt and spices for many hours or overnight. It is then pan fried, roasted, grilled or cooked in tandoor. The roasted chicken is then cooked in a mildly spiced onion and tomato sauce to which butter is added. The sauce is passed through a sieve so that it becomes velvety smooth. Cream can be added to make creamy butter chicken recipe, but I have added cashewnuts to make the sauce thick. This murg makhani is garnished with finely chopped coriander leaves. Makhani can also be made with eggs just like this egg makhani.
Ingredients in homemade butter chicken:
- Chicken: Use boneless or bone-in chicken pieces to make this recipe.
For butter chicken marination:
Thick yogurt, ginger paste, garlic paste, and salt must be applied to chicken along with spices that go in marinating chicken like red chili powder and turmeric powder.
For preparing the butter chicken sauce or gravy:
I love butter chicken without cream. I also don’t make it as buttery as they make in restaurants. Hence while making sauce I add oil and butter in equal quantities instead of cooking chicken in butter.
- Onion: Red onion is used in making this delicious and flavourful Indian chicken curry.
- Tomato: Tomato is the star ingredient used in making the sauce or gravy. Use fresh, firm and ripe tomatoes.
- Garlic and garlic: Minced ginger and garlic are used in making this delicious chicken curry with butter.
- Cashewnuts: I have used cashewnuts in making the sauce. Cashewnuts are also added while making the sauce and due to this we can make delicious butter chicken without cream.
- Kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves): This is a secret ingredient which makes the chicken curry takeout style.
- Butter and oil: I have used butter and oil in this recipe. You can use any type of non-salted butter to make this delicious recipe. It can even be cooked in clarified butter or ghee.
For preparing butter chicken masala:
- Garlic and garlic: Minced ginger and garlic are again used in making the final dish.
- Spices needed to make buttery chicken: Red chili powder, bay leaf, kasuri methi and garam masala are the spices I have added for making murg makhani. Spice quantity can be altered as per taste.
You might be interested in other chicken recipes:
How to prepare delicious butter chicken at home?
- Marinate chicken for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour. I usually marinate chicken overnight by keeping it in freezer.
- Heat a frying pan and add butter. After butter melts, add the marinated chicken pieces and fry on both sides for 5 minutes. Let both the sides get browned. Switch off heat and keep the chicken pieces aside.
- Heat a skillet or wok, add 2 tablespoon oil and after oil gets heated, add butter.
- Add onion and sauté till onion turns pinkish.
- Add tomatoes and sauté till tomato turns mushy.
- Mix garlic and ginger and sauté till garlic turns fragrant.
- Add cashewnuts and mix well.
- Put off heat and let it cool.
- After cooling, transfer the onion tomato mixture to a blender or mixer and blend until smooth. You may add ¼ to ½ cup water if needed. Do not add too much water, as the gravy will be too thin. Pass the gravy through a sieve. This is an important step to get smooth velvety sauce.
- Heat the skillet again and add 1 tablespoon oil.
- After oil gets heated, add minced garlic and minced ginger.
- After garlic turns fragrant, add bay leaf and pour the pureed sauce/gravy.
- Add red chili powder and garam masala and mix well.
- Add fried chicken pieces and cook covered on medium – low heat for 10 – 15 minutes by stirring occasionally.
- Sprinkle 1 teaspoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Add salt to taste and mix well.
- Garnish with chopped coriander or cilantro leaves.
Butter chicken VS tikka masala:
Butter chicken originated in India and tikka masala originated in UK. Apart from this butter chicken is a mildly spiced curry whereas tikka masala is slightly spicy. Also, the spices that go in the two recipes differ. In buttery chicken we add red chili powder, garam masala and kasuri methi whereas in tikka masala we add different spices like cumin powder, coriander powder, cardamom powder, etc.
Tips to make murgh makhani:
- Chicken should be marinated in yogurt for overnight to make it juicy and tender.
- Cream may be added for garnishing.
- Pass the onion tomato sauce through a sieve to make smooth velvety out of world Indian butter chicken recipe.
- Spice levels can be altered as per taste.
How to serve the best butter chicken recipe?
Serve this delicious chicken makhana with garlic naan or jeera rice. Any type of rice recipe can be served with this delicious recipe. It can even be packed in the kid’s school lunch box as all kids love this mildly spices chicken curry.
Butter Chicken
Ingredients
For butter chicken marination:
- 500 gm chicken
- ½ cup yogurt
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced or paste
- 1 tablespoon ginger minced or paste
- 1 teaspoon salt
For preparing sauce or gravy:
- 2 medium sized onion chopped
- 3 medium sized tomatoes chopped
- 10 garlic pods chopped
- 1 inch ginger chopped
- 4 tablespoon cashewnuts chopped
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoon kasuri methi dry fenugreek leaves
- 2 tablespoon oil
- 2 tablespoon butter
- For preparing butter chicken curry:
- 5 pods garlic minced or paste
- ¼ inch ginger minced or paste
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 teaspoon red chili powder adjust as per your preference
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon
- To taste salt
- 1 tablespoon oil
Instructions
- Take a mixing bowl and add all ingredients mentioned in marination section. Marinate for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour. I usually marinate chicken overnight by keeping it in freezer.
- Soak cashewnuts in warm water for 30 minutes.
- Heat a frying pan and add 2 teaspoon butter. After butter melts, add the marinated chicken pieces and fry on both sides for 5 minutes. Let both the sides get browned. Switch off heat and keep the chicken pieces aside.
- Heat a skillet or wok, add 2 tablespoon oil. After oil gets heated, add butter.
- Add onion and sauté till onion turns pinkish.
- Add tomatoes and sauté till tomato turns mushy.
- Add kasuri methi, garlic and ginger and sauté till garlic turns fragrant.
- Add cashewnuts and mix well.
- Switch off the heat and let it cool.
- After cooling, transfer the onion tomato mixture to a blender or mixer and blend until smooth. You may add ¼ to ½ cup water if needed. Do not add too much water, as the gravy will be too thin.
- Pass the gravy through a sieve to get smooth velvety sauce or gravy.
- Heat the skillet again and add 1 tablespoon oil.
- After oil gets heated, add minced garlic and minced ginger.
- After garlic turns fragrant, add bay leaf and pour the pureed sauce/gravy.
- Add red chili powder and garam masala and mix well.
- Add fried chicken pieces and cook covered on medium – low heat for 10 – 15 minutes by stirring occasionally.
- Add 1 teaspoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Add salt to taste and mix well.
- Garnish with chopped coriander or cilantro leaves.
Notes
- Chicken should be marinated in yogurt for overnight to make it juicy and tender.
- Cream may be added for garnishing.
- Pass the onion tomato sauce through a sieve to make smooth velvety out of world Indian butter chicken recipe.
- Spice levels can be altered as per taste.
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