Recipe Murg makhani (Indian butter chicken)

LissaC

LissaC

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I love spicy food and this recipe is a good alternative to my curry recipes. I usually eat it with rice or homemade naan bread.

For the marinade:
- lemon juice
- salt
- half tablespoon chili powder
- half cup greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- a bit of oil
- half tablespoon garam masala
- a bit of saffron
- 1 chicken

For the sauce:
- 2cms freshly grated ginger
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon water
- oil (I use coconut oil)
- 2 tablespoons garam masala
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 cup fresh tomatoes chopped (or tomato sauce)
- 1 can coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons butter
- salt to taste

1. Marinate the chicken in lemon juice, salt and half tablespoon chili powder for 20 minutes.
2. Add the rest of the marinate and marinate chicken overnight.
3. For the sauce: puree freshly ground ginger with the garlic clove and 2 tablespoons water.
4. Heat the oil, brown the chicken and set it aside.
5. Fry the ginger paste for around 3 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons garam masala and 1/4 teaspoon chili powder, let it cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, reduce heat to medium and let it cook 5 minutes (if using fresh tomatoes I puree them with a fork at this stage).
6. Add chicken and coconut milk, let it boil. Add 2 tablespoons butter and salt, and let it cook over medium heat with the lid off.

Notes on this recipe:
* The original recipe has fenugreek powdered leaves added to the sauce but that's one ingredient I couldn't find in Portugal during quarantine.
* This recipe is VERY spicy, my mom and her boyfriend love spicy food and they complained of the spiciness when they ate this! It's probably not as spicy as they make it in India though :D
 
We have quite a few Butter Chicken fans on the forum and a variety of ways to make it have been posted. Yours is not as tomato based as some I've seen and the addition of coconut milk is perhaps unusual. It looks really good although I do have an intolerance to coconut milk so would probably sub with yoghurt or cream.

Re fenugreek, its easy to grow and sprouts very quickly. If you can get fenugreek seeds you can grow the leaves! The fresh leaves are even more pungent than dried.
 
Morning Glory said:
We have quite a few Butter Chicken fans on the forum and a variety of ways to make it have been posted. Yours is not as tomato based as some I've seen and the addition of coconut milk is perhaps unusual. It looks really good although I do have an intolerance to coconut milk so would probably sub with yoghurt or cream.

Re fenugreek, its easy to grow and sprouts very quickly. If you can get fenugreek seeds you can grow the leaves! The fresh leaves are even more pungent than dried.
Click to expand...

I have to admit the original recipe didn't have coconut milk but it's one of my favorite ingredients and I never miss the chance to add it to a recipe. First time I cooked this I was looking at the pan and felt there wasn't enough sauce and, me being the coconut lover that I am, adding coconut milk seemed like the obvious choice.

Didn't know fenugreek was easy to grow...though I have to admit I am the kind of person who kills plants very easily...
 
LissaC said:
View attachment 45031

I love spicy food and this recipe is a good alternative to my curry recipes. I usually eat it with rice or homemade naan bread.

For the marinade:
- lemon juice
- salt
- half tablespoon chili powder
- half cup greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- a bit of oil
- half tablespoon garam masala
- a bit of saffron
- 1 chicken

For the sauce:
- 2cms freshly grated ginger
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon water
- oil (I use coconut oil)
- 2 tablespoons garam masala
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 cup fresh tomatoes chopped (or tomato sauce)
- 1 can coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons butter
- salt to taste

1. Marinate the chicken in lemon juice, salt and half tablespoon chili powder for 20 minutes.
2. Add the rest of the marinate and marinate chicken overnight.
3. For the sauce: puree freshly ground ginger with the garlic clove and 2 tablespoons water.
4. Heat the oil, brown the chicken and set it aside.
5. Fry the ginger paste for around 3 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons garam masala and 1/4 teaspoon chili powder, let it cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, reduce heat to medium and let it cook 5 minutes (if using fresh tomatoes I puree them with a fork at this stage).
6. Add chicken and coconut milk, let it boil. Add 2 tablespoons butter and salt, and let it cook over medium heat with the lid off.

Notes on this recipe:
* The original recipe has fenugreek powdered leaves added to the sauce but that's one ingredient I couldn't find in Portugal during quarantine.
* This recipe is VERY spicy, my mom and her boyfriend love spicy food and they complained of the spiciness when they ate this! It's probably not as spicy as they make it in India though :D
Click to expand...

I make it quite a bit, and I think I have perfected it, you may want to try it. Yours looks different to mine.

Russ
 
A question to LissaC: Have you ever tried to successfully freeze butter chicken? I tried twice; once of the completed dish and once before adding the butter. The first was unsuccessful as the butter separated during the re-heating. The second, although successful, still left a lot of steps remaining to complete the dish after defrosting.

I've now resorted to only cooking two or three portions at once as they will keep in the fridge for a few days.

My recipe is here (I use yoghurt instead of cream): Recipe - Hot Butter Chicken
 
Yorky said:
A question to LissaC: Have you ever tried to successfully freeze butter chicken? I tried twice; once of the completed dish and once before adding the butter. The first was unsuccessful as the butter separated during the re-heating. The second, although successful, still left a lot of steps remaining to complete the dish after defrosting.

I've now resorted to only cooking two or three portions at once as they will keep in the fridge for a few days.

My recipe is here (I use yoghurt instead of cream): Recipe - Hot Butter Chicken
Click to expand...

Hi Yorky, I did freeze it once, not fully successfully though, the fat part separated, I had to stir the sauce a bit after heating it.
 
LissaC said:
Hi Yorky, I did freeze it once, not fully successfully though, the fat part separated, I had to stir the sauce a bit after heating it.
Click to expand...

You got me interested. I had a kilo of chicken pieces in the freezer so I defrosted those this morning and prepared the marinade after lunch. After an overnight in the fridge I shall separate into three portions and freeze the portions in the marinade for later.
 
Yorky said:
You got me interested. I had a kilo of chicken pieces in the freezer so I defrosted those this morning and prepared the marinade after lunch. After an overnight in the fridge I shall separate into three portions and freeze the portions in the marinade for later.
Click to expand...

Single portion of chicken frozen in marinade.

Frozen in marinade s.jpg

Frozen in marinade s.jpg

 
LissaC said:
The bits on top ate ice? Otherwise it’s looking good!
Click to expand...

Yes. It will probably be Monday before I cook one portion of the chicken. I currently do not have yoghurt and there's beef planned for tomorrow (which also requires yoghurt).
 
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