Boneless Butter Chicken AKA Murgh Makhani (Rushina's replies to a recipe request)

Boneless Butter Chicken/ Murgh makhani picture courtesy Bharat Bhirangi and Mrigan Sharma.

Akanksha Malhotra of Delhi who has attended one of my cooking workshops at Natures Basket wrote in to on Facebook "I really need your help. I am looking for authentic boneless butter chicken recipe for a family dinner. If you could please help me with it. Would be great !" I replied to Akanksha, on Facebook but I thought I would post the recipe here as well because this is an evergreen recipe that can be handy to have lying around! 

I learnt this recipe from a Punjabi neighbour Sharma aunty who lived next door to the first home I lived in after we married. In fact putting the recipe down brought back some long forgotten memories. I remember how tough that first year was for me. Not only did I have to learn to manage a home and kitchen, I also had to get used to a 3 hour commute to and from work. So on days when i got home late, it was a boon when Sharma aunty would pop her head out of her door as I unlocked my house and hand me a casserole of some hearty rajma, mah dal or butter chicken. I am not sure how ‘authentic’ this recipe is, but it is the one I use, But nobody that’s eaten it has ever complained. In fact there are rarely leftovers! As a shortcut you can use ready tandoori chicken in a pinch as well.

Boneless Butter Chicken /Murgh Makhani (Time : 4 hours prep +45 mins cooking time; Serves – 4)

Ingredients

800 g Chicken breast pieces, boneless

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder

Salt to taste

2 tbsp Butter

For the marinade

1 c Yogurt

Salt to taste

½ tsp Garlic paste

½ tsp Garam masala powder

1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder

2 tbsp Ginger paste

2 tbsp Lemon juice

2 tbsp Mustard oil

For the Makhni Gravy

50g Butter

1 tbsp Ginger paste

5-6 Green chillies, chopped

1 tbsp Red chilli powder

Salt to taste

½ tsp Dry fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi) toasted lighly on a tava /griddle for a minute or so to crisp it up

1 tbsp whole garam masala

1 tbsp garlic paste

400g Tomato puree

½ tsp Garam masala powder

2 tbsp Honey/sugar

1 c Cream

Method

Hang yogurt in a muslin cloth for fifteen to twenty minutes to remove extra water (I find using ready yoghurt means there is less water  - in fact I love Danone natural yogurt and no I am not plugging it, it really is beautifully thick. Abroad I recommend Greek Yoghurt. Meanwhile halve the chicken breasts (Butter chicken is a hearty dish so aim for 1-2 nice big chunks per diner, nothing smaller) and make incisions with a sharp knife on chicken them. In a small bowl combine the red chilli powder, lemon juice and salt and apply on the chicken breasts, rubbing in well. Reserve for half an hour. Then combine red chilli powder, salt, ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice, garam masala powder and mustard oil and apply marinade to chicken. Refrigerate for three to four hours. At this point remove from fridge and thread marinated chicken onto a skewer. Cook in a moderately hot tandoor or preheated oven (200°C) for 10 -12 minutes until the chicken is almost but not completely cooked. Pull out baste with a little butter and return to oven. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Remove and reserve. To make the gravy, heat butter in a pan. Add green cardamoms, cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon and sauté for 2 minutes, then add ginger-garlic paste and the chopped green chillies and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the tomato puree, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, salt and one cup of water and bring the whole thing to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for ten minutes. Stir in the sugar or honey and crumble in the kasoori methi. Add the cooked chicken pieces and simmer for 5 minutes. Swirl over the fresh cream and serve hot with naan or roomali rotis.

A NOTE on a new genre of posts.

I am revamping my blogs slowly as you might have noted. One of the mig requests I have is for recipes so I have already started a section called Rushina recipes where I put selections of recipes based on an ingredient, dics or cuisine. Requests for recipes and questions on cooking have also been on the rise so I am also going to be adding a section called Rushina repliesso my replies can benifit everyone. You can look forward to replies on Five spice powder, sichuan peppercorns, zaresht berries and star anise. And if you have a question on cooking or an ingredient or  even  a recipe request you can leave it as a comment and I will address it as soon as I can.