Butter Chicken cooked today.  Recipe inspired by Delhi method of cooking Butter Chicken. Turned out very delicious.  Ideally Butter Chicken dish is cooked with boneless chicken and leftover from Tandoori Chicken.  I used Chicken with bones and grilled the marinated chicken on Grill Pan for my recipe of Butter Chicken.  It will still taste delicious.  Here’s my Butter Chicken Recipe.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • Fresh Chicken – 1 kg.
  • Ginger and Garlic Paste – 1 tbs.
  • Hung Curd – Half Cup.
  • Garam Masala powder- Half tsp.
  • Turmeric powder – 1/4th tsp.
  • Salt to taste.
  • Lime juice – 2 tsp.
  • Coriander powder – 1 tsp.
  • Jeera powder – Half tsp.
  • Kashmiri Red Chilli powder – 4 tsp.
  • Hot Red Chilli powder – 1 tsp.
  • Green Chilli – 1 piece.
  • Ginger – One Inch piece. Rougly Chopped.
  • Garlic – 4 to 6 cloves. Roughly Chopped.
  • Cashew nuts – 4 tbs.
  • Bay Leaves – 2 medium size.
  • Lawang (Cloves) – 4 pieces.
  • Black Pepper – 6 pieces.
  • Cinnamon stick – 1 inch.
  • Freen Cardamom – 2 pieces.
  • Butter – 200 gms.
  • Ghee – 1 tbs.
  • Onion – 2 medium size.  Roughly Chopped.
  • Tomatoes – 8 medium size – Roughly Chopped.
  • Cooking Oil – 2 to 3 tbs for roasting marinated chicken.
  • Honey – 2 to 3 tbs.
  • Fresh Cream – 100 gms.
  • Kasuri Methi (Dried Fenugreek Leaves) – 3 tbs.
  • Charcoal – 1 medium size (for smoking the Butter Chicken).

Method:

  • Clean the Chicken with water.  Remove the water and keep chicken in a mixing bowl.
  • Add hung curd, garam masala, ginger and garlic paste, tumeric, jeera powder, coriander powder, 1 tbs of kashmiri red chilli powder, half tbs of hot red chilli powder, half tsp of salt, lime juice to the mixing bowl with the chicken.  Mix/Rub the marinate properly on the chicken so that chicken is nicely coated with this marinade.  Keep the marinated chicken in Fridge at least for 4 hours or overnight.
  • Take a Grill Pan and add 2 tbs of cooking oil.  Heat up the oil.
  • Place marinated chicken on the grill pan and charr the chicken from both sides. Chicken don’t have to be cooked completely on the grill pan.  Do this for all chicken pieces.  Keep it aside.
  • Take a large Kadai or Deep Pan and add one glass of water.  Heat it up.
  • Add chopped tomatoes, chopped onion, black pepper, cinamon stick, bay leaves, lawang, green cardamom, chopped ginger, chopped garlic, green chilli in to the Kadai.  Mix it well and cook for 8 to 10 minutes on high flame.
  • Add 100 gms of butter, remaining hot red chilli powder, 2 tbs of kashmiri red chilli powder in to the Kadai.  Mix it well.  
  • Add two more glases or water in to the Kadai.  Mix it well and cook this whole mixture for another 12 to 15 minutes with Kadai Lid covered and on high flame.
  • Turn off the heat after 15 minutes.  Allow this Kadai ingredients to cool down.
  • Take a mixer grinder.  Add the cooking Kadai ingredients in to the mixer grinder. Grind this ingredients into fine paste.
  • Take a Sieve / Strainer and place it on a large bowl.
  • Strain the grinded mixture/ingredients using a Sieve into the bowl.
  • Discard the coarse ingredients left over inthe Sieve.
  • Take the same large Kadai and heat it up.
  • Add remaining butter to the Kadai.
  • Add remaining kashmiri red chilli powder to the melted butter in the Kadai.  Stir it only for 8 to 10 seconds.
  • Pour the strained/filtered grinded liquid gravy into the Kadai immediately and keep stiring.
  • Cook this gravy for 5 to 8 minutes on medium flame with lid covered on the Kadai.
  • Add 90 gms of fresh cream in to the Kadai and mix it well.  Keep around 10 gms of fresh cream for garnishing.
  • Add grilled / charred chicken pieces in to the Kadai and mix it well.  Cook this chicken on medium or low flame for another 12 to 15 minutes until the chicken is completely cooked.  Keep the Kadai lid covered.
  • Take another frying Pan and heat it up.  Add Kasuri Methi and roast it for 2 to 3 minutes.  Turn off the heat.  Allow roasted kasuri methi to cool down.  Using your palm and finger crush the kasuri methi into fine powder.  Keep it aside.
  • After the chicken is completely cooked, add honey and 2 tbs of kasuri methi to butter chicken gravy.  Keep 1 tbs kasuri methi for garnishing.  Mix it well and cover the Kadai lid.  Keep the flame of low/medium.  Cook it for another 2 to 4 minutes.
  • Take the charcoal and place it on cooking gas flame.  Burn the charcoal until it is properly lit.
  • Place a small steel cup or any small steel bowl in the middle of the butter chicken gravy in the Kadai.  Gravy should not enter this cup.
  • Turn off the flame of Kadai.  Place the burnt charcoal in this cup.  Pour the Ghee on this burnt charcoal in the cup and immediately cover the lid of the Kadai. Don’t allow the charcoal smoke to escape from the Kadai.
  • Leave the lid covered for 15 minutes allowing the ghee and charcoal smoke to infuse in the Butter Chicken gravy.
  • Delicious Butter Chicken is ready to be served.  
  • Transfer Butter Chicken in a serving bowl.  Garnish it with remaining fresh cream and kasuri methi powder.  Serve hot.
  • Butter Chicken is eaten with jeera rice or Paratha or Tandoori roti.
  • Happy Eating.