Indian Butter Chicken Curry Recipe (Murgh Makhani)
Butter chicken or Murgh Makhani is the classic Indian recipe featuring grilled chicken in a rich tomato sauce, thickened with nuts and enriched with butter and cream.
Servings 2 Servings
Calories 981kcal
Ingredients
- 2 Large Skinless Chicken Breasts 400-450g Total
For the Marinade:
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
- 2 tablespoon Natural Yoghurt
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoon Kashmiri Chilli Powder
- ½ teaspoon Ground Turmeric
- ½ teaspoon Ground Cumin
- ½ teaspoon Amchoor
For the Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Cooking Oil
- 6 Garlic Cloves
- 35 g Ginger 1 Thumb Sized Piece
- 10 cm Cinnamon Bark 4" Piece
- 4 Cloves
- 4 Cardamom Pods
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 3 Dried Chilli Peppers
- 250 g Tomato Passata 1 Cup
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri Chilli Powder
- ½ tablespoon Dried Fenugreek Leaves
- ½ teaspoon Sugar
- 75 g Butter 5 tablespoon
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 15 g Cashew Nuts 2 tablespoon
- 50 ml Hot Water 3 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon
- 75 ml Double Cream ⅓ Cup (heavy cream in the US)
Instructions
- Cut the chicken breasts into 5-7 pieces.
- Mix the ingredients for the marinade in a mixing bowl, then add the chicken, mix well, cover and then place in the fridge for 4-8 hours.
- About 40 minutes before you are ready to serve, peel and roughly chop the ginger.
- Bash the garlic cloves with the side of a knife and then peel them.
- Heat the oil in a 30cm or 12" frying pan and add the garlic and ginger. and fry over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the garlic begins to go golden at the edges.
- Crack the cardamom pods with the side of a knife and add them to the pan with the cinnamon bark, cloves, bay leaf and dried chillies, then stir to coat in the oil.
- Pour in the tomato passata, reduce the heat to low and allow to cook for 20 minutes.
- Preheat your grill or broiler as hot as it will go.
- Thread the chicken onto skewers and place them under the grill for around 10-12 minutes (flipping halfway through). The aim is to get some colour all over, and you do not need to worry about cooking it all the way through because we have another 5-10 minutes of cooking time.
- When the sauce has had 20 minutes, strain it through a fine mesh sieve into the marinade bowl, then stir to combine and return it to the pan.
- Add the sugar, Kashmiri chilli powder, dried fenugreek leaves, butter and salt to the sauce and bring to a simmer.
- Add the grilled chicken to the pan and cook for 5-10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
- Blend the cashew nuts with the hot water and add this to the pan along with the cream, stirring until thickened.
- Serve with more cream and some freshly chopped coriander leaves.
Video
Notes
If you are using bamboo skewers be sure to soak them in water for around 30 minutes before using them.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 981kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 77g | Fat: 65g | Saturated Fat: 32g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 28g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 315mg | Sodium: 1780mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 8g
