Indias Most Popular Chicken Recipe |
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Butter chicken is a very popular Indian chicken recipe throughout the world. Probably because it is a great fusion of flavor, taste, texture and aroma. It is normally made using boneless (tandoori chicken i.e a chicken grilled in a clay oven) . Then the chicken pieces are cooked in a tomato gravy, with lots of spices and butter. So what you get in the end is an awesome rich gravy, with a tangy and charred flavored chicken. Since most of us do not have a big clay oven at home, I have improvised the recipe to suit our home limitations without compromising the flavors. This Butter chicken recipe can be prepared in two ways. The basic gravy for both variations is the same. Butter Chicken Recipe Method 1 You can use chicken on the bone for this (no need for boneless or tandoori chicken, although you can use if you want). To prepare the marinade you will need
Mix all ingredients so that all the chicken pieces are coated well. Leave this covered for 5-8 hours (ideally, prepare it the night before and leave in the refrigerator). To make the Gravy you will need
Make a paste of onion and green chili by using very little water. Also blend the tomatoes and fresh coriander separately. Heat a non-stick heavy bottom pan, add the butter and oil. Add the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaf in. When they crackle add the onion paste and saute on a low to medium flame. When it starts to brown a little , add the ginger-garlic paste. Saute on a low flame till almost dry and the paste looks golden brown (if the flame is too high, then the onion paste will get burnt and the gravy will taste bitter). Add the tomato puree and cook on a high flame till all the water evaporates. Add the tandoori masala, salt, chili powder and coriander powder (the tandoori masala contains salt too,don't add too much salt at first). At this stage turn off the heat and give your masala (what you have just prepared) a touch of Smoky Aroma. Put it back on the stove and tip in the marinated chicken along with the marinade. Bring to a boil, add the color and cook on medium heat till the chicken is almost done. Stir occasionally. Crush the kasoori methi and sprinkle it in. Also add the cashews. Sneak a taste and add more salt if required. Cook further till the chicken is completely done. Kindly note:- If the chicken pieces are small and tender then do not put the lid on while cooking, otherwise your chicken will get cooked and the gravy will still be watery. The gravy should be thick, not watery (although we are not adding any water, there will be water in the chicken and yogurt). If the pieces are bigger and tough then do put the lid on. They will need some steam to cook. You can always adjust the thickness of the gravy by adding hot water, if needed. Lastly, if you want to do justice to the name of this recipe, then add some or lots of unsalted white butter and garnish with fresh coriander leaves. If you want to get best of both the worlds then avoid it. You will still have a delicious chicken with less fat. To give an extra smoky aroma, before you add your marinated chicken in the masala, smoke it the same manner as you did the masala. This will put that aroma in the chicken too. I hope you like this butter chicken recipe. It really comes out nice. Butter Chicken Recipe METHOD 2 For this recipe you need to begin with a ready made tandoori chicken. Tear as much boneless meat as you can from it. Discard the bones. Make the gravy in the same way and add this chicken when the gravy is done. Do not add the tandoori masala as your chicken will already have it. No need to smoke the chicken. Adjust the quantity of the gravy, according to the quantity of the chicken. Happy Cooking!!!
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