Indian Butter Chicken

Butter Chicken or Chicken Makhani , is one of my favorite Indian dish . My husband loves it , and my son loves it as well . So what’s the reason not to re-create this wonderful , rich , and delicious dish at home ?

This probably the easy way to create chicken makhani , i will someday will do it the right way with fresh tomatoes and all , but for now , this actually works pretty good , and i was quite surprised with the taste , pretty much similar to the buffer that we usually go to .

 

Ingredients :

About 2 lbs of boneless chicken thighs , cut into bite size pieces and then marinated with 1-2 tbsp. of garam masala , salt and pepper , set aside .

For the butter sauce :

1 tbsp. Olive oil

2 small shallots , chopped

1/2 large onion , chopped

2-3 tbsp. of ginger garlic paste ( i just chopped garlic and ginger and then throw them into the food grinder to make it very pasty )

1 tsp. of lemon juice ( optional ) , i found the use of the lemon juice really makes the dish tangier than it should be .. next time i probably either cut down half or not even adding it

2 tbsp. of unsalted butter

1 bay leaves

1 tsp. garam masala

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. coriander

1 cardamom pods

1 cinnamon stick

1 bay leaves

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. of cayenne pepper

1 cup of tomato puree

1/2 c of greek yogurt

1/2 c. of heavy cream

1/2 c. of half and half

1. In a large skillet , heat up the oil , and then add chopped shallot and onion until translucent , add ginger garlic paste , saute for another minute , add lemon juice if using , and butter , then add the spices , cook for another minute until aromatic . Add  the tomato puree , mix well until almost boiling . Add yogurt and half half and heavy cream , let it simmer for 20 mins for the flavor to blend .

2. Meanwhile , cook and brown the chicken in the wok , and once it’s done , add the sauce into the chicken in the wok , and bring to boil , then simmer again , cook about 20 mins until the flavor combined .

3. Serve with basmati rice , and sprinkle with chopped cilantro .