Butter Chicken

Chicken makhanwala made the 'traditional' way

• CuisineIndian
• CategoryChicken
• CourseMains

Ingredients

• 1 kgBoneless chicken pieces
•  
• Marinade
• 20Kashmiri chillies
• 2 tbspGinger, minced
• 2 tbspGarlic, minced
• 2 tbspYoghurt
• 1 tbspLime juice
• 1 tbspMalt vinegar
• ½ tspPepper powder
• 1 tbspOil
• 2 tspGaram masala
• 2 tspMeat tenderizer
•  Salt
•  
• 100 gmsButter
• 250 gmsOnions, chopped
• 750 mlTomato puree
• 100 mlCream

Preparation

1. Soak kashmiri chillies in hot water for half an hour
2. Grind coarsely and mix with all other marinade ingredients
3. Marinate chicken pieces for an hour or overnight
4. Remove from marinade and pan fry in batches till cooked through


5. Heat and melt butter in a pan
6. Add chopped onion and fry till soft
7. Add remaining marinade and 250ml of the tomato puree
8. Fry till oil separates
9. Add remaining tomato puree and simmer
10. Take off heat and add cream

There is always a dish that lives in obscurity in its homeland. Then, one day it goes abroad, changes itself a little (or a lot) and the locals embrace it so much that it becomes more famous and comes to represent an entire cuisine. This is not completely true of Butter Chicken. It is not obscure and is found in almost every restaurant in India – usually as Chicken Makhanwala. But in Australia, it is the main dish in every restaurant and possibly the only dish that most people ever eat. It is very different here – it is creamy, as it should be, but a bit too sweet. So much so that I would joke that the main ingredients are vanilla ice cream and tomato sauce!

The dish is said to have originated in Delhi’s Moti Mahal, where the cooks were left with large amounts of tandoori chicken marinade and they decided to cook it with lots of butter. I found myself in the same situation after I had made Tandoori Chicken and had made the marinade from scratch rather than getting it out of a jar. There was plenty left over and with all the effort put into making it, it seemed a waste to throw it away. So it got made into Butter Chicken.

I used cream at the end. You can also use cashew or almond paste. Both of these also work very well as thickeners and you may need to add a lot more water.

I marinated boneless chicken pieces in the marinade first. It was too much trouble to fire up the tandoor to prepare a small amount of boneless chicken, so it was done on the frying pan. It can also be done under a grill.