India · North Indian cuisine of Delhi and Punjab
Butter chicken (murgh makhani)
Smoky, charred pieces of yogurt-marinated chicken simmered in a silky, mildly spiced tomato and butter sauce enriched with a little cream and dried fenugreek: the comforting curry of Delhi.
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Editorial selection: recipes cross-checked against several documentary sources. They have not been tested in our kitchen: follow the precautions given and adapt times to your own oven.
Photo: stu_spivack · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Source · cropped
original Original text, written in English.
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- Servings
- 4
- Preparation
- 30 min
- Cooking
- 60 min
- Resting
- 240 min
- Total
- 330 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
Cuisine / tradition: North Indian cuisine of Delhi and Punjab (IN) — declared by the author
- Main dish
- Celebration
- Grilled
Ingredients
For 4 servings
- 800 g boneless chicken thighs, in 4 cm pieces
- 120 g plain thick yogurt, for the marinade
- 2 tbsp lemon juice, for the marinade
- 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder, for the marinade
- 1 tsp garam masala, for the marinade
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste, for the marinade
- 1 tsp salt, for the marinade
- 2 tbsp oil, for the marinade and grilling
- 800 g ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste, for the sauce
- 30 g cashews
- 60 g butter
- 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder, for the sauce
- 1 tsp garam masala, for the sauce
- 4 piece green cardamom pods, for the sauce
- 3 piece cloves, for the sauce
- 1 piece cinnamon stick (5 cm), for the sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt, for the sauce, or to taste
- 100 ml single cream
- 2 tsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), crushed
- 1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped, to serve
Method
- Step 1. Mix the yogurt, lemon juice, chilli powder, garam masala, ginger-garlic paste, salt and 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the chicken, turn to coat, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.⏱ 240 min
- Step 2. Heat the oven to 220 °C. Thread the chicken on skewers or spread it on an oiled tray and roast on the top shelf for 18 to 20 minutes, turning once (or grill about 5 minutes per side), until charred at the edges but not quite cooked through: it finishes in the sauce. Set aside.⏱ 20 min
- Step 3. In a pan combine the tomatoes, the ginger-garlic paste, the cashews and 100 ml of water. Simmer for 20 minutes, until the tomatoes are completely soft.⏱ 20 min
- Step 4. Blend the tomato mixture until perfectly smooth, then pass it through a fine sieve for a velvety texture.
- Step 5. Melt the butter in a wide pan over medium heat, add the cardamom, cloves and cinnamon and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Pour in the sieved tomato sauce, add the chilli powder, garam masala, sugar and salt and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce is thick and the butter begins to separate at the edges.⏱ 15 min
- Step 6. Add the roasted chicken and simmer gently for 8 minutes so that it takes up the sauce. Stir in the cream and crush the kasuri methi between your palms over the pan. Simmer for 2 more minutes, without boiling hard, and taste for salt. Before serving, check the chicken with a food thermometer: the thickest piece must reach at least 74 °C at the centre. If it does not, keep simmering it in the sauce until it does; the 8 minutes are not a guarantee.⏱ 8 min
- Step 7. Remove the whole spices. Serve hot, garnished with a little more cream and the fresh coriander, with naan or basmati rice.
Story and cultural note
Butter chicken, or murgh makhani, is a dish of chicken in a creamy, spiced tomato and butter gravy. It was developed in Delhi and popularised in the 1950s at the Moti Mahal restaurant in Daryaganj, and is credited to Kundan Lal Gujral, reportedly made from leftover tandoori chicken in a butter-rich tomato sauce. The origin is disputed: the Gujral family says it was invented in Peshawar in the 1920s, and the rival Daryaganj restaurant credits its own founder's grandfather, Kundan Lal Jaggi, and the case is before a Delhi court. The sauce is traditionally sieved smooth and the chicken cooked in a tandoor; Madhur Jaffrey also gives a version without marinade or cream.
Tips for success
Marinate the chicken for at least 4 hours and char it hard: the smoky edges are the signature. Sieve the sauce for its silky texture. Add the butter and cream at the end, without boiling hard, so that the sauce stays glossy. Crush the kasuri methi between your palms to release its aroma, and balance the tomato with a little sugar. The chicken is only partly cooked when it leaves the oven: it must reach at least 74 °C at the centre before serving.
Serving and presentation
Serve in a warm bowl with a swirl of cream and fresh coriander, with garlic naan or basmati rice, sliced onion and lemon on the side.
Diet and allergens
Information declared by the author. CookHuddle does not verify or certify it. If you have an allergy, check the ingredients yourself.
DietGluten-freeEgg-free
ContainsMilkTree nuts
