Authentic Butter Chicken
Butter Chicken (murgh makhani) is a popular dish in the UK and one of those that you always see on the supermarket shelves. Frankly, it is generally disgusting! Why do the British accept this sickly sweet uninspiring dish? The original dish comes from Delhi in northern India and is a stunning dish worthy of cooking at any time! This is an authentic butter chicken recipe. It is made with surprisingly little butter!
Authentic Butter Chicken
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 655kcal
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Oil we always use Rapeseed oil
- 1 large Onion in India they are almost always red onions
- 750 g Fresh Tomatoes
- 4 Chicken Breasts
- 100 g Cashew Nuts unsalted
- 2 tsp Chilli Powder
- ½ tsp Garam Masala
- 1 tbsp Fenugreek Leaves crushed (rub them between the palms of your hands)
- 2 tbsp Ginger Paste
- 2 tbsp Garlic Paste
- 300 ml Water
- 1 tbsp Malt vinegar
- 50 g Butter
- 2 tbsp Double Cream
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- Salt
- Coriander chopped to garnish
Instructions
- Slice the chicken into thin pieces and place in a bowl along with 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tbsp ginger paste, 1 tbsp garlic paste and a pinch of salt and mix well. Set aside for 15-20 minutes whilst you prepare the other ingredients
- Roughly chop the onion and do the same to the tomatoes. Don't worry too much about chopping finely everything is going into a food processor a bit later!
- After 15-20 minutes has passed, put 1 tbsp of oil into a large sauté pan or wok and fry the chicken until it has taken on some colour and is almost cooked through. It will be finished later in the sauce
- Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and, when hot, add the onions and a knob of the butter and sweat them down until they are soft but not coloured
- Add the chopped tomatoes, the cashew nuts and the water. Next add the remaining ginger paste, garlic paste, a pinch of salt, the sugar, the garam masala, the vinegar and the remaining chilli powder. Mix well and cook for at least 20 minutes until the whole mixture has cooked and turned into a slightly mushy consistency
- Allow the mixture to cool slightly and then pour into a food processor or, if you prefer, a bowl to be blitzed with a hand blender. Blitz the mixture until smooth and then pass it through a sieve into a clean pan
- Add the remaining butter, a tablespoon of cream and the chicken. Mix well and then add the fenugreek leaves. Simmer for 5 minutes or so and then serve drizzled with a little of the remaining cream and the chopped coriander
Nutrition
Calories: 655kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 56g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 182mg | Sodium: 392mg | Potassium: 1550mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 2349IU | Vitamin C: 34mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 3mg