Butter Chicken Recipe
A few people have asked me for my Butter Chicken Recipe and I don't know where else to put it, so why not here.
This is the benchmark, from the original Moti Mahal in Delhi.
I had the opportunity to go in the back and watch the bossman make it.
Before you read the ingredients, note that this is a vibes-based recipe: the ingredients are correct, but the amounts may vary. Increase the Kashmiri red chili powder if you want more heat, and if anything doesn't taste right, it's usually salt or butter. The key insight I've learned on my butter chicken journey is that the taste scales linearly with how much butter you put in it.
Email me a photo if you make this, please:
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
Chicken, thighs ideally.
2 lb
Kashmiri Chili Powder
3 tbsp
Garam Masala
1 1/2 tsp
Oil, mustard ideally.
2 tbsp
Greek Yogurt
3/4 cup
Lemon Juice
2 tbsp
Fenugreek Leaves
1 tsp
Salt
2 tbsp
Ginger+Garlic Paste
3 tbsp
Black Salt
1 tsp
Butter Chicken Sauce
Kashmiri Chili Powder
2 tbsp
Pureed Tomatoes
2 lb
Butter
3/4 cup
I did 1 1/2 cups once and it was amazing
Heavy Cream
1 cup + 1/4 garnish
Salt
to taste
Sugar
2 tbsp
Thai Green Chilies (no seeds)
5
Ginger Garlic Paste
1 tbsp
Instructions
Cut the chicken into ~1 inch pieces, make sure the chicken is dry
Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl with the chicken
Cover and leave it in the fridge for at least 3 hours
Prepare the oven, Air Fryer recommended
Preheat to 400f, enable convection if using an oven
Skewer the chicken with wooden sticks, or plop them in
Cook for 16 minutes (thighs), 14 minutes (breast). They should have some charred ends
To make it even better, shred the chicken after its cooked
Ignore that this chicken isn't cut
See the char
In a large pan, add some butter, and Thai Green Chilies.
Add pureed tomatoes with the Kashmiri Chili Powder, ginger garlic paste, salt, and sugar.
Cook on low until its deep red and slightly thickened
Add cooked chicken, butter, and cream, mix
Taste for salt, spice, sugar. If it doesn't taste right — adjust salt and butter
Be generous
Color reference
Once it tastes right, plate it
Garnish with more butter
Perhaps a little more butter
Tiny swirl of cream
A bit of coriander
Eat with Naan or Rice, not both