The Hubby traveled to Mumbai, India years ago on one of his Coast Guard deployments, and recounts tales of its fragrant port and intriguing flavor profiles like curry. I’ve never been. Yet. I’ll just be honest. Other than seeing India on the map and hearing about it on the boob tube, I know little to notta about the country. As a kid, people of Indian descent ranged from West to East to Native American. My initial exposure to this exotic Indian food came from the head custodian at a former WY elementary school. Mr. D. and I enjoyed chatting about our worldly foodie foods, and he offered up left-over butter chicken one day. Ok! After the first bite, I was sold! We’ve enjoyed butter chicken (aka Murgh Makhani) since then!
The recipe we use is tweaked from Tasty.com. It’s not complicated, but builds and layers all of these intoxicating, exotic yummy flavors of turmeric, garlic, ginger, cumin, chili and garam masala. Start by “marinating” diced chicken pieces in this spiced blend. We like a combination of diced chicken thigh and breast meat to give the meat a depth of flavor. Brown the spiced meat mixture in melted butter. Yummm…
Remove the browned chicken and build flavor profiles. More melted butter. Diced onion and minced garlic. More spices! Cook till your kitchen is warmly fragrant and add in the liquids–tomato sauce, water and cream. Simmer and put the chicken back in the pool! Cover and cook until thickened (about 15 more minutes!).
Right before serving the thickened poultry tastiness, stir in the last 2 tbsp. of butter. Ladle over cooked white or Arborio rice (we love it cooked in chicken stock!) and serve with fresh chopped cilantro or scallions. When I made this, all we had was dried cilantro. Still worked like a champ. If you’re lucky, you may have kitchen helpers mooching like mine! LOL! Enjoy with glass of buttery Chardonnay!
Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)
Need a weekend vacation? Try exotically spiced chicken in a silky tomato, cream and butter sauce served over tender rice. Enjoy with a side salad and a glass of Chardonnay!
- Total Time: About 45 Minutes
- Yield: 4 Servings 1x
Ingredients
2 pounds chicken thighs and/or breasts, boneless, skinless and cut into bite-size cubes
1/2 to 1 tsp. salt (table, kosher or sea), or to taste
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp. chili powder, divided
1 tsp. ground turmeric
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature and divided into 2 tbsp. increments
1–1/2 cups (about 1/2 medium-sized) onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tsp. garam masala powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground cayenne or ancho chili powder*
2 tsp. ground ginger, or 1 tbsp. freshly grated ginger root
One 3-inch cinnamon stick
One 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
White rice, for serving**
Fresh cilantro or sliced scallions, for serving
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine the diced chicken thighs/breast with salt, pepper, 1 tsp. chili powder, and turmeric, Let sit for 15-30 minutes to marinate.
Over medium heat, melt 2 tbsp. butter in a large pot. When bubbly, add chicken and cook until browned on all sides. Remove from pot.
Add 2 more tbsp. butter to pot and melt. Stir in diced onion, garlic, garam marsala, cumin, cayenne or ancho powder, ginger and cinnamon stick. Cook and stir until fragrant, about 2-4 minutes.
Stir in tomato sauce. Be careful as sauce will bubble up. Bring to a simmer.
Stir in water and heavy cream. Again, bring to a simmer.
Add browned chicken and juices to pot. Be sure to return to a simmer before covering and cooking for 15 minutes.
Stir in last 2 tbsp. of butter. Serve over cooked white rice and garnish with cilantro or sliced green onions.
Notes
*Cayenne powder will give a very spicy forward heat. If you want more chili flavor without the heat, opt for ancho chili powder.
**Cooking white or Arborio rice in chicken stock gives the dish a more savory, rich flavor.
IMNPB
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