Romy Gill's India
By Romy Gill
Butter chicken
Murg makhani
Not Too Tricky
serves 4-5
About the recipe
There are so many different recipes for butter chicken. This is my take, because there is a lot of spark and dispute going on in India about butter chicken. We served so much butter chicken in our restaurant, so I went in search of the very best butter chicken recipe and researched how it all started. I found this gave me a better understanding of this best-loved dish. With its silky smooth, gently spiced tomato, cashew and cream gravy, it’s a comforting, warming dish that feels decadent. It was in 2013 when I started to take a closer look at butter chicken and its history. My mentor, chef Manjit Gill, took me to the first ever Moti Mahal restaurant in Daryagang in Delhi. A restaurant co-founded by Kundan Lal Jaggi, Kundal Lal Gujral and Maggu (also known as Thakur Das) and it was where they created both butter chicken and dal makhani.
Recipe From
Ingredients
750g (1 lb 10 oz) skinless, boneless chicken (thighs and breast), cut into bite-size pieces
FOR THE MARINADE
10g (½ oz) ginger root, peeled and grated (shredded)
3 large garlic cloves, peeled and grated (shredded)
2 tsp tandoori masala
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp yoghurt
juice of ½ lemon
30ml (1 fl oz/2 tbsp) sunflower oil
FOR THE SAUCE
500g (1 lb 2 oz) tomatoes
50g (2 oz) butter
20g (3/4 oz) ginger root, peeled and grated (shredded)
6 large garlic cloves, peeled and grated (shredded)
1 tsp tomato purée (paste)
1 tsp tandoori masala
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
30g (1½ oz) ground cashew nuts
30ml (1 fl oz/2 tbsp) double (heavy) cream
6–8 green cardamom seeds, crushed
2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)
TO SERVE
your choice of Indian flatbreads or rice
Method
- To make the marinade, mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a large bowl. Prick the chicken pieces with a fork to allow the marinade to penetrate the meat. Add the chicken to the bowl and stir well to coat thoroughly. Cover the bowl and set aside in the fridge to marinate for at least a couple of hours.
- When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 180ºC fan/400ºF/gas 6. Spread the marinated chicken out on a baking tray and cook in the hot oven for 15 minutes.
- While the chicken is cooking, make the sauce. If the chicken finishes cooking before you have finished making the sauce, switch the oven off after the 15 minutes and leave the meat to rest in the oven.
- Blanch the tomatoes in a bowl of boiling water for a few minutes, then remove their skins. Cut into quarters and remove the seeds, then roughly chop and place in a food processor. Blitz to a smooth purée.
- Heat the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the ginger and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the puréed fresh tomatoes as well as the tomato purée and cook for 8–10 minutes until the tomatoes are cooked through, stirring regularly to avoid them sticking and burning. Add all the spices, chilli powder, salt and sugar, mix well and cook for a further 2 minutes until emulsified. Lower the heat, then add the ground cashew nuts and cream, and stir well. Add 500–600 ml (20–24 fl oz/ 2½ cups–scant 3 cups) water – the quantity you choose to add depends on how runny you want the sauce to be. Bring the mixture to a boil, and when it starts bubbling, add the chicken, lower the heat and cook for a further 8–10 minutes.
- Sprinkle over the cardamom seeds and dried fenugreek leaves. Stir and leave to rest for at least 10 minutes before serving with rice or any Indian flatbreads.
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