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Butter Chicken 🍗 (Murgh Makhani)
Butter Chicken 🍗 (Murgh Makhani)
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Main Dishes Indian RichardObradovic
Aug 24, 2025
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Site avg: 4.5 / 5
Total votes: 10
Description
Tender yogurt-marinated chicken in a silky tomato–butter sauce with kasuri methi and warm spices — rich, comforting, and wildly fragrant 🤎.
Hook: Restaurant flavor at home in ~45 minutes (plus a quick marinate) ⚡
Ingredients
Chicken & Marinade
🍗 Boneless chicken thighs, bite-size: 700 g (1.5 lb)
🥛 Thick yogurt: 120 g (½ cup / 4.2 oz)
🍋 Lemon juice: 15 ml (1 tbsp / 0.5 fl oz)
🫚 Ginger–garlic paste: 20 g (1 tbsp + 1 tsp / 0.7 oz)
🌶 Kashmiri chili powder (mild): 2 tsp (6 g / 0.21 oz)
🌕 Turmeric: ½ tsp (1.5 g / 0.05 oz)
🌿 Garam masala: 1 tsp (3 g / 0.1 oz)
🧂 Salt: 1 tsp (6 g / 0.21 oz)
Sauce
🧈 Butter: 40 g (3 tbsp / 1.4 oz)
🛢 Neutral oil (optional): 1 tbsp (15 ml / 0.5 fl oz)
🧅 Onion, finely chopped: 1 small (100 g / 3.5 oz)
🫚 Ginger–garlic paste: 15 g (1 tbsp / 0.5 oz)
🍅 Tomato purée (passata): 400 g (1¾ cups / 14 oz)
🥜 Cashews, soaked 10 min (optional, creamier): 50 g (1.8 oz)
🌿 Ground cumin: 1 tsp (3 g / 0.1 oz)
🌿 Ground coriander: 1 tsp (3 g / 0.1 oz)
🍬 Sugar (or honey), to taste: 1 tsp (4 g / 0.14 oz)
🧂 Salt: to taste
🥛 Heavy cream: 150 ml (⅔ cup / 5 fl oz)
🌿 Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek), crushed: 1 tsp (1 g)
Preparation
1️⃣ Marinate: Combine all marinade ingredients; coat chicken. Rest 30–60 min (or up to overnight).
2️⃣ Sear chicken: In a hot pan (or broiler), sear until lightly charred and just cooked through; set aside.
3️⃣ Base: In the same pan melt butter (add oil if needed). Sauté onion 5–6 min to golden; add ginger–garlic 30 s.
4️⃣ Spice & tomato: Stir in cumin and coriander 20–30 s; add tomato purée, sugar, and salt. Simmer 5–7 min until thick and glossy.
5️⃣ Blend (optional): For ultra-smooth sauce, blend with cashews then return to pan.
6️⃣ Finish: Add cream and kasuri methi; slide in chicken with juices. Simmer gently 3–5 min. Adjust salt/sweetness.
7️⃣ Rest 2 min and serve with basmati rice or naan.
Total Time
🕒 Prep: 15 min (+ marinate 30–60 min)
🔥 Cook: 30 min
⏳ Total: ~45 min active
Nutritional Value
🔋 Energy: ≈540 kcal
💪 Protein: ≈30 g
🧈 Fat: ≈38 g
🍞 Carbohydrates: ≈16 g
🧂 Sodium: ≈900 mg
Advice
Char the marinated chicken (broiler or hot pan) before saucing — those browned bits make the butter sauce taste “tandoor-level”.
Why it works: Maillard browning builds smoky depth; blooming spices in fat unlocks aromatics; kasuri methi + cream smooth sharp tomato acidity for a round finish.
Twist: Make it Paneer Butter Masala (swap chicken for 400 g paneer) or dairy-lighter with 200 ml coconut cream + a squeeze of lime.
Status
Creamy, smoky, and irresistible — Butter Chicken 🍗 is your ultimate Indian comfort bowl. #grannyzen #indiancuisine #butterchicken
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