Butter Chicken

With its remarkable flavours that can come to life in just one mouthful, the butter chicken is the most impressive of all the chicken dishes I have made so far. For me, this dish is wonderful even on its own. Sappy, succulent, moist & tender - this is how I'd describe it. A tour to an Indian restaurant without enjoying this delicacy will surely be incomplete.

Of late, it has become our family favourite - thanks to the new recipe I found recently which helped me to make this perfect butter chicken dish. Its downright & irresistable and it is undoubtedly the trademark of Indian cuisine. The spices balance perfectly with the chicken to give it a soothing but a glorious flavour with a savoury fragrance.

INGREDIENTS:

For the marinade:

1/4 Kg boneless chicken cut into medium sized cubes/small sized cubes.

½ cup yogurt

1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

1 tbsp Indian tandoori masala

 2 tomatoes (medium) ground to a thick paste

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp butter/clarified butter

Salt to taste

HOW TO MAKE:

1)   Marinate the chicken with the above ingredients for atleast an hour or overnight in the fridge.

2)   Grill the chicken pieces for 20-25 minutes in an oven till half done. Remove them and keep aside.

3)   Keep the leftover marinade aside to use it while making the gravy.

For the Gravy:

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

1 medium tomato, finely chopped

4 small green chilies, finely chopped

10 cashew nuts, blended to a paste with some water

 1/2 tsp sugar

½ tsp tomato ketchup

2 tspdried fenugreek leaves or kasoori methi

1 tbsp sour cream/single cream

2-3 drops of color (optional)

Salt, to taste

chopped coriander leaves, to garnish

HOW TO MAKE:

1) Heat butter in a skillet, add the ginger+garlic paste and saute for a minute.

2) Then add the tomatoes, the leftover marinade, the spice powders and salt and cook for a while- say 4-5 minutes

3)  Add the tomato Ketchup, the sugar, fenugreek leaves, cashew paste, color and stir for a minute.

4)  Add the chicken pieces and allow it to simmer in the gravy till oil comes up - around 5-6 minutes.

5)   Add the cream, adjust taste and garnish with coriander leaves.

6)  Serve hot with Rice, Pita Bread, parathas or Naan.

RATING NOTES:

               DIFFICULTY LEVEL    :   Medium

              RATING  POINTS         :    7/10**