“This is the best butter chicken you ever made” my son screamed, as he ate it licking his fingers. I knew what he meant when I tasted it myself. This time it tasted different from what I usually make. Yes, it was the smoky flavour I infused into it with the burning coal and also the earthenware dish that I baked the chicken in that did all the magic. The earthy smoky flavour was sensational and so delicious! We just loved it and ate it all. Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients:
1 lb chicken breasts
For the tandoori marinade:
1/2 cup greek yogurt / labneh)
2 tbs desi tandoori masala powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp garam masala powder
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/2 tsp coriander powder
salt – to taste
2 tbs Olive/vegetable oil
For the butter gravy:
1 x 1″ cinnamon stick
4 cloves
4 green cardamoms
2 black cardamoms
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
10 whole black peppercorns
2 bay leaf
1 medium sized onion (1/2 cup finely chopped)
3 medium sized fresh tomatoes (1 cup deseeded and finely chopped)
2 green chillies deseeded
1 tsp grated ginger
1/2 a cup whipping cream
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
Instructions:
1. Clean wash the chicken breasts, drain, towel dry and cut into medium size cubes. Mix together all the masalas for the marinade with the greek yogurt, add the vegetable oil, taste and adjust the salt. (The tandoori masala powder already has salt in it so taste before adding any salt.
2. Rub the chicken cubes with salt and lemon juice first and leave for 15 minutes. Then marinate the chicken with the prepared tandoori masala in an earthenware or a regular baking dish for up to 4 hours.
3. Bake in the oven preheated at 350°F for half an hour. Switch off the oven. Light a piece of charcoal and place it in a tin foil cup (shape the tin foil like a small cup to hold the burning coal). Place the tinfoil cup on top of the chicken pieces in the center of the baking dish. Drop a small blob of ghee (clarified butter) on the burning coal. When it smokes, cover the baking dish with a lid and leave it in the oven for 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, melt the butter with the olive oil in a saucepan on medium heat. Add the whole spices (the first seven ingredients for the gravy) the finely chopped onion and cook on low heat till it sweats a little and is translucent. Throw in the chopped deseeded tomatoes followed by whole deseeded green chillies and grated ginger.
5. Mash the tomatoes with the spatula or an immersion hand blender but only after removing the whole spices ( green and black cardamoms and cinnamon stick) then add 2 tsps tomato paste and mix well to form a gravy by adding half a cup of water. If you don’t have fresh tomatoes then add 1 cup tomato purée.
6. Remove the burning coal and transfer the roasted smoke flavoured chicken to the saucepan with all its juices. Let it simmer on the stove top for sometime.
7. Drizzle the whipping cream in the chicken gravy after keeping aside 1 or 2 tbsps for garnish.
8. Simmer for 5 mins or till the gravy thickens a bit. Then as a final step, crush the kasoori methi in between the palms of your hands (keep it in the center of your left palm and crush it with the heel of your right palm ) so as to release the aroma then add it to the curry.
9. Garnish with the remaining whipping cream by drizzling it on the top just before serving. Serve hot with fresh baked naan, tandoori roti or saffron rice. Enjoy!
Notes:
1. To make the chicken more flavourful, skewer the chicken pieces and grill them under the broiler in the oven for 6 minutes on each side. Do not over grill as it will lose all its juicy texture. Remove as soon as you see brown spots appearing on the chicken. The best method is of course using the barbecued chicken pieces in the butter gravy which gives the smoky flavour.
2. If you don’t have an earthenware baking dish you can use a regular one. An unglazed earthenware dish infuses an earthy flavour which is very appealing to the taste.
2. Do not forget to remove the whole spices (black and green cardamoms and cinnamon stick) before blending the tomatoes.
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Butter Chicken, My Style!
"This is the best butter chicken you ever made" was what my son commented as he ate it. I knew what he meant by that when I tasted it myself. This time it actually tasted different from the one that I usually make. It's because of the smoky flavour I infused into it and also the earthenware dish that I used to smoke that did the magic. The earthy smoky flavour was sensational and so delicious! We just loved it and ate it all. Here's the recipe: For the Marinade:
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp garam masala powder
- 1/4 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tbs greek yogurt / labneh)
- salt - to taste
- 2 tbs vegetable oil
- 1 x 1" cinnamon stick
- 4 cloves
- 4 green cardamoms
- 2 black cardamoms
- 1/4 tsp fennel seeds
- 10 whole black peppercorns
- 2 bay leaf
- 1 medium sized onion 1/2 cup finely chopped
- 4 medium sized fresh tomatoes 1 cup deseeded & finely chopped
- 2 green chillies deseeded
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1/2 a cup whipping cream
- 1/2 tsp jaggery or brown sugar
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 4 tbs butter
Clean, wash the chicken breasts, drain, towel dry and cut into medium size cubes. Mix together all the masalas for the marinade with the greek yogurt, add the vegetable oil, taste and adjust the salt. (The tandoori masala powder already has salt in it so taste before adding any salt.
Rub the chicken cubes with salt and lemon juice first and leave for 15 minutes. Then marinate the chicken with the prepared tandoori masala in an earthenware or regular baking dish for up to 4 hours.
Bake in the oven preheated at 350° F for half an hour. Switch off the oven. Light a piece of charcoal and place it in a tin foil cup (shape the tin foil like a small cup to hold the burning coal). Place the cup on top of the chicken pieces in the center of the baking dish. Drop a small blob of ghee (clarified butter) on the burning coal. When it smokes, close the baking dish with a lid and leave it in the oven for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the butter with the olive oil in a saucepan on medium heat. Add the whole spices (the first seven ingredients for the gravy) the finely chopped onion and cook on low heat till it sweats a little and is translucent. Throw in the chopped tomatoes followed by whole deseeded green chillies and ginger juliennes.
For a smooth texture, mash the tomatoes with the spatula, or an immersion hand blender but only after removing the whole spices ( green and black cardamoms and cinnamon stick) then add 2 tsps tomato paste and mix well to form a gravy by adding half a cup of water. If you don't have fresh tomatoes, then use 1 cup tomato purée. You don't need to blend if you add the tomato purée.
- Remove the burning coal and transfer the roasted smoke flavoured chicken to the saucepan with all its juices. Let it simmer on the stove top for sometime.
Drizzle the whipping cream in the chicken gravy after keeping aside 1 or 2 tbsps for garnish.
Simmer for 5 mins or till the gravy thickens a bit. Then as a final step, crush the kasoori methi in between the palms of your hands (keep it in the center of your left palm and crush it with the heel of your right palm ) so as to release the aroma then add it to the curry.
Garnish with the remaining whipping cream by drizzling it on the top just before serving. Serve hot with fresh baked naan or tandoori roti. Enjoy!
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