The Best Butter Chicken Revisited (with recipes for Meat and Garam Masala)

I have been making this fabulous butter chicken recipe since I first found it in 2009. I love it because it is the closest to our favourite Bombay Palace’s Murgh Makhani. It is a rich, tangy tomato-based sauce that is completely moreish. I made it in mid-March when our weather suddenly turned into spring with temperatures of 14° C to 20° C (57° F to 68° F) and we had friends over two days after we were released for our latest 100-day lockdown. If it weren’t for our cosy heated patio, I would have surely gone mad.

You can easily make this vegetarian by substituting firm tofu for the chicken but I wouldn’t skip the spice rub and marinade, grilling also adds a level of flavour but not absolutely necessary.

Butter Chicken-Murgh Makhani

Serving Size: 6-8

Ingredients:

• 15 mL olive oil
• 1 medium sweet onion, roughly chopped
• 1.6 L stewed tomatoes
• 43 g roasted garlic
• 7 g ginger, grated on a Microplane
• 3.5 g Meat Masala (see recipe below)
• 3.5 g Garam Masala (see recipe below)
• 35 mL lemon juice (about half a lemon)
• Pinch of baking soda
• Salt to taste
• 60 g unsalted butter
• 100 mL cream
• Cilantro to garnish

Directions for the gravy:

• In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and cook the onions until golden. Add the stewed tomatoes and simmer until it has reduced to two-thirds of the original volume.
• Add the roasted garlic, ginger, both masalas, lemon juice and stir well to combine. Add a pinch of baking soda and stir until it has stopped bubbling. Blend this gravy with an emersion blender and run it through a fine sieve (I prefer a smooth, creamy gravy). Add salt to taste. You can hold the gravy overnight in the refrigerator.
• If you are serving immediately, add the butter and stir so that it melts into the gravy. Add the cream and stir well. Hold the gravy on very low heat (be careful, it bubbles quite furiously) and add the chicken just before serving.

This recipe is restaurant quality without the salt and extra calories!

Tandoori Marinades

• 1 kg chicken, skinned, deboned, trimmed (I used chicken thighs)

Ingredients for the spice rub:

• 6 g red chili powder (I used mild)
• 3 g turmeric
• pinch of baking soda
• salt to taste
• 30 mL lemon juice

Directions:

1. Combine the ingredients for the spice rub and rub well into the chicken (I would use gloves). Refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes.

Ingredients for the marinade:

• 100 g Greek yogurt
• 6 g red chili powder (I used mild)
• 7 g ginger, grated on a Microplane
• 30 g roasted garlic
• 5 g coriander
• 5 g cumin
• 5 g garam masala
• 15 mL lemon juice
• 30 mL olive oil

Directions:

1. Combine all of the ingredients and spread evenly onto the chicken pieces. Refrigerate overnight or for a few hours.
2. When ready to grill, heat the grill to 350° F.
3. Brush off a lot of the marinade.
4. Grill the chicken, basting with the marinade once or twice at the beginning until cooked through, about 165° F.

I always double the batch so that I can freeze leftovers for a quick and delicious meal.

Garam Masala

(recipes for the masalas are from HeartSmart flavours of India by Krishna Jamal, 1998)

Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp ground cloves
• 1 tbsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp ground mace

Directions for the Garam Masala:

1. Add all of the ingredients into a heavy bottom pan and toast until fragrant.

Meat Masala

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 black cardamom pods
• 1/4 star anise
• 3 cm cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 3/4 tsp dried cilantro
• 1/4 tsp mace
• 3/4 tsp ground turmeric
• 3/4 tsp red chili

Directions:

1. In a small pan, toast the coriander, cumin, cardamom, star anise, cinnamon stick and cloves and toast until fragrant. Allow to cool completely.
2. Add toasted spices to a spice grinder with the remainder of the spices and grind until it is a fine powder. Store in an air-tight container in a cool dark place.