Recipe

Murgh Makhani (Butter Chicken)

4 servings · prep 20 min + 4 h marinade · cook 40 min

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• dinner
• indian

Authored by the maintainer; Delhi method, no shortcut on the kasuri methi.

Ingredients

the chicken

• 800 g boneless skinless chicken thigh, cut into 4 cm chunks
• 2 tbsp ghee (for charring the chicken)

the marinade

• 200 g full-fat Greek yogurt — Thessaly Greek yogurt dairy
• 3 tbsp fresh ginger-garlic paste (equal parts)
• Half goes into the paste above; reserve 3 extra cloves for the gravy — Tropea allium farm
• 1 tbsp Kashmiri chili powder (mild, vivid red)
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp garam masala (for the marinade) + 1 tsp (for the gravy)
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice — Sicilian citrus orchard

the gravy

• 6 ripe Roma tomatoes, halved (or 1 × 400 g tin) — Origin not credited
• 30 g raw cashews
• 100 g butter, divided
• 150 ml heavy cream
• 1 tbsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), crushed between palms
• 1 tsp sugar (to balance the tomatoes)
• Sea salt to taste — Trapani salt pans

Method

1. Whisk yogurt with half the ginger-garlic paste, Kashmiri chili, turmeric, 1 tsp garam masala, lemon juice, and 1 tsp salt. Add chicken and coat. Marinate 4 hours minimum, ideally overnight. · 240 min
2. Heat oven to 250°C / 480°F. Spread marinated chicken on a foil-lined tray. Roast 15 minutes until charred at the edges. Or sear in batches in a screaming-hot pan with ghee. · 15 min
3. Meanwhile, blend the tomatoes with the soaked cashews to a smooth purée.
4. In a heavy pan, melt half the butter over medium heat. Add the remaining ginger-garlic paste and the extra crushed garlic. Cook 60 seconds until raw smell goes.
5. Pour in the tomato-cashew purée. Add 1 tsp salt, the sugar, and a splash of water. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the gravy darkens to a deep brick-red and the fat starts to separate at the edges. · 15 min
6. Add the charred chicken and any juices from the roasting tray. Pour in the cream and the remaining 1 tsp garam masala. Simmer 8 minutes. · 8 min
7. Off heat, crush the kasuri methi between your palms over the pan. Stir in the remaining butter cube by cube. Adjust salt.

Notes

Butter chicken was invented in the 1950s at Moti Mahal in Delhi as a
way to use leftover tandoori chicken — the cooks dropped charred bird
into a tomato-butter-cream sauce, and the dish that defined post-war
North Indian restaurant cooking was born.

Serve with basmati rice or naan. The dish keeps three days
refrigerated and improves overnight; reheat gently with a splash of
cream to revive the gravy.