Murgh Makhani (Butter Chicken)

How to Make Butter Chicken - Jaswant's Kitchen from Jaswant's Kitchen on Vimeo.

Grilled Chicken

• 1 kg chicken breasts or thighs
• ¾ cup plain yoghurt
• 4 tsp Jaswant’s Kitchen Tandoori Masala
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp white vinegar 
• 1 tbsp garlic (minced)
• 1 tbsp ginger (minced)
• 2  tsp salt
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp mango powder (or substitute with 1 tbsp lemon juice)
• ½ tsp Jaswant’s Kitchen Garam Masala

 
Sauce

• 1 kg ripe tomatoes (or 1-28oz can of good quality canned tomatoes)
• ¾ cup whipping cream
• 120 g unsalted butter
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 green chili (minced)
• 1 tsp black pepper (freshly ground)
• ¼ cup cilantro (chopped for garnish) 

Grilled Chicken
Remove skin and wash chicken with cold running water and pat dry with paper towel.  Make deep cuts in chicken. Rub salt and lemon juice all over and into the cuts.

In a bowl combine yoghurt, Jaswant’s Kitchen Tandoori Masala, vinegar, ginger, garlic and 1 tbsp oil. Add chicken to bowl making sure all pieces are covered with mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours to help the flavours penetrate the chicken.

Bake on middle rack of oven at 450°F on a greased broil pan or grill on BBQ. Cook for 15 minutes basting the chicken occasionally with the marinade (keep extra marinade). Turn pieces and cook for another 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle Jaswant’s Kitchen Garam Masala and mango powder (or lemon juice) on all pieces. Brush with 1 tbsp oil and broil/grill for 3-4 minutes until golden. Remove from oven and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Cut into smaller pieces. Add any pan juices to the remaining marinade and cook on the stovetop until it thickens and add to the tomato sauce (below) for more flavour.

Butter Chicken Sauce
Sauce can be made a day in advance. Remove seeds from tomatoes and chop coarsely. Cook tomatoes on medium heat for 5 minutes in a heavy pot.  Cover and lower heat to simmer. When tomatoes are soft use a hand blender to puree.  Add butter, salt, pepper and green chili. When butter has melted add the cream and mix.

Heat sauce and combine with chicken pieces and the cooked marinade. Simmer for 5-6 minutes. Add ½ of the chopped cilantro. Add more salt and green chili to taste.  Garnish with rest of the cilantro. Serve with basmati rice and naan.

Makes 4-6 servings
Prep Time: 15 min (marinate chicken overnight for best results)
Cook Time: 40 min