Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)

While, I was living in Vancouver. I was fortunate to discover many cultures. Let me tell you about butter chicken. It is the best chicken dish you will ever eat. I remember the first time I had butter chicken was about 30 years ago when I first went to an Indian restaurant for lunch and tried all sorts of Indian dishes. Butter chicken was by far my favorite dish and every time I go to an Indian restaurant I have to have it.

Now there are many variations it like Italian spaghetti sauce everybody got is own recipe of butter chicken, over the year I’ve tried to make it many times and I haven’t really succeeded to get that restaurant taste. Until now! I have finally found, and create a recipe that finally held up to my expectations. I take some time to prepare but god this is so good!

Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)

While, I was living in Vancouver. I was fortunate to discover many cultures. Let me tell you about
butter chicken. It is the best chicken dish you will ever eat. I remember the first time I had butter chicken was about 30 years ago when I first went to an Indian restaurant for lunch and tried all sorts of Indian dishes. Butter chicken was by far my favorite dish and every time I go to an Indian restaurant I have to have it.

Ingredients:

2 lbs of chicken breast
salt and pepper
1 tsp of chili powder
2 tsp of fresh grated ginger
1 tsp of ground turmeric
1 cup of plain yogourt
1/2 lemon juice
6 tbsp of butter (divided into 2 tbsp chunks)
1 1/2 cups of yellow or red onion (diced.)
3 tsp of garam masala
4 to 6 cardamom pods
1 tsp of chili powder
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp. of almond floor
3 garlic cloves (minced.)
1 Tbsp of cinnamon
2 Tbsp of brown sugar
14 oz of tomato sauce
3/4 cup of water
1/2 cup of heavy cream
Chopped cilantro for garnish

Directions:

Marinate chicken breast in chili powder, turmeric, grated ginger salt and pepper, lemon juice and plain yogourt. Let it sit at least for 15 minutes, or overnight if time allows, the longer it marinates the more tender your chicken will be.
Brown chicken in 2 Tbsp of butter, 5 – 8 minutes, remove and set aside.

The sauce

Melt another 2 Tbsp. of butter over medium heat, add onions, garlic, garam masala, chili powder, ground cumin, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, cook until fragrant. 2 – 6 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and water bring to a simmer for another 10 – 15 minutes. Add the sauce to a bowl and carefully puree and strain the sauce. Bring back to a simmer in a pan. Add almond flour, fresh heavy cream, add butter and brown sugar Return the chicken and simmer for another 10 – 15 minutes. Serve garnished with heavy cream, sliced almond, and cilantro on top. Enjoy!