Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)
creamy tomato-butter chicken curry
Ingredients
- 1000 g chicken thigh
- 150 g plain whole-milk yogurt
- 30 g lemon juice
- 80 g ginger-garlic paste
- 650 g tomato
- 220 g butter
- 220 g heavy cream
- 90 g cashews
- 30 g Kashmiri chili powder
- 20 g garam masala
- 9 g ground cumin
- 5 g turmeric
- 7 g kasuri methi
- 25 g white sugar
- 20 g vegetable oil
- 22 g salt
- 10 g green chili
Method
- Marinade: Whisk the yogurt, lemon juice, half the ginger-garlic paste, and half the Kashmiri chili with the turmeric, cumin, and half the salt. Coat the chicken and rest at least 1 h, ideally overnight.
- Char: Sear the chicken hard in a hot pan until spotty-brown but not cooked through, ~4 min a side. Set aside.
- Gravy: Simmer the tomatoes, cashews, green chili, and the remaining ginger-garlic paste and Kashmiri chili with a splash of water until the tomatoes collapse, ~15 min. Blend smooth and sieve. Melt in the butter and cook over medium until the gravy thickens and butter-fat rims the edges, ~5–8 min.
- Finish: Add the chicken and simmer until cooked through, ~10 min. Stir in the cream, sugar, garam masala, remaining salt, and the kasuri methi crushed between your palms. Simmer 2–3 min; don't boil once the cream is in.