Murgh Makhani, Butter Chicken

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 800 g chicken, breast fillet, thigh or wing
• 1 m.-sized onion(s)
• 4 tbsp oil
• 6 tbsp natural yogurt, approx. 2 cups of 150 g each
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp, heaped paste (ginger paste)
• 1 tsp, heaped paste (garlic paste)
• 1 tbsp, heaped fenugreek, dried leaves, no seeds
• 1 tsp, heaped salt
• ½ tsp cumin powder (Jeera Powder)
• ½ tsp coriander powder (Dhania Powder)
• 1 tsp chili powder (Degi Mirch)
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp powder (mango powder, amchoor)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp oil
• 1 bay leaf (Tej Patta)
• 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 500 g tomato(s), strained, or 6 – 7 fresh tomatoes
• 3 tbsp cashew nuts
• ½ tsp chili powder (Degi Mirch)
• 1 cup milk, approx. 250 ml
• 2 tbsp crème fraîche
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp tandoori masala
• 1 pinch(s) of sugar
• 1 pinch of salt

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Rest time approx. 3 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 45 minutes; Total time approx. 4 hours 25 minutes

Tandoori Chicken

Marinade for the tandoori chicken: Finely grate the onion, fry in a pan with oil until golden brown, and then let it cool. Mix all other ingredients with the yogurt until smooth and stir in the cooled onion mixture. Wash the chicken/chicken pieces and pat dry. Cut the breast fillet (if using) into approximately 2 cm thick strips and mix with the marinade in a container. Let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 hours, but overnight is better. Tandoori chicken: Grill the marinated chicken on a rack on the middle shelf of an oven preheated to 180 °C for approximately 8-10 minutes (top/bottom heat). Then turn the chicken over and grill in the oven for another 10-12 minutes, until the chicken is crispy. It is recommended to place a container (or similar) under the rack to catch any dripping marinade. You can also cook the chicken on a charcoal grill or rotisserie. This gives it an even more authentic flavor, almost like an Indian tandoor oven. Makhani sauce/tomato sauce: Make the cashew nut paste: Soak the cashew nuts in hot water for about 15 minutes, drain well, and blend them with a little water using a hand blender to form a fine paste. Set aside. Put the butter and oil in a pan and heat, add the bay leaf and let it cook briefly, then add the ginger/garlic paste (simply mix equal parts fresh peeled ginger and garlic with a little salt and oil using a hand blender to form a smooth paste) and fry until the liquid has evaporated and the paste begins to brown. Add the tomato puree, chili powder, and sugar. Cook until all the liquid has evaporated, the puree is almost dry, and the oil/fat separates. Add the previously prepared cashew paste and cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and let cool (approx. 20 minutes). Add milk to the cooled tomato mixture until the desired consistency is reached. Return to the heat over low/medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Now add the prepared tandoori chicken and let it simmer for a few minutes over medium heat until the sauce has a nice color from the marinade. Remove from the heat, stir in the crême fraîche, garam masala, and tandoori masala, and serve. The finished Murgh Makhani is eaten with naan bread or, if desired, with rice. The recipe is quite complex and comes from an Indian cookbook. However, the taste is authentic, just like in India, if you do everything right. It is important that the tomato puree stays in the pan until all the liquid has evaporated. Be sure to let everything cool down before adding the milk. Some spices are quite difficult to find in Germany, but you can certainly order them online. I use original spices from India.