Amritsari Murgh Makhani

Amritsari Murgh Makhani

Chef

Aditya Bal

Recipe Servings

1 Hour 15 Minutes +
Marination Time
..................................................................

Recipe Cook Time :

Tender chunks chicken marinated leisurely and cooked in a

deep, rich gravy of fresh cream, butter, tomato and spices. An
explosion of flavours, not for the faint hearted!
Ingredients
For the marination:
500 gm chicken pieces (boneless)
2 tsp ginger paste
2 tsp garlic paste
3 tsp sour curd
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp vinegar
1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1/2 onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste
For the gravy:
6 tomatoes
1 1/2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp ginger - finely chopped
1 green chilli - finely chopped
1/4 tsp orange color
2 1/2 Tbsp fresh cream
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste
For garnishing:
2 green chilies - chopped
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp fresh cream
Fresh coriander leaves

Method
Blend tomatoes to a puree.
Mix all the ingredients for marination to make a paste.
Smear the chicken pieces with the paste and let it marinate for 2 hours.

Heat butter in a heavy bottom wok and add the marinated chicken to it.
Cook till the chicken is tender.
In a saucepan, heat butter and add red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, ginger, salt
and chopped green chilli.
Fry for some time.
Add tomato puree, orange color, fresh cream and cook on medium flame till the puree thickens.
Add the puree to the tender chicken along with sugar and cream.
Let it simmer for about 25 minutes.
Garnish with fresh cream, finely chopped green chillies and coriander leaves.
Serve with butter.

Murgh Makhani (Butter Chicken)

Ingredients: (serves 4-6)
1. 2 lbs chicken , washed, patted dry and cut into small pieces (feel free to use
chicken with or without bones, chicken thighs or a combination of breast and
thighs)
2. 1 teaspoon red chili powder
3. 1 tablespoon lemon juice
4. salt
5. oil/butter/ghee to baste while grilling
For marinade:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

3/4 cup plain yogurt, strained/hung or use 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1.5 teaspoons kasuri methi/dried fenugreek leaves
1/2 1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala (homemade or store bought may be used)
1.5 tablespoon mustard oil, or any other cooking oil to substitute
1.5 tablespoon ginger paste
1/2 tablespoon garlic paste

**Note on the grilled chicken: you may use the recipe above or if you already have the
Murgh/Chicken Tikka (recipe posted) ready, you can use the same chicken in the sauce.

Note on the Sauce: You can make the sauce right when you are making this dish (use
recipe below) or use 2 cups of the Makhani Masala (without the cream added to it) if
you have it already frozen and stored.

Whatever you use, pre made/frozen or make it now, use 2 cups of the Sauce/Makhani
Masala. If you are making now as per the recipe below and have extra, freeze it for
later use.
For the sauce/Makhani Masala:
1. 2.5 inch fresh ginger, made into a paste
2. 8-10 cloves of garlic, made into a paste
3. 2-4 fresh green chili pepper, slit
4. 4 tablespoon melted butter
5. 4 green cardamoms
6. 1.5 2 inch cinnamon sticks
7. 2 cloves
8. 1 black cardamom
9. 1/2 -3/4 teaspoon methi/fenugreek seeds
10.3-3.5 cups tomato puree (fresh tomatoes) or canned tomatoes (reduce the
amount a little bit here as the water content will be less as compared to the
fresh)
11.1 tablespoon red chili powder/cayenne pepper/paprika or to taste
12.10 almonds, soaked, peeled and made into a paste
13.1 teaspoon garam masala
14.1 tablespoon kasuri methi/dried fenugreek leaves, very lightly toasted on a
dry skillet and crushed
15.1/2 tablespoon sugar or honey (you might need to adjust this based on how tart
the tomatoes are. The dish will not be sweet. The sweet is used to neutralize the
acid)
16.1/2 cup + 2 tablespoon heavy cream

Method:
Apply red chili powder, lemon juice and salt to the chicken and set aside for 20 minutes.
This is the first marination.
Combine all ingredients of the second marinade (see ingredient list). Apply this
marinade to the chicken and refrigerate for three to four hours; overnight works better.
Put the chicken on skewers and cook on a grill or a preheated oven at 400F, for about
10 minutes while turning them over mid way. Cook until done. Do not overcook, as the
chicken will dry out and get fibrous. Baste it with butter/ghee/oil or marinade if you
want, a couple of times while cooking. Set aside once done.
(The chicken may be grilled on a skillet/cast iron pan/grill pan on the stove top too.
Heat the skillet/stove top grill pan and coat it with oil. Place the skewers and cook
while turning them around and basting with oil and marinade until done, for about 15
minutes. Remove and set aside.)

Cooking the Sauce:

[ If you are using the pre made makhani masala, it should be about 2 cups in
quantity]
Heat butter/ghee or oil in a thick bottomed pan. Add green cardamoms, black
cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. Saut for a couple of minutes or till they start to
sizzle and get fragrant; add the methi/fenugrek seeds. When the methi seeds sizzle, add
ginger paste and garlic paste, and the slit green chillies. Cook in medium heat for five
to eight minutes; the water from the paste would have evaporated and the ginger garlic
paste would have reduced in quantity.
Add tomato puree or paste, red chili powder, and salt. Cook (may partially cover during
cooking) at medium heat for about 15 20 minutes. The puree will reduce to a thick
paste and the oil/ghee will separate from the sides of the pan.
After the tomatoes are cooked down, you might want to blend the cooked sauce (along
with all the spices) into a smooth puree, if you want a restaurant like smooth texture for
the sauce especially if you are using fresh tomatoes. return it back to the pan after
blending and continue with the rest of the process.
Add 2.5 cups of hot water to the pan (or if you want it less soupy and want the sauce to
kind of coat the chicken pieces and have a little bit extra, add less water or simmer for
longer time to achieve the pref. consistency as per your taste), add the almond paste and
bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes; add sugar and crushed
kasuri methi.
Add cooked grilled chicken pieces. Stir well to combine the chicken will be well
coated with the sauce. Cover and simmer for eight to ten minutes; Lower the heat and
add garam masala and the heavy cream. Stir in the cream and simmer at low heat for
about five more minutes.
Garnish with fresh cilantro and add a splash of cream before serving.