Nothing quite beats the emotion that butter chicken embodies in the culinary experiences of those who’ve enjoyed eating it. Paired with naan, rice or pulao, the creamy gravy with its tangy flavours and tender chunks of chicken is associated with indulgent or comfort eating. In this video demonstration of the recipe by celebrity chef Varun Inamdar, the process is one that can be easily replicated in a home kitchen. With a handful of ingredients and minimal spices, the chef hopes to achieve restaurant-style taste with the manageable effort of cooking at home.
Varun breaks down the recipe into two components – where one is the chicken that must be marinated and the second being the gravy in which they will simmer eventually. He starts off by adding spices to the chicken – garlic and ginger paste, red chilli powder and salt – before mixing it and allowing it to rest for 15-20 minutes. Once ready, he heats up oil in a pan to a medium heat after which he fries the pieces to give them some colour. He also reveals at this point that his recipe is also a one-pot dish, while chopping an onion roughly and transferring it to the same pan in which the chicken was cooked, along with a dollop of butter.
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As the onions begin to sweat, Varun tips in half a kilo of tomatoes that have been diced roughly, along with 50 grams of halved cashew nuts. He gives the mixture a stir followed by adding some water, garlic paste, salt, malt vinegar, sugar, garam masala powder and a couple of teaspoons of red chilli powder. The chef combines all the ingredients with a gentle stir and lets the flavourful mixture simmer for 15-20 minutes, waiting for it to turn mushy.
The liquid in the pan is seen reducing after which it is transferred to a bowl to be hand-blended to a fine pulp. Varun strains the puree back into the pan using a sieve, stating that butter chicken is also called chicken makhani – which not only means the addition of butter but also velvety smoothness. Once the seeds and skin of the tomatoes have been separated from the remaining gravy, chef adds five tablespoons of butter and three tablespoons of cream, the chicken and gives it a sprinkling of kasuri methi. The butter chicken is left to simmer for 5-10 minutes for the flavours to combine and then transferred to a serving kadhai, with a generous dollop of fresh cream and kasuri methi.