Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani) Recipe

Butter Chicken

There are so many different versions of butter chicken. I think the first butter chicken I had was made without tomatoes. I never realized butter chicken could be made with tomatoes until recently. I have even seen versions that include coconut cream. The recipe below has tomatoes but no coconut cream.

I was recently sent Arla Köket Smetana to sample. I decided to use smetana in place of yogurt to make butter chicken. Smetana has a fat content of 42%, much higher than yogurt. This made the sauce much richer and creamier. A pretty good outcome.

I made extra sauce which I froze in ice cube trays. This will be an excellent addition to other meals, not just chicken. The sauce is delicious, if you make extra it will certainly not be wasted. 

Recipe adopted from With a Glass. I have shortened the recipe significantly, both in terms of number of ingredients and procedures.  For a more elaborate recipe visit With a Glass.

Ingredients

25g butter

2 tablespoons oil

500 g boneless chicken pieces

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

2 teaspoon curry powder

Chili powder or fresh chilies (to taste)

30ml natural yogurt (I used Smetana)

40ml tomato paste (or 1 cup tomato puree) 

100 ml heavy cream

100 ml water or chicken stock (omit if using tomato puree)
Salt to taste

Directions

1. Heat butter and oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and salt and cook until translucent.
3. Add curry powder, ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Stir constantly
4. Add chicken pieces and cook until browned 
5. Reduce heat to low, add yogurt, tomato paste, cream, water and salt, and simmer covered for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally 

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