Butter Chicken
A Punjabi recipe from Delhi where oven-roasted chicken is folded into a strained tomato sauce with butter, cream, and kasoori methi until it turns velvety smooth.
The chicken marinates well ahead of time while the tomato base simmers until tender and is strained into a completely smooth makhani sauce. Broil the chicken hard, cook the rice alongside, and finish by letting the chicken and its pan juices come together in the finished sauce. How far the sauce reduces before the cream goes in determines its glossy, rich consistency.
Ingredients
The chicken and marinade
- 700 g chicken thighs, boneless, skinless, in large pieces
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1½ dl plain yogurt, thick, preferably strained
- 3 cm fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 3 clove garlic, grated
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp mustard oil
The makhani sauce
- 1 kg ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
- 3 cm fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely cut
- 3 clove garlic
- 2 green chili, split lengthwise
- 4 pcs green cardamom pods
- 100 g butter, cubed
- 2 dl heavy cream
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
- ½ tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp kasoori methi, dried fenugreek leaves
- 1 tsp salt
The rice
- 400 g basmati rice
- 7 dl water
- 1 tsp salt
To serve
- 1 handful fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
How to make it
- Toss the chicken pieces with lemon juice, Kashmiri chili powder, and salt until each piece is evenly reddish. The acid and salt need to get into the meat first, otherwise the yogurt will later just sit on top as a film.Chef's tip Kashmiri chili is chosen for colour rather than heat — it sits around the mild end of the scale, so the deep red comes without the dish turning fiery.
- Stir together the yogurt, grated ginger, grated garlic, garam masala, and mustard oil into a smooth, thick marinade. Toss the chicken in it so each piece is fully coated. Cover the bowl and refrigerate (see Advance Prep). ⏱ 10 minChef's tip Use thick or strained yogurt; thin yogurt runs off in the oven and its extra water makes the chicken steam. The marinade should cling like a coating, not pour.
- Put the coarsely chopped tomatoes in a pot with the coarsely cut ginger, the garlic cloves, the split green chilies, and the cardamom pods. Cover with a lid and let it cook over medium heat for about 25 minutes, until the tomatoes have completely broken down and the skins have released from the flesh. ⏱ 25 min · passive
- Blend the tomato mixture until completely smooth, then press it through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pot. The sieve holds back the skins, seeds, and cardamom pods, and that's what gives the makhani sauce its velvety smooth surface. ⏱ 10 minChef's tip Hot mixtures expand violently in a blender: fill it no more than halfway, take out the centre cap, and hold a towel over the top. Otherwise the steam will push the lid off along with a spray of boiling tomato.
- Preheat the oven to 250°C with the broiler element on.
- Arrange the marinated chicken pieces with plenty of space between them on a rack set over a baking sheet, so the excess marinade can drip off and the meat sears instead of steaming. Broil them on the top rack of the oven for about 15 minutes, until the edges are charred in spots and the meat is cooked through with no pink in the middle. ⏱ 15 min · passiveChef's tip The meat gets another five minutes in the sauce afterwards, so pull it out as soon as the juices run clear and the edges are spotted. Thighs are forgiving, but they go stringy if you let them dry out in the oven.
- Rinse the basmati rice in a sieve under cold water until the water runs clear and is no longer cloudy with loose starch.
- Put the rice in a pot with the water and salt and bring it to a boil. Cover with a lid and turn the heat down to the lowest setting. Let the rice cook for 12 minutes, until the water is fully absorbed and small steam holes appear on the surface. ⏱ 10 min · passiveChef's tip Don't lift the lid while it cooks — the rice on top is cooking in the trapped steam, and every peek costs water the grains never get back. If you hear crackling from the bottom, the heat is too high.
- Take the pot off the heat and let the rice rest, covered, for 5 minutes. Then gently fluff it with a fork so the grains separate without breaking. ⏱ 5 min · passive
- Add the butter to the strained tomato purée and let the sauce reduce over medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. It's ready when it's deep red and flows slowly off the spoon, with the butter gathering in small clear pools on the surface. ⏱ 15 min
- Stir the cream, sugar, Kashmiri chili powder, garam masala, and salt into the sauce; the sugar isn't there for sweetness but to take the edge off the tomatoes' acidity. Rub the kasoori methi between your palms into the pot so the leaves crush and release their fragrance. Let it simmer for 5 minutes, until the sauce is evenly orange-red and glossy.Chef's tip Keep it at a gentle simmer once the cream is in; a hard boil can split dairy into grainy flecks. Crushing the kasoori methi between your palms breaks the dried leaves so their aroma releases into the sauce.
- Fold the broiled chicken pieces and the juices collected in the baking sheet into the sauce. Let it simmer for 5 minutes, until the meat is heated through and the charred edges have soaked up the sauce.Chef's tip The juices on the baking sheet carry concentrated marinade and meat drippings — pouring them in adds savoury depth that plain chicken pieces alone won't give the sauce.
- Spoon the rice onto one side of a deep plate and the butter chicken onto the other, letting the sauce run into the edge of the rice. Sprinkle with the coarsely chopped fresh cilantro. Bring the pot to the table so everyone can spoon more sauce over their rice as they eat.
