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Murgh makhani (butter chicken)

From Rhodes Across India
A recipe from Moti Mahal restaurant for what is jokingly referred to as the national bird of Punjab, a much-loved buttery chicken curry

Murgh makhani (butter chicken)

Method

1. For the chicken: using a sharp knife make slits in the chicken down to the bone. Combine the garlic, ginger, salt, and half the chilli powder with the lemon juice and malt vinegar. Set the chicken in a roasting tin and rub this mixture over the chicken, pushing it well into the cuts. Leave to marinate for 10 minutes.

2. Whisk the yogurt with the turmeric, garam masala, remaining chili powder and a little more salt. Coat the chicken with the spiced yogurt and leave to marinate for a further hour.

3. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/gas 4.

4. Roast the chicken for 35 minutes until half-cooked. Cool the chicken and cut into six pieces

5. For the sauce: heat the ghee in a medium saucepan, add the garlic, and fry for a minute, until golden. Stir in the cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves and cook for a minute or two until they crackle and give off a lovely warm aroma.

6. Add the blended tomatoes, chilli powder and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes, until thick and well reduced. Leave to cool slightly before sieving the sauce.

7. Soak the cashew nuts in warm water for 10 minutes. Remove the nuts from the water and transfer to a small food processor - blend until smooth, adding a dash of the soaking water as you go.

8. Heat the butter in a large pan. Add the tomato mixture, ground cumin and cashew nut paste and cook for 10 minutes.

9. Add the chicken pieces and simmer gently for cook for a further 30 minutes - or until tender. Stir in the garam masala and fenugreek powder and cook for a final 5 minutes before serving.

10. To serve: garnish with a swirl of cream and a sprinkling of coriander and serve with Indian breads.

About Manjit Gill
With over three decades of culinary experience behind him, Manjit Gill has made cooking his life’s passion. He has specialised in European and north Indian cuisine. In January 2007, he received a “Life Time Achievement” national award from the Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India. He currently works as a corporate chef for the luxury hotel company, ITC WelcomGroup.

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Serves: 4

Prep: 15 min, plus 1 hr 10 mins marinating
Cook: 2 hrs 35 min

Ingredients

For the chicken

1.5kg chicken, skinned
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cm Ginger, grated
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Chilli powder
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp Malt vinegar
125ml natural yogurt
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
1/2 tsp Garam masala

For the sauce

1 tbsp Ghee
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
3 Cloves
5 green cardamom pods, split
1 cinnamon stick
2 Bay leaves
1kg Tomatoes, pureed in a blender
1 tsp chili powder
50g cashew nuts
25g Butter
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp Garam masala
1/2 tsp ground fenugreek seeds