Murgh Makhani - Moghul Butter Chicken

"A classic Indian recipe is absolutely delectable and is a real favourite in our house, frequently served on Curry Friday - a popular family tradition! This world famous recipe is often jokingly referred to as the national bird of Punjab, so popular is it in that region! This recipe is by Gordon Ramsey, and here is what he has to say about it: Gordon: "Butter chicken, or murgh makhani, was one of the first dishes I tasted when I went to India. Its origins can be traced back to Moghul times, but the dish and its history is most closely associated with Delhi's famous Moti Mahal restaurant, where I had the pleasure of eating this fantastic dish. Over time, numerous chefs have attempted to emulate the rich buttery sauce, and flavours vary slightly between restaurants. This is my version of the classic dish.""
 
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photo by Midwest Maven photo by Midwest Maven
photo by Midwest Maven
photo by UmmIbrahim photo by UmmIbrahim
Ready In:
4hrs 30mins
Ingredients:
26
Serves:
4
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ingredients

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directions

  • Place the chicken in a bowl with the garlic, ginger, salt, chilli powder and lemon juice. Mix, cover with cling film and chill for 30 minutes. Mix together the yoghurt, garam masala, turmeric and cumin and add to the chicken, making sure that each piece is well coated with the mixture. Cover again and chill for 3-4 hours.
  • Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Put the marinated chicken pieces on a grill rack set on a baking tray and bake for 8-10 minutes. Brush the chicken pieces with a little oil and turn them over. Bake for another 10-12 minutes until just cooked through.
  • For the sauce, heat the ghee or butter in a pan and add the garlic and ginger. Fry for a minute or so then add the cardamom, cloves, coriander, garam masala, turmeric, fenugreek and chilli powder. Stir well and fry for 1-2 minutes until they give off a lovely aroma.
  • Stir in the tomato puree and lemon juice and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the chicken pieces to the sauce and stir well to coat. Finally, add the butter and cream and stir continuously until the butter has melted and the sauce is smooth.
  • Taste and adjust the seasoning. Transfer to a warm bowl and serve hot, garnished with chopped coriander.

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Reviews

  1. This recipe is excellent! My husband is from India and he said it is like his mother makes back home!
     
  2. 10 stars???? maybe more??? I promised to make a double batch next time but THE PICKY ONE said to triple it!!! that was the only problem with this dish...there wasn't enough. :o Absolutely delicious!!! i used cayenne & it was just right - a bit zippy but not overpowering. A fantastic blend of seasonings. Thank you, FT!!! Made for Family Picks, ZWT6.
     
  3. I absolutely adore this recipe. butter chicken is the most wonderful dish when we want Indian meal but have guests who dont like thing as spicy as we do. The sauce was wonderful and rich. Our company loved it! ZWT6
     
  4. This had a wonderful flavor. I made it extra saucy just for the purpose of soaking it up with fresh naan :) A very enjoyable and easy to prepare meal. Thanks!
     
  5. This is a wonderful version of one of my favourite dishes. My only change was to use fresh THai hot chillies in place of chilli powder. This was a highlight of an Indian banquet. Thanks for sharing.
     
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Tweaks

  1. Changed puree for crushed tomatoes.
     

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<p><strong><span>The sunflowers in the field behind my house in SW France:</span></strong></p> <p><img title=Sunflowers src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/DSCN8221.jpg alt=Sunflowers width=640 height=480 /><br /><strong><span><br /><br />I am British (English-Scottish), but I was born in South Africa and have lived all over the world, including Hong Kong, Germany, Cyprus, USA &amp; Singapore. I have also been very fortunate to have travelled extensively over the years.........I still have wanderlust! <br /><br />I used to be an English Literature &amp; Art History teacher &amp; lecturer; before that, I trained and worked as a Graphic Designer for many years. I now live in France with my husband &amp; my daughter who has just started university in September 2006. We also have one very chatty Burmese cat Willow, who allows us to live with her here! (I used to have three cats, I recently lost Monty, a beautiful seal point Siamese and before that, Rama, who was a debonair blue point Siamese cat - I would love to have another Siamese cat or cats in the future!)</span></strong></p> <p><em><strong><span>This is my Burmese Cat, Willow, sunning herself on the log pile in the kitchen garden:</span></strong></em></p> <p><strong><img title=My src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/ABaconButtyandSundryFoodPhotos34.jpg alt=My width=640 height=480 /></strong></p> <p><strong><span>Here is my lovely Monty, a seal point Siamese, and Willow, sitting&nbsp;in the kitchen garden last year, and a few months before Monty died; he was 18yrs old:</span></strong></p> <p><img title=Monty src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/AbsolutelySinfulStickyToffeePudding.jpg alt=Monty width=640 height=480 />My</p> <p><strong><span>This is my wonderful old boy, Rama, a blue-point Siamese, who died when he was 20yrs old - excuse the old and much sellotaped photo:</span></strong></p> <p><img title=Rama src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/Rama1stOctober2004164.jpg alt=Rama width=517 height=639 /></p> <p><strong><span>My favourite pastimes are: reading, writing, painting &amp; drawing, photography, gardening, anything creative, walking, travelling, dining out and of course COOKING! 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