Thursday, March 15, 2012

Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhanwala)

First attempt, cobbled together from various recipes

I made quasi-tandoori chicken on the grill using thighs marinated in chili powder and paprika and salt. Cooked until there was no fat left and a little dry. The burny skin I didn't mind because I pulled it off when I deboned it. The texture came out perfectly like tandoori style. Next time I might get some tandoor spice, but I don't think it's critical.
In 4 tablespoons of butter (half stick) cooked down one diced white onion, about 3-4 diced garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon finely diced ginger, with 2 teaspoons of garam masala prepared (Swad brand), 1 bay leaf, 1 teaspoon cumin, half teaspoon cayenne pepper, and 1 teaspoon chili powder.
Added 1 12 ounce can tomato sauce (next time: 6-7 fresh Roma tomatos instead), the chicken, a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper. Then about 1 cup of heavy cream. Simmer a bit, taste the spice balance and do final touches. I added a bit more garam masala (being careful). It's done!
This came out great for a first try, and will not be the last time.
It was missing a little something, not exactly sure what, but that's the fun of it. (Later: Figured it out, I over-cumin and over chili-tweaked, it would have been perfect if not for that)

Not a lot to look at, but I dove at this with some warmed up store bought roti and had a spectacular satisfying feast! A recent batch of pickled pineapple made a super dessert to cool things down.

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