Chicken Butter Masala / Murgh Makhani Masala Recipe

Chicken Butter Masala is a healthier version of Butter Chicken without compromising taste.... I adapted this recipe from the Paneer Butter Masala recipe I posted long back. This doesn’t have much cream or butter in it and we can reduce or completely omit it if you make this on a regular basis. Usually when I make it just for us, I never add cream and always reduce butter to half; trust me it still tastes great :)....

Chicken Butter Masala / Murgh Makhani Masala Recipe

Ingredients:

Chicken  - 500 gms cut into 1” cubes (I used boneless chicken)

Turmeric Powder - ½ tsp

Onion - 2 medium, sliced thin

Chilly powder - 2 tsp

Ginger paste - 1 ½  tsp

Garlic paste - 1 ½  tsp

Tomato - 2 big, pureed to a fine paste in a blender

Fresh Cream - ¼ cup

Cashew nuts - 25gm (soaked in little water & grind to a fine paste)

Garam masala - 1 tsp

Sugar - 1 tsp

Roasted Cumin powder / Jeera powder - ½ tsp

Fenugreek leaves /Kasoori methi leaves - 2 tsp

Salt to taste

Butter - 2tbsp

Oil -1 tbsp

Tomato sauce - 2 tbsp

Water - 1 ½ cups

Coriander leaves - ¼ cup, finely chopped

Red food colour - 2 drops (I didn’t use it)

Method:

• Marinate chicken pieces with turmeric powder and little salt and keep aside for ½ hour. 
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan and add sliced onion and sauté until translucent and soft (no need to brown the onions). Grind the sautéed onions to a fine paste and keep aside.
• Heat butter in a pan and add onion paste, ginger and garlic paste and sauté for 5 minutes. Lower the heat and add chilly powder and stir well. Add pureed tomato and tomato sauce and sauté well till the mixture becomes thick and oil starts separates from the masala.
• Add marinated chicken pieces and sauté well for 6-8 minutes.
• Add ground cashew nut paste, cumin powder, garam masala and kasoori methi leaves and salt.
• Add 1 ½ cups of hot water and boil the mixture for 3 minutes. Add food colour if using. Reduce the heat and simmer the mixture for 10-15 minutes or until the gravy is little thick and chicken pieces are cooked well.
• Finally add cream and coriander leaves mix well and turn off the heat. 
• Serve hot with Indian flat breads or rice.