Murg Makhani literally translates to Butter Chicken. And who

does not love butter chicken? Tender morsels of chicken often cooked tandoori

style are simmered in this wonderfully rich and flavorful tomato base. Served

with naan, this is sheer delight. In fact, during both of my pregnancies, this

was craving number one! It also made me realize that even though there are so

many different foods I love, Indian food stands above all. And murg makhani

with piping hot naans will top that list anyday!

There are as many recipes of this much loved dish as there

are people who make it but my favorite version is from an Indian restaurant in

the Bay Area in California. I worked there for a while, managing the front desk

and kitchen inventory but I was never allowed to talk to the chefs lest I should

find out the secret recipe which was extremely popular among all patrons of

this restaurant. This was the most popular dish at the lunch buffet and most

ordered a-la-carte item. Needless to say I loved it too and was trying hard to

figure out how they made it. I would always keep an eye on what the chefs were

doing when I would be doing the inventory assesment in the huge kitchens of the

restaurant. And over a period of time I figured out the key ingredients they

used to make this dish and tried a few versions of my own till I managed to

make it so it tasted exactly the same! To this day I don’t know exactly how it

was made in that restaurant but I am very happy with the version I have and

love it every time!

This dish is extremely rich and tastes divine but it does

come with its share of calories – this is evident from the name also! And

really there is no way of making this dish without the fat content. Even though

I am someone who really likes to go lean on the food I cook, using as little

oil or butter as possible, there is no alternative to making this healthy that

I am aware of. If any reader of this post can guide me to some good ways of

making this healthier, please do let me know so that I can enjoy this more

often! This also makes me think that so often we eat food outside the home not

realizing how unhealthy it really is but we really try to keep it healthy at

home. But sometimes, even for the more fattening and rich dishes, it is better

made at home where we have more control on the quality of the ingredients used

and we will be surprised by how much healthier and better it is for us inspite

of all the calories in it.

The ingredients are fairly simple – canned peeled tomatoes,

fresh cream, ginger, whole spices and kasoori methi make the sauce. Of course

salt and red chilli powder need to be added as per taste. The chicken can be

cooked tandoori style and shredded into bite-sized morsels. Or it can be

marinated in yogurt or buttermilk and then cooked in an oven or even in a slow

cooker, then shredded and added to the gravy. My personal favorite is using

boneless chicken breasts, marinated in yogurt and then cooked in a slow cooker

at a low setting for an hour and a half. This results in tender chicken every

single time without any fuss. The gravy itself is very simple to make and cooks

very fast making this a very easy recipe.

Ingredients:

Boneless skinless chicken breasts – 4

Buttermilk ¾ cup

Coriander powder – 1 tablespoon

2 - 14-oz cans whole peeled tomatoes

350 ml heavy cream

1 cup milk

1 inch fresh ginger

2 tablespoons kasoori methi

3 green cardamoms

2-3 cloves

¼ mace flower

Salt and red chilli powder to taste

Method:

Marinade the chicken in buttermilk, salt, red

chilli and coriander powder for 1-2 hours. Cook in a slow cooker for 1.5 hours

or roast in the oven at 180C till cooked. Shred the chicken into bite sized

pieces.

Grind the tomatoes with the ginger in a food

processor/blender. To a pan over medium high heat, add the ground tomatoes,

cardamom, cloves and mace and cook till the puree is thick.

Add half of the cream and cook for about 5

minutes till the tomatoes become creamy and cook further.

Add the remaining cream, milk and cook for

another 3-5 minutes till the gravy has a rich and creamy consistency but should

not be very thick. Add the kasoori methi, salt, red chilli powder and cook to

let the flavor of kasoori methi be absorbed by the gravy.

Add the shredded chicken and slowly simmer over

low heat till the chicken becomes soft and absorbs the gravy well. Check for

seasoning and adjust if needed. In case the consistency of the chicken is very

thick, add milk/cream to get the right consistency. Serve hot with naan/chapattis.