Murgh Makhani - Butter Chicken

Today, I am sharing a famous and everyone's favourite tasty chicken curry,Butter Chicken..'Murgh' in Hindi means Chicken and 'Makhani' means Butter..This dish origin is in Punjab,India..According to Wikipedia, this dish is first cooked in restaurant chain , 'Moti Mahal Delux' which is introduced by Kundan Lal Gujral and Kundan Lal Jaggi..It also said that this curry is cooked to serve foreign guests who don't like to eat spicy curry..Gravy which is combined with spices is pureed in order to form thick consistancy..It has a final garnishing of cream and butter is added in order to reduce the spiciness..Hence it is called Butter Chicken..
In Butter Chicken,Boneless or Bone in chicken is marinated with yogurt and spices,which is kept for hours or overnight..Traditionally,Chicken is cooked in Tandoor ( Clay oven)..Most of the household don't have tandoor, so grill is used..I heard from other sources that butter chicken is made with left over tandoor or grilled chicken..The grilled chicken is cooked in gravy which consists of whole spices, onions,tomatoes and spice powders which are sauted in butter and pureed into thick paste..Some may add cashew paste for thick gravy..Finally it is garnished with cream and a dollops of butter for richer gravy..That makes the curry taste and it is not much spicy..It may be the reason butter chicken is favourite among foreigners too..
Infact,butter chicken is tasty and rich curry too..It might not be good for cholesterol patients and those who are health freaks ;)..But doesn't matter, if you prepare once in a while or if you have guests..Its not very difficult to make..Everyone has their own method for making this curry,but the basis of preparation will be same..I read the recipes from various sources and finally I have my own idea of making it..I had made it many times and it is hit among my family..Do make this curry and impress your family..Ok,Lets go to the recipe :)

Cute paper flower gifted by son's nursery at Mother's day 

     Ingredients 

       For Marination;

• Boneless Chicken/ Bone-In - 500 to 700 gm, cut into medium-small pieces
• Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tsp
• Yogurt - 2 tbsp
• Kashmiri Chilli pdr - 2 tsp heaped
• Turmeric pdr - 1/4 tsp
• Garam masala pdr - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin pdr - 1 tsp
• Coriander pdr - 1 tsp
• Kasoori methi  ( dry fenugreek leaves) - 1/4 tsp
• Salt - as required
• Lime juice/Vinegar - 1 tsp

       For Gravy

• Butter - 2 tsp + a dollop for garnishing
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Cardamom - 2 no.s
• Bay leaf - 1 no. broken into pieces
• Cinnamon - a small pc
• Cloves - 3 no.s
• Onions, roughly chopped - 3 medium
• Red Tomatoes,roughly chopped - 2 large
• Garlic,roughly chopped - 4 large no.s
• Kashmiri Chilli  pdr - 1 tbsp
• Coriander pdr - 1 tsp
• Turmeric pdr -  a pinch
• Kasoori methi - 1/4 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Cashew nut paste - made from 5 to 6 cashew nut ( optional )
• Cooking Cream - 1/4 to 1/2 cup + few drops for garnishing.
• Chopped coriander leaves - required for garnishing

      Method

• Marinate the chicken as mentioned in 'For marination'  for 6 hours in a refrigerator or overnight for best results..This step is a must as it makes this dish tastier..

• Grill the chicken in a grill pan or oven till 80 percent cooked..Remaining it will cook on gravy..If you don't have grill never mind..You can shallow fry chicken pieces in a fry pan by adding little oil or butter..Take out the chicken pieces and keep aside..

• In a wide pan or kadai, heat butter in a low flame till melted..Add all the whole spices from ' cumin seeds' till 'cloves' and let it splutter..

• Add onions and saute till it changes colour..Add garlic and tomatoes and saute well for few seconds..

• Add mentioned spice powders and kasoori methi and saute well..

• Off the flame and set aside to cool completely..

• Blend the cooled mixture into thick paste..

• Switch on the flame again, add pureed thick paste in a kadai and saute for few seconds..Add 1/4 cup of water to loosen the gravy..

• Add grilled or shallow fried 80 percent cooked chicken pieces.. Cover and cook the chicken in a medium flame for 5 mins..

• Add cashew nut paste ( if using) and cook for few seconds..Add salt of your taste..

• Add cooking cream and cook in a low flame for 1 second..After adding cream,do not cook for more time otherwise cream will curdle..switch off the flame

• Finally add chopped coriander leaves and a dollop of butter..Cover it for few minutes to infuse flavour..

• At the time of serving drizzle few drops of cream to look attractive..

• You can add it with a combination of poori,battoora,appam,plain rice,ghee rice,chappati etc..

       Note:

• I strongly recommend to use kashmiri chilli powder to make this curry..It is not spicy and it gives nice red colour to this curry..I normally use homemade kashmiri powder which is made by my MIL in Kerala..I don't buy readymade kashmiri pdr..Ready made kashmiri pdr may be mixed with ordinary red chilli pdr and they do add preservatives..

• Most of the restaurant will add red colour to the curry to look attractive..I don't use any artificial colour in my cooking..Colour of K.chilli pdr gives nice colour to the gravy which is enough for me..Colour of the butter chicken gravy will be orange or orange red in colour..

• Some may blanch the tomatoes and make tomato puree seperately..I don't use this step..I saute the onions and tomatoes and spice powders together and puree it..It not only saves times it tastes delicious too..

• If you don't like to cashew nut paste and cream, substitute it with almond paste and little milk..

Chicken Kofta / Balls Curry

Koftas are made with minced or ground meat, which is made with chicken, beef and mutton. There is vegetarian versions of koftas too..Koftas are otherwise known as meat balls...Koftas are popular dish in India, Iran, Pakistan, Middle East, Greek and of course U.K too...Koftas are made into round shape, which consists of grounded or minced meat/chicken, combines with spices and sometimes  mixture of vegetable, which used egg/cornflour/breadcrumbs for binding the meat..Koftas are deep fried/ shallow fried or baked and served with thick curry..There are different variations of making koftas..Its texture is same for making kababs, which is served as dry version..If you don't want curry, you can eat fried koftas directly without curry..I love that version too..Today, I am posting a recipe of Chicken Kofta curry..I have a piece of chicken breast in my freezer..I was thinking,what to make for dinner..I thought of making many things like chicken chilli, chicken and veg stew, butter chicken etc..Finally, I decided to make kofta curry..Its long since, I made this curry..I google search it, and found more than 100 varieties of kofta curry..I read few of the recipes..I combined few of the ingredients here and there..Finally, I had my own way of making this curry..My hubby love this curry..We had the combination with crispy hot poori..It tastes too delicious..Do make this curry and impress your family..Off to the recipe..

     Ingredients

        For Koftas:

• Boneless Chicken Breast / Chicken mince (kheema) -  200 gm

• Onion, chopped - half of 1 small onion

• Garlic chopped - 4 to 5 no.s

• Any vegetables of your choice - 1/2 cup ( I used carrot,beans and capsicum)

• Chopped green chilly - 1 no.s

• Coriander leaves,chopped - 2 tbsp

• Mint leaves,chopped - 1 tbsp

• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

• Turmeric pdr - a pinch

• Chilli pdr - 1/2 tsp

• Pepper pdr - 1/4 tsp

• Garam masala pdr - 1/4 tsp

• Corn flour - 1 tsp

• Bread crumbs - 2 tbsp

• Salt - adjust accordingly

          For Gravy:

• Cardamon - 2 no.s

• Cloves - 2 to 3 no.s

• Cinnamon stick - 1" size

• Bay leaf - 1 no.

• Large Onions, sliced - 2 no.s

• Large Tomato, sliced - 1 1/2 no.s 

• Garlic, chopped - 4 to 5 no.s

• Ginger,chopped - 1tsp

• Green chillies, chopped - 2 no.s

• Turmeric pdr - 1/4 tsp

• Kashmiri chilli pdr - 2 tsp

• Coriander pdr - 1 tbsp

• Garam masala pdr - 1/4 tsp

• Kasoori methi ( dry fenugreek leaves crushed) - 1/4 tsp ( optional )

• Chicken Stock / normal water - 1 cup

• Coriander leaves - for garnishing

• Milk / Cooking cream - 2 tbsp 

     Method

• Grind chicken breast into grinder/food processor for few seconds for 1 stroke..Don't grind it into fine paste,otherwise koftas won't taste good..Grind coarsely in a shredded chicken consistency i.e kheema ( minced) consistency...If you are using chicken kheema, ignore grinding part...

• Transfer minced chicken in a large bowl..

• In a same grinder, add ingredients from 'onion' till 'cumin seeds' mentioned in "For Kofta' and grind it into coarse paste..

• Transfer grinded ingredients into minced chicken and mix well..

• Add rest of the ingredients from ' Turmeric pdr' till 'salt' mentioned in " For Kofta" and mix thoroughly..

• Shape chicken mince into equal lime size balls and keep aside..

• Deep fry or shallow fry these chicken balls ( koftas) into medium flame till both sides are golden brown..Drain and place these in kitchen paper towel and keep aside..

• In another kadai/ wide pan, add 2 tbsp of previously fried kofta oil, add whole spices mentioned in " For gravy" and let it splutter.

• Add onions sprinkled with salt and saute till pink..

• Add chopped garlic,ginger and green chillies and saute for few seconds..

• Add tomato and saute till mushy..

• Add all the spice powders and saute till raw smell goes away..

• Off the flame and set aside to cool..

• When it cools down, pour this sauted onion mixture into blender and blend it into fine paste..

• Transfer the grinded mixture back into kadai and switch on the flame..

• Add water or chicken stock water and salt and mix it well..

• When it comes one boil, add little milk or cream and sprinkle little kasoori methi..

• Add fried koftas into the gravy, pour the gravy on top of koftas and cook for few seconds..

• Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves and decorate it with cream ( optional)

• Serve warm with chappati, porotta, batoora, poori etc.

      Notes

• Vegetarians can replace it with any of the desired vegetables combined with paneer or soya chunks..They can make it with boiled and minced chickpeas too..

• You can cook the kofta in curry itself, instead of frying or baking..But you have to be careful,there is a tendency to break while stiring the curry and it won't get hard..I wished to fry the koftas and simmer in curry, this method is commonly done...Fried koftas tastes better...

• Instead of chicken mince, you can replace it with beef or mutton...

Kadai Chicken

Kadai Chicken is the famous North Indian and Pakistani dish...They make it with mutton or beef too..Its a spicy dish..It is said that all the ingredients including roasting and sauteing are made in a one dish, a thick wok called 'kadai'..Its a common dish in most Indian and Pakistani restaurants..They serve this curry in Kadai itself,hence the name ' Kadai Chicken'...The spices used in the curry are roasted and freshly grounded..Its the main highlight of this dish,which gives a nice aroma to this dish and tastes delicious too.. I got this recipe from 'Vah Chef' from you tube,but I altered slightly..I am a great fan of his cooking and he explains every details clearly....My hubby gives thumps up to this dish..Do try to make and impress your family.

     Ingredients:

     To Roast:

• Peppercorns ( muzhuvan kurumulak) - 1/2 tsp
• Dry Red Chillies - 6 to 7 no.s (depends upon your spice level)
• Cumin seeds ( Sada jeerakam) - 1/2 tsp
• Fennel seeds ( Perumjeerakam) - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander seeds ( Muzhuvan malli ) - 2 tbsp
• Kasuri Methi pdr ( dry fenugreek leaves ) - 1/2 tsp

     For masala:

• Chicken ( cut into small pcs ) - 500 gm
• Large Onions, chopped - 1
• Ginger- Garlic paste - 1 1/2 tbsp
• Capsicum,cubed - 1 
• Tomato puree - 1/2 cup ( make a paste of 1 large tomato)
• Almonds or Cashewnuts - 10 no.s ( optional )
• Turmeric pdr - 1/4 tsp
• Kashmiri Chilli pdr - 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves,chopped - 1/2 bundle
• Oil - 1 tbsp
• Salt - to taste

     Method:

• Heat a kadai or fry pan, roast all the ingredients mentioned in ' to roast ' and set aside to cool. When it cools down, grind the spices into coarse powder.

• Soak cashews/almonds in a hot water for 10 to 15 mins..First grind the nuts into powder,then add soaked water and make into paste.

• In a same kadai heat some oil, stir fry the capsicum for few mins and keep aside.

• Add chopped onions in the same work ,add salt and saute till translucent.

• Add ginger-garlic paste and saute till raw smell disappears.

• Add tomato puree and saute for 5 mins till the oil seperates from the wok.

• Add turmeric powder and kashmiri chilli powder and saute well till raw smell goes away.

• Add half of ground roast spices and saute it.

• Add cleaned chicken pieces and mix well.

• Then add remaining ground spices and almond/cashew paste and mix well.

• Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of water, mix well,close the lid and cook for 15 to 20 mins.

• Add capsicum,mix well and cook for high heat at 5 mins with lid closed.

• Open the lid,taste and adjust salt. 

• Off the flame.Sprinkle little kasoori methi powder and chopped coriander.

• Serve warm with kadai itself..Its a excellent combination for ghee rice, chappati, poori, naans, dosas etc.

Palak Dal Gosht or Meat cooked in lentil and spinach curry.

Today, I am sharing  a Pakistani or North Indian cuisine, Palak dal Gosht..Its a meat cooked in lentil and spinach curry.. Mutton is prepared mostly made in this dish...Its definitely a healthy curry as  spinach is rich in iron and lentils is rich in protein, so when it combines with meat its a excellent combination..North Indian or Pakistani's used to cook curry with meat combined with vegetables and lentils.. Another example is  Murg Chole ( Chickpeas curry combined with chicken)...South Indian don't cook curry with lentils and meat together...Believe me, its tasty..Pakistani cuisine is somewhat similar to indian cooking..But their spice level is mild..I ate this curry in one of the pakistani restaurant in sharjah,during my school days...we all feel love with this curry and  ate it with the combination of Pakistani traditional bread,'tandoor roti'..My mom used to make this curry before...Her curry is somewhat similar to restaurant style,we love her curry too..Instead of mutton, you can replace it with chicken..Vegetarians can avoid mutton..Curry tastes delicious without adding meat too...I am sharing my mom's version of making this curry,but I slightly altered according to my taste...Here goes the recipe :) :)

Ingredients:

• Mutton ( with or without bone) - 300 gm
• Palak leaves ( Spinach ) - 6 to 7 leaves
• Bengal gram dal ( kadala paripp)- 1 cup
• Fennel seeds ( perumjeerakam) - 1 tsp
• Bay leaf (Vazhana ila ) - 1
• Cinnamon ( karuvapatta) - 1/2 ''
• Cloves ( grambu ) - 2 to 3 no.s
• Large onion, sliced - 2
• Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 1/2 tbsp
• Green chillies,slit - 2 no.s
• Large tomato,sliced - 1
• Chopped coriander leaves - 1 tbsp
• Coriander powder - 1 1/2 tbsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 tbsp
• Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
• kasoori methi - 1/2 tsp ( optional )
• Salt - to taste

Method

• Wash the palak leaves thoroughly with couplets of water and remove the stem. Boil the palak leaves with enough water for few mins. Drain and chop the palak leaves.

• In a pressure cooker, add oil and add fennel seeds and let it crackle.

• Add bay leaves,cinnamon and cloves and saute for few secs.

• Add sliced onions with salt and saute till light brown.

• Add ginger-garlic paste and saute for few secs.

• Add chopped tomato and saute till mushy.

• Add chopped coriander leaves and add all the spice powders from " coriander powder' till " Garam masala powder' and saute till raw smell disappears.

• Finally add washed bengal split lentils ( no need to soak) and cleaned mutton pieces and mix well.

• Add kasuri methi ( optional ) and saute. 

• Add about  l to 1 1/2 cup of water and close the lid of pressure cooker. Cook for 6 to 7 whistles till both lentils and mutton are cooked.

• When pressure releases, open the lid and add chopped palak leaves and mix well. Taste and adjust salt.

• If the gravy becomes too watery, add 1 tsp rice flour or corn flour to thicken it..

• Sprinkle some garam masala powder and kasoori methi . Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves.

• Its a excellent combination for chappati,dosas,poori etc.