Butter chicken karahi
Butter chicken, or Murgh makhani, is the hugely popular, mild curry from New Delhi. The curry sauce is slowly simmered before adding tandoori-style chicken, either on the bone or off. Any leftover marinade is also added to the sauce. There is, however, a karahi-style butter chicken which is not as well known outside India and Pakistan but is equally delicious. If you are a fan of butter chicken or chicken tikka masala, this is a karahi curry to put on your ‘must try’ list.
This recipe is an extract from Curry Guy Chicken: Deliciously Spiced Recipes From South And Southeast Asia by Dan Toombs (Quadrille).
Next, why not try one of our tempting chicken curry recipes from the House & Garden archive?
Recipe information
Total Time
40 minutes
Yield
Serves 4
Ingredients
To serve
Preparation
Step 1
Heat the oil or ghee in a karahi or wok over a high heat. Add the diced chicken and fry for about 4 minutes or until white on the exterior and almost cooked through. Season with the salt and pepper and add the ground spices. Stir this all together to coat the chicken. Add the tomatoes and push them down into the simmering sauce. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and cook for 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Step 2
Lift the lid. The skin from the tomatoes should be coming off; remove this with tongs or your hands. It should come off easily but if it doesn’t, raise the heat again to high and simmer until the skin can be easily removed. If you are using tongs, give the tomatoes a good squeeze as you remove the skins. This will help them break down into the sauce. Push the peeled tomatoes down into the sauce, smashing them as you do. Then add the yoghurt and stir it into the sauce. Reduce the heat to low again, cover the pan and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir from time to time, pushing the tomatoes down and breaking them apart. After 5 minutes, remove the lid and turn up the heat to high. Add the cream and stir constantly, scraping any sauce that begins to caramelize on the side of the pan back in for additional flavour. Keep stirring. You want the tomatoes, cream and yoghurt to emulsify with the oil into a smooth sauce.
Step 3
When you are happy with your sauce, add the butter and let it begin to melt into the sauce, while continuing to stir. Add the kasoori methi by rubbing the leaves between your fingers. Although this is not butter chicken like you might have tried before, it should look like it. Keep stirring until the sauce comes together and looks like butter chicken!
Step 4
Try the curry and add more salt and pepper to taste if you like. Top with the julienned ginger and coriander (cilantro). If you like a bit of spice, top with thinly sliced chillies too.
