Punjabi Butter Chicken
SICHUAN · THAI · CHINA · THAILAND

Punjabi Butter Chicken

ਮੁਰਗ ਮੱਖਣੀMain

Tandoor-charred chicken folded into a silky tomato and butter gravy, finished with cream and crushed fenugreek. The makhani gravy that made Delhi famous, cooked like a Punjabi wedding kitchen does it.

Total
80 min
Heat
2/5
Serves
4

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Flavour profile

Heat
Funk
Acid
Richness
Umami
  • Rich
  • Silky
  • Smoky
  • Sour

The real deal

Region
Punjab, North India — the makhani gravy born in Delhi's Moti Mahal kitchen and cooked across Punjab.
Technique
Chicken marinated in yoghurt, ginger-garlic and Kashmiri chilli, then charred, and a tomato-butter gravy built on whole spices, blended silky and finished with cream and kasuri methi.
We kept
Real butter and cream, whole Kashmiri chillies for colour not just heat, kasuri methi crushed in at the end, and the char on the chicken — that smoke is the point.

Ingredients

4 Serves

Marinade

  • 800 g · cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 120 g · whisked smooth
  • 2 tbsp
  • 2 tbsp
  • 1 tsp
  • 1 tsp
  • 1 tbsp
  • 1½ tsp
  • 2 tbsp

gravy

  • 800 g · roughly chopped
  • 2 · roughly chopped
  • 5 cm · roughly chopped
  • 6 cloves · peeled
  • 2 · stalks removed
  • 25 g
  • 4 · bruised
  • 4
  • 2.5 cm
  • 1
  • 60 g

finish

  • 80 ml
  • 1 tbsp · crushed between the palms
  • 30 g
  • 1 tsp

Garnish

  • 10 g · optional · chopped

Ingredients

  • 200 ml

Method

  1. Toss the with , , , , , , 1½ tsp and 2 tbsp . Every piece should be coated in a thick red paste. Cover and rest in the fridge for at least 1 h; overnight is better.

    Yoghurt is the tenderiser here — don't skip it or shorten the rest, or the chicken will be tough where it chars.

  2. Roughly chop the , , , and . Nothing needs to be neat; it all goes into the blender. Blitz the chopped vegetables, , , and into a loose purée. Add a splash of water if the blender stalls.

  3. Melt 60 g in a heavy pan over medium heat. Add the and the purée. Fry it hard, stirring often, for 20 min until the raw smell is gone, the colour deepens to brick red and the oil starts to separate at the edges. Pour in 200 ml , bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 15 min until everything is soft and the gravy looks glossy. Fish out the bay leaf, then blend until completely silky. Push it through a sieve if you want restaurant-smooth makhani.

    This bhuna stage is where the gravy is made. If it tastes raw or sour, keep frying — it is not done.

  4. Heat a heavy pan or grill until it is properly hot. Sear the marinated chicken in a single layer, without crowding, until each piece is charred at the edges and just cooked through, about 8 min, turning once. Do it in batches so the chicken browns rather than steams.

    Blackened yoghurt crust is flavour. Pale chicken means your pan was not hot enough — turn it up and let the pieces sit still.

  5. Slide the charred chicken and all the browned bits into the makhani gravy. Simmer gently for 10 min so the chicken drinks up the gravy; it should thicken enough to coat a spoon.

  6. Lower the heat. Stir in 80 ml , 30 g and 1 tsp . Crush the between your palms and stir it in. Taste and adjust salt. The gravy should be glossy, sweet-sour and rich.

    Never boil after the cream goes in — it splits and the silky texture is gone.

  7. Scatter over the top and serve with hot naan or basmati rice. This gravy is best eaten now; it thickens as it sits.

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