30-Minute Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)

Oh yeah this was good. Really good.
I don’t know why, but I haven’t made this recipe in a while.
It was passed to me by my friend Namrata. She used to whip it up all the time when we were in school.
Late at night, after a long day of studying in the library; instead of ordering in, she would fire up the stove and cook this for the whole crew. With just some rice and greens on the side.
A perfect dinner.
Tasty, comforting, flavorful, full of nuances but not too strong. Everybody loved it.
Namrata’s butter chicken quickly became legendary on campus, and in no time people were showing up “in the nick of time” for dinner asking “Can I join?”
Carpetbaggers...

This is a simplified version of Namrata’s mum original one for Murgh Makhani; which requires - among other things - the chicken to marinade overnight.
As Namrata used to say “It takes too long to cook this dish my Mum’s way, and mine tastes just as good; so why bother?”
30-minute it's all you need to make this happen in your kitchen.

TBH, I’ve never tried Namrata’s mum version (which I bet it’s amazing) but this is a knock your socks off kind of recipe.
So quick and simple. It actually takes longer to gather all the ingredients than cooking the dish.

If you’re not familiar with butter chicken, don’t be deceived by its name. It doesn’t taste at all like butter. Not that there’s anything wrong with butter, it just doesn’t taste like it.
In fact, this creamy curry Indian butter chicken recipe combines ethnic spices with simple ingredients like onion, ginger, garlic, and tomatoes for a wonderful dish.

30-Minute Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)                                                      Print this recipe!

Ingredients
Serves 4

¾ lb / 340 gr boneless organic free-range chicken, cubed
2 tablespoons butter
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons ground coriander seeds
1 teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
A pinch of dried fenugreek leaves (optional)
1 teaspoon Garam Masala
1 cup / 250ml milk
3 tablespoons Greek yogurt (or heavy cream)
Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

Directions

In a large frying pan over medium-high heat melt the butter, add onion and saute’ until golden brown, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add ginger, garlic, coriander, chili powder, turmeric and 1 teaspoon of salt and saute’ for a minute, until spices are fragrant.
Add tomatoes and tomato paste and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring every now and then. Turn off the heat and with an immersion blender (or using a stand blender) purée until smooth.
Turn the heat back on to low, add fenugreek (if using), milk and chicken. Cook covered for about 14 to 16 minutes until the chicken is soft and cooked through, stirring every so often.
When the chicken is cooked through, remove the lid and cook for further 2 minutes. Add Garam Masala, Greek yogurt and mix well, making sure it doesn’t boil.
Adjust seasoning to taste and serve sprinkled with fresh chopped cilantro.

Nutrition facts

One serving yields 263 calories, 11 grams of fat, 12.6 grams of carbs and 30.6 grams of protein.