Keep at it with Butter Chicken

Recreating a memory can be a big challenge especially when it is the lingering taste of one dish tasted many years ago. Recently, one of my students came up with a request for Butter Chicken. He and his family loves this dish but have not found a single restaurant that makes it properly. I totally understand his disappointment. Very rarely do we get to eat a good butter chicken at US restaurants. Chicken is either over cooked, or sauce is too tangy or the cream is too much or simply it is the bland mix of tasteless chicken in marinara sauce with a dollop of butter on it!

Butter Chicken that we remember and love is a very smooth and creamy north Indian dish which was originally created to reuse any left over roasted poultry of the previous meal. To make it appealing and taste different the next day, the roasted meat was immersed in a slightly tangy creamy sauce and simmered just enough. The creaminess of Butter Chicken comes from the use of butter and fresh cream, which is always abundant and readily available in this region, hence, the name. Garnished with cilantro (coriander) leaves, it tastes best with Naan.

Disheartened, he attempted to make the dish at his own kitchen, but only to meet with failure. The reason is that any internet search of the recipe or you tube instruction doesn’t give details of finer points of this simple recipe. And second, there are too many variations on the internet. Trying and testing each one of them can be tiresome. Even then there is no guarantee that you have got the right hit. Finally he decided to come to me with his problem. In my kitchen we cooked the butter chicken he was looking for. After much cheering and excitement of having found the recipe and technique of this elusive dish, when he cooked it at home for his family, it was once again a moment of disappointment. After trying it three more times with all possible combinations of the ingredients and technique learnt here and written in his own handwriting, he came back for another session for the same Butter Chicken.

I trust my recipe but I did start to question my teaching techniques and decided to get to the root of the problem. I invited him over for a test, where he will do all the cooking without me even lifting a finger. My aim was to know my faults by observing his way of cooking. The approach worked and I realized all my mistakes including the minute details that I took for granted which he didn’t understand so didn’t pay attention to.

The first mistake was the written recipe itself. It needed to be written down in a user friendly format. This recipe has repeating ingredients and too many steps. Even though they are easy to perform, it can get confusing for some. So to separate ingredients out as per their process and order of appearance is a good idea. I believe if this method is applied to all those simple yet tedious recipes, each time one can recreate the same wonder.

Although it is an easy recipe with simple ingredients, there are certain details which have to be taken care of while cooking. These details address the fact that in today’s kitchen we don’t have a wood or coal burning clay oven, we cannot afford to have butter and cream as lavishly as our previous generation, and yes, the dish can get too tangy depending upon the kind of tomatoes used from among the wide variety that is available in today’s market.

There are other technical details like

• Using chicken thighs instead of chicken breast.
• Lime juice, not lemon juice.
• Chicken has to be broiled just enough to bring in the broil marks on them, if not roasted on a grill, and not cooked thoroughly. Don’t worry because it will get enough time later to finish cooking.
• Using non-fat dairy products will surely create a less fatty dish but it will sacrifice taste and looks.
• Roasting the whole spices bring out a unique flavor and fragrance and is a must.
• The garlic takes the center stage not ginger. Ginger is there just to bring in that extra hidden flavor and thickness.
• The smoother the onion-tomato paste, the better would be the creaminess later.
• The combination of vegetable oil and butter is used to keep the cholesterol levels in check still keeping the flavor right.
• The amount of onion is much lesser in this dish than typical north Indian dishes.
• The onions take longer to cook here because they have been mixed with acidity of tomatoes which automatically increases the cooking time.
• To bring in the reddish color to the dish, you don’t have to add more tomatoes, they add to tanginess too. Simply add the turmeric and fry it longer without burning the masala.
• While adding water, always use hot water which will bring it to the boiling point faster in the pan than the tap water keeping the chicken moist and tender. Or else this is the second time where chicken has the chance of getting overcooked.
• Always beat the sour cream to its fluffy consistency before adding it to the dish. Otherwise it clogs at places and doesn’t bring in the creamy effect.
• Also just after adding the cream to the Butter Chicken in the pan, stir once and take it off the heat to prevent the fat from the cream to separate.
• Lastly, the trick of coal flavor, well, in old days it wasn’t necessary since the chicken always got grilled over the coal but now, unless you have the coal grilled chicken, your Butter Chicken will not have the smoky flavor of the authentic dish. For that either add liquid smoke, or simply burn the coal thoroughly outside of the house (remember, burning coal inside generates very dangerous carbon monoxide gas) till the ambers show. Be careful not to spill coal ashes into the dish. And also remember to increase the amount of the coal accordingly if you decide to increase the rest of the recipe.

This individual paid attention to details, and after lot of trials and feeding his family the many mistakes, finally got that dish right and now holds the bragging rights of making the best and the meanest Butter Chicken among his friends. I applaud him since he has the passion of recreating the perfection however insignificant it may be in his busy lifestyle. That day I learnt a lesson myself.

Follow the instruction and pay attention to details. Once you have mastered these technical necessities, you can mould this dish to accommodate all sorts of poultry or red meat into it. Here is the recipe for you to try out. If you have any problems, questions or concerns, feel free to email me or write in the blog. Happy experimenting.

Recipe for Butter Chicken

Serves 4
Preparation time 2-3 hrs
Cooking time 30 min

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut in 2 inch pieces (may use thighs with bones too. Just increase the broiling time a little)
• 1tsp lime juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp red chili powder (adjust to suit your taste)
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp plain yogurt

Marinade the chicken with these ingredients and cover tightly. Keep refrigerated for 2-3 hrs. On a baking pan with a rack on top, spray some vegetable oil and broil the chicken spread out evenly for 10-12 minutes. Alternately, use a skewer to string the chicken and grill it on outside grill.

• 8-10 peppercorns
• 1" stick of cinnamon
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 black cardamom pod
• 4 cloves
• 1/8tsp fenugreek seeds

Dry roast these spices on a pan for 2 minutes on high heat moving it frequently. As soon as the fragrance of the spices starts spreading, take it off the heat and grind it in a coffee grinder or on stone pastel. Keep aside.

• 1/3 cup or (¼ of a large onion) chopped red onion
• 3 garlic pods, chopped
• 1 inch peeled and chopped ginger
• 2-3 green chilies
• 3 medium sized Roma tomatoes, chopped

Grind them to a smooth paste in a food processor.

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 garlic pods, finely chopped
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp red chili powder
• ½ tsp salt or to taste
• 1 cup of hot water
• ¼ tsp fenugreek powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ cup or 4 oz of sour cream
• Bunch of chopped Cilantro

In a pan, heat oil and butter together. Once hot add the chopped garlic and fry till translucent, for a little less than a minute. Add the dry roasted spices and fry for another 30 seconds. To this add, onion-tomato paste. Stir a little. Add turmeric, red chili powder and salt. Stir again, reduce the heat to medium, cover and let it cook till the liquid dries significantly. It will take some 5-6 minutes. Increase the heat; take off the cover and fry the masala till the oil separates. This will take another 4-5 minutes. Once the masala is well fried, add the broiled chicken pieces to it and mix it well without breaking the chicken. Add any liquid that came off the chicken onto the baking tray. Also add hot water slowly to this till the desired consistency is reached. It may be more or less than a cup of water. Add sugar and fenugreek powder and sir again. Check for seasoning. This is the time to add some more salt, chili or sugar if needed. Adjust to your taste.

Beat the sour cream well and add it to the chicken dish. Fold it in slowly. Once folded, take it off the heat and add coriander (cilantro) leaves.

Garnish with coriander (cilantro) leaves and melted butter (if desired). Serve with Naan.

For an authentic and traditional cooked-over-the-coals flavor: When the Butter Chicken is cooked, make a small bowl shape with aluminum foil and place it on top of the curry ('floating' on it). Heat a briquette of charcoal on an open flame outside of the house till red hot (making sure the blackness of the coal in not visible anymore because it might leave gasoline smell) and gently put the charcoal in to the aluminum foil bowl. Cover the dish immediately. Remove the cover, discard the foil bowl and charcoal just before serving. The curry will be infused with a smoky flavor!