Punjabi Murgh Makhani Wedding Style Butter Chicken

Method

1. 1

   Double marinate: Apply marinade 1 for 30 minutes. Apply marinade 2 for 3 more hours.

2. 2

   Grill the chicken: Grill on a very hot pan or under a hot grill at 230°C until charred in patches and cooked through. Cut into medium pieces.

3. 3

   Make the sauce: Heat butter and oil. Cook onion 8 minutes until golden. Add ginger and garlic — 2 minutes.

4. 4

   Cook the tomatoes very thoroughly: Add blended tomato. Cook on medium heat for 18 to 20 minutes stirring every 2 minutes until extremely thick, dark red and the butter separates completely. For the wedding-style version the tomato is cooked 5 minutes longer than usual — producing a deeper, sweeter sauce.

5. 5

   Add red chilli powder: Stir 2 minutes.

6. 6

   Add the grilled chicken: Add the charred chicken pieces. Stir.

7. 7

   Add kasuri methi: Crush the dried fenugreek leaves between palms and add. The kasuri methi fragrance defines this preparation.

8. 8

   Add cream, sugar, salt and garam masala: Add cream, sugar, salt and garam masala. Stir.

9. 9

   Simmer 8 to 10 minutes on low heat.

10. 10

    Finish: Add the remaining 3 tbsp cold butter. Stir in until melted. The wedding-style version has significantly more butter at the finish than the everyday version. Serve with naan.

11. 11

    Note: The wedding-style murgh makhani of Punjab differs from the restaurant version in three ways: the double marination (which creates a more deeply flavoured chicken), the more thorough cooking of the tomato base (which eliminates all acidity) and the significantly more generous application of finishing butter. Punjabi weddings are occasions where the food is expected to be more generous with every ingredient — the reputation of the family's hospitality is linked to the quality and quantity of food served.