RESTAURANT STYLE BUTTER CHICKEN / Chicken Makhani

Savor the rich symphony of flavors in every bite of this homemade Butter Chicken. A culinary journey through the heart of India's vibrant spices and velvety textures. Dive into the magic!  I made it for today's dinner with my homemade wheat naans.

Restaurant style Butter chicken / Chicken Makhani 

Ingredients :

Chicken : 1 large boneless breast piece, 8oz, cut into small cubes

Purple Onion : 1 large or 1 1/2 medium, cubed

Tomatoes : 2, cubed

Garlic : 5 cloves

Ginger : 1 inch piece

Cardamom : 3

Cumin : 1/2tsp

Coriander leaves : 2 springs

Butter :1 tbsp

For the Marinade :

Green chilly : 2

Yogurt : 2tbsp

Lemon juice / Vinegar : 1tsp

Garma Masala : 1/4tsp

Kasoori Methi : 1/4tsp

Cumin : 1/2tsp

Salt : 1/2tsp

For Makhani gravy/ Butter chicken gravy :

Purple onion : 1/2 Cup(1/2 of a large onion) , finely chopped

Bay leaf : 2

Chilly powder : 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder : 1/2tsp

Kasoori methi : 1/2 tsp

Coriander leaves : 1/4 cup, chopped

Cumin Powder : 1/2 tsp

Garam Masala : 1/2 tsp

Sugar : 1/2 tsp

Honey : 1 tsp

Butter : 1/2 tbsp

Salt

Oil : 1tsp

Tomato sauce / Ketchup : 1 tbsp

Red / Orange food color : optional

Whipping cream / Half and half : 1/2cup

Salt

Restaurant style Butter chicken / Chicken Makhani 

How to make the restaurent style Chicken Makhani / Butter chicken Masala :

1. Make a paste of ginger, garlic and coriander leaves.  Add half of it to the cleaned and cubed chicken cubes along with all ingredients listed under "For the marinade". Mix well with your hand and refrigerate in a glass bowl / zip lock cover for min 20 min. Meanwhile you can start making the gravy :)

2. Add oil in a heavy bottom kadai and add cumin seeds and cardamom. When its roasted, add cubed onion and saute for 4- 6 minutes or till its translucent. Now add the tomatoes and cook till the water evaporates, 4-5 minutes. Now transfer it to a flat plate / bowl and allow to cool. Grind it to a smooth paste when its completely cooled.

3. In the same kadai, add butter and shallow fry the chicken pieces at medium flame. When it is 80% done Remove it from kadai and transfer to a bowl and turn the heat to low flame. ( Make sure the chicken pieces are soft , do not fry it for long time and make it hard.) 

4. Start making the Chicken Makhani gravy : Add the remaining 1/2 tbsp butter and add our spices listed under "for the makhani gravy", bay leaf, garam masala, cumin powder, coriander powder, chilly powder and kasoori methi in the same order. Stir well and roast it for a minute and add our ginger-garlic-coriander leaves paste(step 1). Fry well and add chopped purple onion.

5. Now add the paste of onion, tomato mixture (step 2), tomato sauce, sugar, honey and combine well. Saute  for few minutes and add  1 1/2 Cups of water and close the kadai with a tight lid. After 5 minutes open the lid and add the chicken cubes, salt, food color and coriander leaves. 

6. Cook for 5minutes in medium flame and finally add cream and allow to boil for one minute. Turn off the flame and our restaurant style butter chicken / Chicken makhani is ready to serve.

7. Serve hot with any Naan / chappathi / pulao

Similar Recipes : 

• Chicken Tikka
• Paneer Butter Masala / Paneer Makhani
• Paneer Mutter masala in roasted coconut gravy (Varutharacha Paneer Curry)
• Paneer Tikka

HEALTHY BROWN RICE DOSA

Few months back i experimented with my dosa bater by giving it a twist on rice. Instead of regular white rice i used short grain brown rice. It was a hit in my family and when i counted the calories per serving i was convinced that was a healthy choice. 

Homemade dosa with short grain brown rice

Recipe for Healthy brown rice dosa with short grain rice:

Serving Size : 2 dosa, Cooking time : 4min, Serves : 8-10Adults, Calories : 365 per serving

Ingredients :

Short grain Brown Rice : 4 cups

Urad dal/ uzhunnu parippu : 1 cup

Fenugreek seeds / uluva : 1 tsp

Cooked rice : 1cup, i used fresh rosematta rice

Salt as needed

Brown Rice Dosa Batter Preparation :

1. wash and soak brown rice, urad dal and fenugreek seeds for 4-5 hours.

2. Transfer to a wet grinder/ mixer and grind for 2- 3 minutes. Now add remaining ingredients and grind into a smooth batter by adding enough water. As i don't have a wet grinder i used my nutri bullet high-speed blender.

3. Transfer the smooth brown rice dosa batter in to a large container , Cover with a tight lid and allow to ferment for 6 to 8 hours/ over night. Fermentation of homemade brown rice dosa batter depends on the climate of your place. In colder places, you can leave it inside the oven with the oven light on.

4. After fermentation, mix well and make dosa as you normally do. Heat a tawa, smear little oil on the top. Add a ladle of the brown rice batter in the center and spread it in a circular motion.

5. Drizzle ghee if you need. When it is roasted, start lifting up from the corners and flip it over to the other side and cook for 1 more minute.

6. Serve hot with chutney / sambhar.

Notes :

a) My cousin Anju Uses Poha / Aval / beaten rice instead of cooked rice to make the iddli / dosa batter. Soak Poha/aval in water for 5minutes and add along with the rice to grind. You will get exactly the same results :)

b) Do not use old refrigerated cooked rice to make idli / brown rice dosa batter. Remember you will keep it outside for fermentation then in refrigerator for minimum 2 days, so make sure you use fresh cooked rice.

You might also like, 

All chutneys for Dosa / Iddli

Easy Dates chutney

Kuzhi Paniyaram and Tomato chutney 

Enjoy!!!

Lena

EGGLESS GARLIC PULL APART ROLLS step by step

This homemade eggless pull apart garlic roll recipe is very easy, fool proof and yields the softest and best garlic rolls ever. It is a perfect snack for kids and its an easy picnic food too.. I am making these from 2010 but never i could take a picture before it finishes.  I made this for my daughters 5th birthday party and it was a hit. This recipe is adapted from Nags and originally from Suhaina.

Eggless garlic pull apart rolls

Garlic Pull-Apart Rolls

Makes 16 mini rolls

Ingredients: 

Plain Flour - 1.5 cups (i used King Arthur Bread flour, you can use all purpose flour too)

slightly Warm Water- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp (you should be able to touch the warm water with your finger, if it is too hot, wait for few minutes and proceed)

Yeast - 1/2 tbsp, i use fleischmann's always as it never disappointed me

Salt - 1tsp 

Sugar - 1 tbsp 

Olive Oil - 1 tbsp + 1 tsp

For Garlic Spread:

Salted butter, at room temperature - 6 tbsp

Minced garlic - 2 tbsp

Chopped coriander leaves - 2 tbsp

How to Make Eggless Garlic Pull Apart Rolls

1. Mix flour, yeast, warm water, salt and sugar together until you get a smooth, slightly stick dough. (Add water slowly as the measurement of water differs according to flour you use)

2. Add oil to your fingertips and knead until the dough springs back when you press with your fingers - about 4-5 mins. 

3. Wrap in cling film and allow to double by keeping in a warm place for about 45 mins. I always keep the dough inside my oven with lights on. Meanwhile, make the garlic spread by simply mixing all the ingredients. If you are using unsalted butter add salt to make a perfect garlic spread. 

Eggless garlic rolls : Divide the dough and apply the garlic spread

4. Grease a baking pan or loaf tin with olive oil. I used my  2 square Pyrex pan which was the perfect size for 16 mini garlic rolls.

5. Knock down the air in the dough and divide the dough into four equal portions.

6. Transfer one portion of the dough to a floured surface and roll gently into a rough rectangle of 1/2" thickness. Apply more flour sparingly if sticky. 

7. Spread about 2 tbsp of garlic spread on one side. 

Eggless Garlic pull apart rolls

8. Roll from one end gently and firmly. 

9. Cut into half and then again cut into each half again into two halves to get 4 equal portions. 

10. Now place the rolls with the cut side up in the greased pan. Repeat the same procedure for the remaining dough. 

11. Spread a little milk on the rolls and add the remaining garlic spread on top. You can sprinkle sesame seeds on top of the rolls to make it even pretty.

Eggless Garlic pull apart rolls

12. Allow to rise for another 20 minutes. In the mean time preheat the oven to 180C / 375F.

13. Bake for about 30 mins until the top is golden brown. My Pyrex glass pan usually takes longer to bake in, so mine took about 35 mins to bake just right.

14. These are really soft and have an amazing flavor. You can keep it in an airtight container and microwave whenever you want. 

Eggless Garlic pull apart rolls

Notes:

1. The amount of water depends on the type of flour you are using. Use your judgment to get a slightly sticky dough that behaves when you apply oil. 

2. This is a fantastic picnic food / Kids party appetizer and stays fresh in room temperature for a week.