Chicken Butter Masala....step by step.

I know..I know.. I had posted butter chicken...so you must be wondering why another butter chicken....this is chicken butter masala...a simple but elegant dish....which needs no yogurt marinating....no cream....no butter (any vegetable oil will do wonders; of course if you are not on a diet and too skinny go ahead and add plenty of butter).... this is the ONE chicken dish I often make when guests come over. This goes with fried rice, carrot rice, plain rice, methi rice, whole wheat roti, phulka, naan......hmmm with just about anything.

This recipe is as old as my daughter and I have lost count of the number of times I have made this dish.....I love it because there is no marination.....I love it because there is no cream.....I love it because you can call it a butter chicken and make it without butter....I sing my favorite song when I make this curry....making this curry is therapeutic for me....

Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) has this unique ability to transform a humble dish into an elegant one....I love to add them in my curries.....just take a fat pinch ...crush them with your palms to release their unique flavor.

I made this today when Nidhi's friend Nikita came home for lunch along with cappuccino muffins, and spinach  pizza which I made with all purpose flour this time.

An Update: 10/01/13-Butter Chicken Pizza- An Indo-Italian Pizza with this gravy....try it you will love me more :)

Ingredients:
Chicken: 1/2 kg.
Onions: 1/2 kg, pulse them in the food processor or in your mixer grinder.
Tomatoes: 3 big or 4 small, pureed.(I use ball tomatoes, which has rich red colour and less sourness).
Butter/Vegetable oil: 1/2-3/4 cup. (I have never made with butter till now, coz I use too much butter for my baking, if you are not that butter scary go ahead add it otherwise stick to veg oil, today I used rice bran oil).
Kashmiri red chilly powder: 2 tsp.
Tomato sauce: 2 tbsp.
Sugar: 1/2 tsp.
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp.
Fresh pepper powder: 1/2 tsp.
Ginger: 1 inch piece.
Garlic: 1/2 pod
Kasuri methi: A fat pinch.
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves to garnish.

How I made this curry.
1. Grind the oinion. Grind ginger garlic and keep aside. In a heavy bottom kadai, heat the oil, add the grinded onion, 1/2 tsp salt, and let it fry for 3 or 4 min, now add the ginger garlic paste and let it fry with the onions till it almost light brown colour. (careful here we don't need dark brown colour, light brown will be fine).

2. Now add the chilly powder, pepper, and turmeric. Mix well for a min or two.

3. Add the puree tomatoes.

4. Add the tomato sauce, sugar again mix well and let it simmer till oil comes out.

5. It should look some what like this. It took about 12 to 15 min to get this on low flame.

6. Add the chicken and mix well, add little more salt at this stage. Let the chicken simmer with the masala for another 10 min, let the chicken release its moisture and fat.

7. Add crushed kasuri methi and 1/2 cup water.

8. Cover it with a lid and simmer it till the chicken is nicely cooked and tender add little more water if the gravy is too thick. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with rice, roti, or naan.

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