Tandoori Chicken/ Butter chicken
Serves 4 - 6 people
Ingredients
Chicken: whole, 2 lbs, cut in small pieces or boneless cut in cubes for tikka
Ginger Garlic paste (adrak lasan): 1 tbsp
Yogurt (full fat) (dahi) : ½ cup
Cream (Malai): ½ cup
Salt masala should be extra salty
Red chili powder (spicy): 2 tsp
Kashmiri chili powder for color, per taste
Green chili paste: 1 tsp (approx 3-5 chillies)
Garam masala pwd: ¼ tsp full
Chopped cilantro (kothmir): ¼ cup
Shan tandoori masala to taste
Ghee for baking 2-3 tsp
Method
If using larger chicken pieces, slit to allow masala to penetrate meat. Grind the green chilies in a little malai. Mix all ingredients except meat in a large bowl. Mix well. Add in the chicken pieces making sure they are well covered with masala. Let marinate overnight or a minimum of 4-6 hours for best flavor.
Arrange chicken pieces in a pan after wiping off most of the marinade masala. Brush with ghee. Bake on 400 degrees. The water that chuttaos should dry on the chicken for added flavor. (see Note 1)
Sauce to serve with tandoori chicken: Use the remaining water of the baked chicken, remaining marinade, ketchup and tomato sauce to taste. Add red chilly powder. Cook all in a pan with a little ghee.
Butter Chicken: Make 2 cups of puree with ½ kg tomatoes and two bay leaves (tej patta). Melt butter or ghee in a non-stick pan. Add cashew (kaju) paste (25 pieces) and fry to a light golden color. Add puree, 2 tbsp ketchup, salt, ¼ tsp sugar, ¼ tsp red chili powder. Stir to a boil till ghee chuttaos. Add cream before serving.
Variation: On slow fire, add tej patta and marinade and fry well. Add kaju paste (25 pieces) and fry on slow. Add 4 tbsp ketchup and ½ tin tomato sauce, salt and 1 tsp chili powder. After adding ½ cup cream, don’t cook. Garnish with slit, fried green chilies.
Notes:
Place on wire rack with making tray below, to allow chicken water to drip. Brush this water on chicken as it is cooking. An additional tip is to grill the chicken when its done on a stove for charred taste.