CRAZY Butter Chicken MASALA!

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Butter Chicken and Tikka Masala are loved by the masses! But, Crazy Butter Chicken Masala will blow your mind!  Mixing up techniques to give you an altogether mouth-water Butter Chicken dish.

The Recipe Intro↓ has related links, more information as well as Recipe Video. If you’d like to check it out.

♦Prep time:30 min ♦Marination time:30 min ♦Cook time: 1 hour 30 min ♦8 Servings.

You can strike through ingredients, as you prep them, by clicking on the ingredient.

Ingredients:

Chicken (bone-in, skinless) cut into medium size pieces		1 kg
Cashew nuts		1/2 cup
Thick set Yoghurt		1/2 cup
Kashmiri chilli powder		4 Tbsp (divided)
Ginger Garlic Paste		10 generous tsp (divided)
Salt (and extra as needed )		1 tsp
Red Onions		4 (2 large and 2 medium-sized)
Tomatoes		3 (1 large and 2 medium-sized)
Melted butter , for basting		1/2 cup
Oil		1/4 cup plus 6 Tbsp, divided
Bay leaf		1
Butter, softened		2 Tbsp
Fresh pouring cream		3 Tbsp
Freshly chopped coriander leaves		3-4 Tbsp

Whole Spice Mixture for Masala:

Star Anise		1
Cloves		4
Mace		1
Black Peppercorns		6
Green Cardamom pods		3
Cinnamon		2 medium sticks

Powdered Spice Mixture for Masala:

Coriander powder		1 tsp
Kashmiri Chilli powder		1 tsp
Cumin powder		3/4 tsp
Turmeric powder		3/4 tsp
Tandoori Masala (store-bought or see notes)		2 tsp
Sabzi Masala (store-bought or see notes)		2 tsp
North Indian style Garam Masala (store-bought or see notes)		1 tsp

For Tempering:

Butter		1 Tbsp
Oil		1 Tbsp
Black Mustard seeds		1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds		1/4 tsp
Milder - Dried red chillies, broken		2
Fresh Curry leaves		A Handful
Garlic, finely chopped		2-3 tsp

Please go through the recipe, before starting.Prepping and setting aside ingredients first,  and following the sequence reduces the stress of cooking.

Method:

1. Pre-Prep: First off, (before you start to prep/clean your chicken) add the cashew nuts(1/2cup) to a small bowl of boiled and hot water to soak.
2. Also, hang the yoghurt(1/2cup) in a muslin/cheesecloth or strainer to get a thick hung yoghurt (Hang for only about 15 minutes).
3. Next, clean and rinse the chicken pieces thoroughly. Keep drained for a while.
4. Marination: Add the chicken to a bowl, with ginger-garlic paste(8tsp) and salt(1tsp). Rub these well into the pieces first.
5. Put (3 Tbsp) of the Kashmiri chilli powder in a small bowl and add just enough water to make a thick paste. It should not be runny. Apply this paste to the chicken pieces to coat thoroughly. All the chicken to marinate like this for 10 minutes, before continuing with the next stage of marination.
6. Take the hung yoghurt now(it should be thick and spreadable after 15 minutes of hanging. If hung too long,  it will start to get chalky which will not suit our purpose, so make sure you remove it from the cloth on time).
7. Work with one piece of pre-marinated chicken at a time and apply a thin coating of the hung yoghurt over each piece. Once all pieces are coated, set aside for another 20-30 minutes.
8. Prep for Masala: Finely chop up the Onion and Tomato in two batches. Place 2 large onions and 1 large tomato, chopped in plate#1(masala to be cooked and ground). Place 2 medium Onions and 2 medium Tomatoes, chopped in plate#2(masala to be roasted).
9. Add the remaining Kashmiri Chilli powder(1Tbsp) to the same bowl used earlier. Add a little water, to make a paste, and set this aside for later.
10.  Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F.
11. Measure and set aside the ‘Whole spices mixture’ for Masala together and the ‘Powdered spice mixture’ for Masala separately.
12. Cook the Chicken: Once the chicken has marinated we want to grill it in the oven. Grill for 30 minutes –with the heat source preferably from above and below(conventional oven). I use my rotisserie attachment for even cooking. (If you do not have a rotisserie set up, you can place the pieces on a greased wire rack over a tray and bake/grill.  In this case, however, you must first place the tray/rack on a lower rack and then flip the pieces over halfway through and transfer to the upper rack). If you are pressed for time or don’t own an oven; pan-frying will do as well.
13. After 30 minutes, baste the chicken pieces thoroughly with the melted butter. Now switch the heating element to the broil setting (heat from above only), and also increase temperature to 250°C/480°F.
14. Continue under the broiler for 20 minutes more, keeping an eye on it as oven temps may vary. You don’t want to dry out the chicken, just minimal grill marks should be noticed.
15. Smoking: While the chicken is on the last 10 minutes of cooking, place a small piece of charcoal on live-fire till it is red hot and turning ash colour.
16. Use oven mitts to remove the rotisserie attachment and tongs to slide all the chicken pieces into a deep plate.
17. Place this plate into some kind of deep pot with a tight-fitting lid. Place a steel tumbler in the centre of the plated chicken and put the red-hot piece of charcoal in it. Pour a little oil over this to start smoking.
18. Shut the pot tightly, placing a weight on top if needed so that no smoke escapes. Keep closed for at least 15 minutes.
19. The Masala: Use a flat-based heavy skillet for best results. Add oil(1/4 cup) and as it heats up add one bay leaf and chopped onion from plate#1 (masala to be cooked and ground). Saute well till the colour starts to change, then add the tomato. Keep frying, stirring constantly till the tomatoes are pulpy, and onions begin to get crisp around the edges. Add turmeric powder(1tsp) and stir through. Remove this sauteed mixture from the pan and allow it to cool off completely.
20. Wipe pan clean and start over; 3 Tbsp oil this time and add chopped onion from plate#2(masala to be roasted). Saute till just slightly softened and then add the tomato. Saute till the tomatoes are mashed to a pulp/roasted. Remove from the pan and set aside this roasted onion and tomato.
21. Remove the bay leaf(from the sauteed set, which was left to cool off) and grind this to a paste(no water added). Set aside this Onion-Tomato paste for later.
22. Also, remove the cashew nuts from the soaking liquid now and grind this to a paste as well.
23. Once again, wipe the pan clean and start over. 3-4 Tbsp oil this time. As it heats up add the ‘Whole spices mixture’ and allow them to start popping. Add the remaining ginger-garlic paste(2tsp) and stir quickly till fragrant but not browning. Add the prepared roasted onion and tomato now and saute everything together well.
24. Next, add the prepared ‘Powdered spice mixture’ and stir well on low heat, till nice and fragrant and the raw pungency of the spices is gone. Also, add a little salt to taste.
25. Add the Onion-Tomato paste now and stir this well on low-medium heat. Sprinkle a little bit of water to prevent any spices from catching on the pan.
26. Once mixed through, add the Kashmiri Chilli powder paste as well as the Cahsewnut paste. Stir briskly till you get a homogenous mixture. Once it is thoroughly mixed, you will see the oil starting to separate.
27. At this stage, add 3 cups of water and stir to mix well. Bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover, and simmer on low for 5 minutes.
28. After 5 minutes, open and stir well. Add a little salt to taste once more. Keep the flame low from now forwards.
29. Add the smoked chicken now into this lovely sauce, and stir again. Cover and simmer for a couple of minutes. Never increase the heat, and stir once in between.
30. Open and add softened butter(2Tbsp). Stir through to incorporate. Drizzle the fresh cream(3Tbsp) over the top, simmer to heat the cream so as to reduce the milky taste.
31. Garnish with fresh coriander(3Tbsp),.
32. Use a kitchen torch to torch the chicken pieces that are seen above the masala, just till slightly charred. You can get the same effect if placed under the broiler on high for a few minutes. Remove from heat.
33. Tempering: Heat the butter(1Tbsp) and oil(1Tbsp) for tempering in a small pan. Add the Mustard seeds(1/4tsp) and wait till they pop. Next, add the cumin seeds(1/4tsp), dried red chilli(2Nos) and curry leaves(handful). Add chopped garlic(2-3tsp), and fry till the garlic is lightly golden and crispy without going dark/black. Pour this over the skillet of Crazy Butter Chicken.
34. Serve with Hot buttery nans or other flatbreads or Pilaf! Enjoy:) You will be so pleased with your efforts!

CRAZY Butter Chicken MASALA!

 

Notes:

You can use store-bought spice mixes, but if you want to know how to make them from scratch, I have got you covered!

• Link to North Indian Garam Masala Recipe.
• Link to Sabzi Masala.
• Use the Tandoori Masala recipe in the post.

• A large onion, once chopped will yield 1 – 1 1/4 cup of chopped onion. A medium onion will yield half- 3/4 cup chopped onion. Roughly the same is accurate with Tomatoes.

Key Ingredients: Chicken, Onion, Tomato, Ginger, Garlic, Oil, Spices(whole and powdered), Butter, Cream, Yoghurt, Coriander, Curry leaves, Cashew nuts, Salt.

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