Butter Hen – A Lovely Mess

We order take out possibly as soon as per week at our home. And our primary, go-to is Indian meals. One in all my targets for the 12 months is to work on selfmade variations of a few of our favourite take-out meals. This butter hen recipe is a type of. It’s tremendous flavorful, wholesome, straightforward to make and scrumptious!

What’s butter hen? Butter hen is a basic Indian curry made with marinated hen and a creamy tomato sauce. We often serve it with steamed rice, however Naan is a superb addition as properly. I additionally suppose this butter hen recipe makes nice leftovers as you may simply reheat it on the stovetop, very similar to leftover soup.

Associated: Subsequent up strive a selfmade chai latte or iced chai latte.

Elements

• Hen
• Kashmiri chili powder
• Salt
• Lemon juice
• Greek yogurt
• Garam masala
• Cumin
• Butter
• Cinnamon stick
• Inexperienced cardamom pods
• Cloves
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Onion – yellow or white
• Tomato sauce
• Tomato paste
• Granulated white sugar
• Dried fenugreek leaves
• Heavy whipping cream
• Cilantro

Sure, this can be a lot of substances. However don’t get intimidated! Most of those are shelf secure dried spices or canned items. Plus, that’s what makes Indian meals good—all the flavour!

make Butter Hen

First marinate the hen. Begin by reducing the hen into small, chunk measurement items. Attempt to get all of the items comparable measurement so they are going to cook dinner for a similar period of time. Place in a mixing bowl and toss / stir with the kashmiri chili powder, salt, lemon juice, greek yogurt, garam masala and cumin. Cowl and refrigerate for half-hour.

Whereas the hen marinates begin the rice. I like to make use of a rice cooker.

Subsequent make the gravy / curry. Finely chop the onions, mince the garlic, peel and mince the ginger. In a big pot or dutch oven soften the butter. Cook dinner the onions over medium / excessive warmth for 3-4 minutes till very gentle and brown. Toss within the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods. Then add the garlic and ginger and cook dinner for an additional minute. Scale back the warmth to low and stir within the tomato sauce, tomato paste, kashmiri chili powder, garam masala, cumin, slat and sugar. Cowl and permit to simmer when you cook dinner the hen.

Add the remaining butter to a big skillet and cook dinner the hen till it reaches 160°F internally (cooked via). In case you don’t have a meat thermometer, I like to recommend it, however you too can lower open the biggest/thickest piece to examine it’s finished. It must be white in colour with no pink remaining.

Returning to the gravy / curry. Take away the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods. Add the dried fenugreek leaves. Use an immersion blender (or you may pour right into a blender after which return to the pot) puree the sauce. Then stir within the cream and cooked hen. I often add 1/3 to 1/2 cup of water as properly, as we like our sauce extra on the skinny aspect. However that is as much as you. High with a chopped cilantro when serving.

Ideas and Substitutions

• I usually use boneless skinless hen breasts on this recipe however different cuts of hen can work simply as properly.
• Kashmiri chili powder is value in search of out and may be simply purchased on-line. However, if you happen to don’t have it you may substitute it for paprika and small quantity of cayenne.
• Inexperienced cardamom pods will not be all the time simply discovered on the grocery shops I usually store at, however they’re simply discovered on-line. I LOVE the scent of those and can add a pair to the rice whereas it cooks. However, if you happen to can’t discover them you may merely omit them from this recipe.
• Dried fenugreek leaves can simply be discovered on-line if you happen to can’t discover them in shops. If wanted you may substitute celery leaves or just omit them.

Extra Selfmade Curry Recipes

In case you are all for studying extra about conventional Indian delicacies I like to recommend Julie Sahni’s Introdution to Indian Cooking or Basic Indian Cooking.