Butter Chicken/ Murgh Makhani - Maunika Gowardhan

Chicken cooked in a spiced tomato gravy

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

1 ½ tbsp unsalted butter

5 green cardamom pods lightly crushed

1” cinnamon stick

4 cloves

1 small onion finely chopped

1 heaped tbsp grated ginger

2 green chillies slit lengthwise

1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder (or mild paprika)

½ tsp garam masala powder

3 tbsp tomato puree

150mls double cream

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp Kasoori methi/ fenugreek leaf powder

Salt to taste

Chopped coriander for garnish

UK curry lovers can’t seem to get enough of Chicken Tikka Masala; the one thing that gets the appetite going for most Indians undoubtedly has to be ‘Butter Chicken’ or Murgh Makhani.

Most Mughlai and Punjabi restaurants will serve you a plate of this goodness as do dhabas and street vendors. I could devour into an entire dish all by myself. Soft roomali rotis, naan or flaky parathas scooping up the thick spiced gravy of butter chicken along with succulent morsels of tandoori chicken with charred edges brings sheer delight with every mouthful. The heat/ spice of the dish combines with the rich gravy and slight sweetness that make it very hard to resist.

With most dishes that have fond memories it’s the taste that lingers on even years later. Cooking Butter Chicken at home has always for me been about getting the flavours just right and like I knew they should taste. This recipe is one that I can say is an absolute hit every single time with family and friends. There’s no calorie counting here I can tell you that now! There’s a copious quantity of butter (after all it is butter chicken!), cream and honey. But I assure you it’s worth every spoonful.

The chicken is marinated & grilled before adding it to the makhani sauce. Tandoori chicken pieces added to the sauce enhance the flavour of the overall dish. Follow my recipe for Tandoori Chicken and can even be done a few hours in advance. Once the chicken is cooked set aside and proceed to make the makhani sauce below. Fenugreek leaf powder is available at Asian stores or you can even grind dried fenugreek leaves.

Method

1. Heat a heavy bottom sauce pan and add the butter. Add green cardamom, cinnamon stick and cloves. Fry for 20 seconds, add the onions and sauté for 5-7 mins on medium heat until they take on a light brown colour.
2. Add the grated ginger and slit green chillies. Fry for a further minutes and add the chilli powder, garam masala powder along with the tomato puree. Stir well and cook for a couple of minutes. Now gradually add the double cream stirring continuously to mix all the spices with the cream. Simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes.
3. At this stage add a splash of water if the curry is too thick. Stir in the honey and the fenugreek powder. Season to taste. Now add the cooked chicken pieces and simmer the curry on a low heat for 8-10 minutes. Garnish with coriander and serve with roti or paratha.

Murgh Malai Tikka - Maunika Gowardhan

Chicken cooked in a marinade with yoghurt, cheese, coriander and chillies

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

550 gms chicken thighs cut to bite size pieces

1 tbsp malt vinegar

4 garlic cloves ground to a paste

1” ginger ground to a paste

1 ½ tbsp Greek yoghurt

50 mls double cream

1 heaped tsp corn flour

25 gms cheddar cheese grated

1 tsp green chilli paste (add a bit less if you prefer less spicy)

1 tsp finely chopped coriander leaves

Salt to taste

Melted butter for basting

Pinch garam masala powder

Pinch chaat masala powder or lime juice

Green chutney and onion rings to serve

Murgh Malai Tikkas to bring in some much needed sunshine! I long for spring and of course a gorgeous bright summer. It’s April and still cold, dreary with a chill in the air. Most days I feel like a hearty one pot steaming bowl of curry and some roti but even in this weather you can’t go amiss with warm creamy tikkas stuffed in fluffy naan with chutney.

Murgh Malai Tikkas are bite size pieces of chicken cooked in a creamy marinade with yoghurt, cheese, ginger, garlic and chilli. There is a balance of flavour from the creamy yoghurt along with the heat of the ground chilli paste and warmth from the garam masala powder. I use a little bit of corn flour to help bind the marinade; I find it clings to the chicken better. The marinating is done in two parts; first in vinegar, garlic and ginger which help tenderise the chicken pieces and then followed by adding the remaining ingredients.

This is an easy recipe and definitely one for a mid week meal. I use boneless chicken thighs as they cook really quick and stay moist. Finished with a pinch of garam masala and chaat masala it is delicious served with a green chutney and some bread.

Method

1. Marinate the chicken in the vinegar, garlic and ginger paste for 15-20 minutes.
   In a separate bowl mix together the greek yoghurt, double cream with the corn flour well making sure there are no lumps. Now add the grated cheese and mix well. Add the chilli paste, chopped coriander and salt.
2. Add this mix to the chicken and marinate 20 minutes or preferably overnight.
3. Soak wooden skewers in water. Preheat the grill onto a high setting. Shake off the excess marinade and thread the chicken pieces onto the skewers. Place them on a wire rack on the top shelf. Cook under the grill for 12-15 minutes. Baste with butter every 5 minutes and cook until the juices run clear and the chicken is cooked through slightly charred around the edges.
4. Take the chicken off the skewers and rest them over roti or naan. Sprinkle with a pinch of garam masala powder and chaat masala. Serve with a green chutney and onion salad.

Pistachio & Cardamom Kulfi - 

Maunika Gowardhan

Indian Ice cream

Ingredients

6 pints of whole milk

5 whole green cardamom pods lightly bashed

Seeds of 8 cardamom pods pounded to a powder

170gms sugar

30gms ground pistachios

1 tbsp rice flour

50gms coarsely chopped shelled pistachio

Indians have an affinity with milk based sweets richly flavoured with pistachios or even almonds. And I’m no exception. Kulfi comes in different flavours but I think my childhood memory has to be yearning for the ‘pista kulfi’ sold by street vendors or locally known as our local ‘kulfiwallah’. They are stored in earthen pots or moulds to provide the insulation in the hot summer months.

I remember making this last summer for a friends barbecue and we served it with some poached pears. Worked a treat! Some recipes might call for using green essence to give it the colour. If you coarsely grind a few pistachios mixing it in with the milk, it lends a really pretty green hue and also a delicious flavour to the overall dish. I know you might think it takes a long time to make but rest assured the results are to die for plus it stores very well. Though in my household it doesn’t last too long!

Method

1. Pour the milk in a heavy bottom pan along with the whole cardamom pods and bring to a boil. Make sure to stir continuously till it comes to a boil to prevent from burning or sticking to the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for about an hour and 15mins until it has thickened and reduced to half its original quantity.
2. At this point turn off the heat, discard the cardamom pods. Add the cardamom powder, sugar and the ground pistachio. Stir well until it has mixed in well. Dissolve the rice flour in a couple of tablespoons of the warm milk and tip it back into the pan. Stir well to prevent any lumps from forming.
3. Add half the chopped pistachios and leave to cool. Pour the mix into a large plastic box, cover and freeze. Make sure to whisk the kulfi mix an hour later. Repeat this process a couple of times and then leave it in to freeze solid overnight.
   Make sure to allow the kulfi to soften for 5-7minutes before serving. Scoop it out in bowls and garnish with the remaining chopped pistachio.

Kesar Ras Malai - Maunika Gowardhan

Milk dumplings soaked in cream with saffron

Ingredients

for the thickened milk;

800mls whole milk

200gms of condensed milk

100gms caster sugar

¼ tsp cardamom powder

A good pinch of saffron

For the milk dumplings/ paneer;

2 pints whole milk

juice of 2 lemons

for the syrup;

200gms caster sugar

400mls water

Pinch of saffron

Chopped pistachio and silver varkh to garnish

They say when you celebrate to mark an auspicious occasion; something sweet makes it even more special to share in the happiness and also the food. That’s exactly what I will be doing.

A very happy 1st birthday Cook in a Curry! We turn one and to say I’m excited, loving the experience whilst sampling delicious food would be an understatement. I love sharing not just my recipes but also experiences and feel fortunate to have a space where I can connect with the world at large. All revelling in the same passion of good food with a keen eye to try something different in their kitchen makes me feel like a vital part of the process.

For those who have been reading my site for a while would know that I do have a sweet tooth. So to be honest I couldn’t contain my delight doing a birthday post that encompasses the word – Kesar Ras Malai. A popular milk based dessert with dumplings soaked in thickened milk flavoured with cardamom and saffron. Sounds indulgent? Well that’s exactly what I’m aiming for with this recipe!

This dish is most certainly a labour of love; one that fills your senses once you have a spoonful of the milky soaked smooth dumplings laced with cream and the crunch of pistachio or almonds.

The dumplings are made with curdling milk solids, though if you prefer to omit the step a good option would be the use of ricotta cheese instead.

Method

1. Get all the milk sauce ingredients together in a heavy bottom sauce pan. Bring to a gentle boil for 1 hour 30mins or so until it has reduced by half and is a bit thick. Turn the heat off and cool. Refrigerate until the milk dumplings are ready.
2. For the dumplings, bring the whole milk to a gentle boil in a heavy bottom non stick sauce pan. Now add the lemon juice and leave it to boil for 30seconds or so until you start to see it curdling. Take it off the heat and strain it through a muslin. Rinse the curdled mix under cold water; this helps it to come together and also takes away any sour taste. Keep the muslin on a sieve and leave to drain through for an hour to get rid of any excess water.
3. In the meanwhile, bring all the ingredients for the syrup together and bring to a boil.
   Knead the dumpling mix well to bring it together. Divide into 6 equal portions and flatten. Tip them into the syrup and cook for 7-10minutes until they are firm.
4. Remove them from the syrup and cool slightly. Add them to the chilled milk sauce to soak in the thickened milk flavours. Chill the Ras malai for 4-5 hours. To serve put the dumplings in a bowl with the sauce. Topped with chopped pistachios and silver foil.