Chicken Makhni

A few introductory remarks

Most people love to tamper with recipes and then wonder why it did not turn out the way it did. This one is down to a science, don’t tamper with it . Understand the purpose of this dish, it was created to elicit some form of a wonderful reaction to the first morsel. Hence this dish is decadent and not to be wasted on a Monday with no purpose unless you are depressed.  Finally, don’t be stingy with the butter.

A Few tips
Understand what deghi Mirch is. This makes a world of a difference when it comes to this dish. Deghi mirch is a distinctive Indian spice made from a blend of colourful red capsicums and Kashmiri red chillies. It adds a mild heat and a deep red-orange colour. If you don’t have this chilli powder and the ready pack you are using is super hot then cut down the chilly powder to 1 heaped teaspoon or 3/4 tablespoon. Understand the purpose. You want this to have a great colour but not to be over spicy.

Initially while cooking, you will find the the gravy spicy. Relax, the honey and fresh cream are in the recipe for a reason. You can adjust the heat with these sweeter ingredients. If you like you could add ready cooked chicken tikka instead of cooking the chicken but that’s your choice.

Chicken – 1/2 kg (or ready made chicken tikka)
Tomatoes – 500 grams
Cardamom -7
Garlic – 8 cloves
Ginger – 1 1/2 inch piece
Red chilli powder (Deghi) – 1 1/2 tbsp (see note above)
Salted Butter – 1/2 cup
Kasoori methi – 1 1/2 teaspoon
Mace – a pinch
Garam masala powder – 1 teaspoon
Honey – 1 tablespoon
Fresh cream – 1 cup