I have been meaning to try out the Chicken Makhani recipe for quite some time. So, I read several recipes online yesterday and everyone was a bit different. Some were using cream, others half & half and there were some using whipping cream. Other ingredients were a little different too and as I like to work with what I have in the fridge I just made my own recipe. The only thing I bought was some half n’ half (because it was cheaper than whipping cream) and some food color that I thought might come in handy later as well.
So, I ground a medium size onion into paste. Cooked it in a stick of margarine on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Then I added a tsp of chili power, dhania powder and garam masala and a bay leaf and cooked some more. Then two pieces of crushed garlic, a small piece of crushed ginger and a well chopped small jalapeño. Cooked that mixture for another 2~3 minutes before putting in a single can of tomato paste (about 115 grams or so). As the paste was thick to smear, I had to put in about half a cup of water and let it cook for maybe 5~7 minutes. As most recipes required a lot more butter/margarine, I decided to add 2~3 tsp of vegetable oil. I regret it now as it never really mixed well and in the end came out on the top. So, I will advise against it. Maybe half a stick more of margarine or butter would have been better.
Most recipes online required that the chicken be cooked or baked separately. I had already baked some chicken the night before with the tandori recipe left over. But as it was a day old it didn’t quite taste the same. Next time I will boil the chicken with some salt & pepper and then put it in. Boiled one should be more tender than a day old baked one.
Anyway, the chicken was then added to the sauce and cooked for maybe 5 minutes before adding the half n’ half. For two big pieces of boneless breast I put in about 450ml of half n’ half. The color turned out great but I couldn’t resist adding in some red color drops, which again was a bad idea as it made the sauce too dark. Once this final mixture has been cooked for a good 7~10 minutes on medium heat, 1 tsp of sugar (yep chinii) was added and then cooked for another 3~4 minutes.
but it looks like butter chicken , i didnt read his recpie ..
n i know abt the baked chicken , i made it widout baked chicken last time (cz i was being lazy) n it turned out okay ....
lots of ready made meals, pasta, curry sauces and soups contain sugar and ive lway been ablr to taste it through the savoury flavour and have never liked it.
it's really simple..and sounds delicious. i'll try it some day soon..but i am thinking about using vegetable ghee. I always used vegetable oil since as a kid and never wanted to use ghee..but when i tried using it in special dishes about 2 years back..it made a big difference..so, i think i'll use that.
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Heard of a Trek?