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4.8 from 12 votes

Butter Chicken without Cream (Murgh Makhani)

An insanely delicious butter chicken recipe, without the cream. So it's a healthier version, but with all the flavour. This will be a family favourite, guaranteed!

Course: Side Dish , Main Course , Dinner , Others
Cuisine: Asian , gluten-free

Ingredients

Marinade
  • 1 lb bone-in or boneless chicken boneless chicken cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 3.5 oz of plain yoghurt
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp of Kashmiri chilli powder this is how you get a red colour that turns orange, but if you cannot find this, sub it with 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp of salt
Curry
  • 1 inch ginger sliced
  • 3 cloves of garlic sliced or minced
  • 3/4 cup of cashews soaked overnight
  • 1/2 a large onion sliced
  • 1 tbsp of garam masala
  • 300 g of canned diced tomatoes
  • 2 tsp of sugar
  • 1 tsp of salt
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2 tsp chilli powder more if you like it spicy
  • 2 tbsp lemon/lime juice
  • 1/2 stick of butter OR 4 tbsp vegetable oil
Cheat's Garam Masala (if you cannot find authentic garam masala powder)
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp of ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/2 star of anise or 1/4 tsp ground anise seeds

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Mix the chicken with the marinade ingredients and keep it covered in the fridge overnight. Return it to room temperature before cooking.
  2. On very high heat, heat 2 tbsp of butter and add the chicken when the butter is hot (leaving out as much of the marinade as possible - but don't discard the marinade). Let the chicken brown on one side, and only cook partially and leave it aside. (You can also do this on a broiler tray in the oven to mimic a Tandoor oven) - You can opt out of this step of browning the chicken, if you like.
  3. Grind the cashews (without the water), onion, ginger and garlic together to form a paste. Set aside.
  4. In a saucepan, heat 2 tbsp of butter and add all the spices, and then mix for about 10 secs till you can smell them.
  5. Add the diced tomatoes with sugar and salt and cook on medium-high while stirring to reduce the liquid content. You want to cook out the raw tomato flavour as much as possible.
  6. When the tomato has reduced and looks thick, add the ground cashew mix and the lemon/lime juice and colouring (if using). Stir until the gravy/sauce becomes thick and smooth.
  7. Add the browned chicken (or the uncooked chicken if you skipped step 2) with the remaining marinade and stir through. Let it simmer (covered) for about 20-30 minutes (for big bone-in pieces) or 10-15 minutes (for 1 inch pieces). Add more water if it's too thick.
  8. Optional - add another heaping tablespoon of yoghurt and mix it in.
  9. Serve while hot, with some whisked yoghurt drizzled on top, and some chopped cilantro.
  10. Serve with steamed rice or naan.