Butter Chicken: An Accidental Mastertaste

Hello all, my name is Heather Kendall and I am doing a guest blog on behalf of Chef Anjalee, of the fantastic Kirkland Indian fusion restaurant,Anju.

Mmm, the decadent taste and texture of butter chicken (aka murgh makhani). This tomato, cream and butter sauce based dish’s flavor resonates with tip-toers into the realm of Indian food and connoisseurs alike. Personally, when I have really good butter chicken, paired with naan and palak paneer, I’m in foodie heaven. So, when asked to do a guest blog, complete with recipes, for Anju (and with no little input from Chef Anjalee herself) butter chicken is the first dish that sprang to mind.

Want to invent a perfect dish? Recycle!

Interestingly, doing a little research for this blog, I found that butter chicken is a fairly recent addition to the Indian pantheon of amazing dishes. Like many wonderful inventions, from Coke to plastic to the color mauve (which can be seen on Anju’s walls today!) (1) butter chicken came about as a chance mixing of ingredients rather than an intentional attempt to create an iconic flavor.

In 1950, chefs at Delhi’s Moti Mahal restaurant used to re-use the chicken juices left in the marinade trays by mixing in butter and tomato. They started to add this mix of trash turned treasure with chicken bits and voila! one of the tastiest Indian dishes around was born. So tasty was it that the prime minister at the time insisted that this humble rooted concoction be served at all of his state banquets, where its fan base of notables grew and grew. Quickly, this dish spread from being the talk of Delhi to being known around the world. (2)

Do-It-Yourself Decadence

Now that you know the wildfire spread type origins of this fantastic dish, I bet you are hankering to make your own. Well, this article will not disappoint on that front. I’m going to provide you with a recipe straight from Chef Anjalee herself, that is really good for people just getting started cooking this dish. I’m also going to provide a link to my favorite recipe I’ve used from Allrecipe for butter chicken plus some notes I’ve made on it through trial-and-error.

Delicious and Beautiful Butter Chicken (Cilantro, 2010)

Chef Anjalee says, “One out of every three phone calls for take-out at Anju is for butter chicken. It’s great to brag about how many of these I sell per week, but what I’m about to do might cause some damage or maybe not until all my customers prefect this at home. I’m sharing the secret to making your own butter chicken. Now, before I proceed further I want readers to be aware that there is more than one version to this recipe. This one is probably is the easiest. So, get your note pad out to jot this now, or just memorize this short list.” 

• Ten pieces of quarter size boneless chicken pieces.
• 1 tbl ginger/garlic paste (indian store)
• 1 tsp garam masala (indian store)
• 1 12oz can tomato sauce
• 1 can condensed milk or 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbl butter
• Chili powder per taste
• 1/2 cup water
• Salt to taste

Method:
Melt butter. Add garam masala, wait 5 sec. Add chicken and coat it with the spice and butter mix. Add tomato sauce and salt. Cook until it’s reduced to a thick sauce. Now add the milk or cream, and cook on medium until the chicken is cooked. Add chili powder and simmer for additional 5 min.

When you are ready to jazz up the flavor to the next level: Add coriander powder, fenugreek leaves,  and a few green cardamon, cinnamon stick and bay leaves.

Heather’s favorite at home recipe

My personal favorite recipe that I have tried to date (and I’ve only made this a dozen times or so, so am no expert on that front – but I’ve eaten it A LOT) is located here:http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Makhani-Indian-Butter-Chicken/Detail.aspx It is more complex, in terms of having a lot of ingredients. However, it still has only a few steps to put them all together. Plus, having so many ingredients, it is possible to mix it up in a variety of ways to make very different flavors and textures. Here are some notes/ideas:

• Having everything measured out and in step groupings beforehand really helps make cooking this dish simpler for me.
• I like to add cashew powder to give a creamy, nutty, salty, sweet flavor and smooth, complex texture. In fact, cashew powder adds a lot to many Indian dishes, for me.
• Sometimes I like to use red pepper flakes or even sweet chili oil in lieu of the cayenne and black pepper to provide a little more of a kick and increase the flavor complexity.
• If you like greek style sauces, adding cinnamon to this dish can add a really interesting depth to the flavor.
• Using chicken thigh, chicken breast, or even bone in chicken pieces like drumsticks works well with this. The bone in chicken will be tender enough to slide right off the bone!
• If you like thicker sauces, try a little extra cornstarch or cashew powder or mix in some tomato paste. On top of interesting textural changes, this will make it easier to keep on your naan or whatever else you choose to pair it with, and even make it easier should you go the traditional finger eating route.
• Instead of ginger garlic paste, I usually use minced garlic and ginger powder, because that is what I have around – works great and lets me control the garlic more than the mix. (I like a lot of garlic!) Also, you can make your own paste by putting garlic and ginger root in a blender or food processer if you like, and that works great plus is customized to your tastes.
• Sesame oil provides a decent alternative to the peanut oil. It is lighter weight and less flavorful, so the rest of the ingredients shine through a bit more. (Still, peanut oil is mighty tasty!) Another good alternative is coconut oil, which is just as flavorful, but sweeter than peanut oil.
• If you don’t have plain yogurt, and like sour cream, it can serve as a good substitute.

It can sing in the mouth, but does it have any other moves?

Another fun thing about butter chicken sauce recipes is that the sauce is both delicious and versatile. This dish can be paired with a wide variety of other Indian fare and base items. For instance, it tastes great on top of basmati rice, paired with plain, spinach or garlic naan, on crisp roti, or in or on pita like paratha. Having palak panner, aloo tikka or vegetable masala with it can provide a complete and tasty meal. If you try this at Anju, make sure to have the ginger tea with it, as the tingly sensation of the tea can really bring out the flavors of all of these dishes.

Pairability is not the only versatile aspect of this dish. In fact, Chef Anjalee recommends using lightly grilled shrimp with it, in lieu of chicken. Another common and fabulous dish, called chicken tikka masala, an Indian dish which actually originates in England, can be made with the same sauce, but by grilling the chicken tikka style before combining it with the sauce. So, if you have people over asking for both, it is pretty easy to provide the variety, and maybe even try out that shrimp option! (Chicken tikka masala can also be made with no butter or cream, or even without tomatoes. In fact, the only sauce requirement is that it be creamy and either reddish or orange-ish. So, when you visit England, its taste, texture, smell and color can vary substantially from place to place. However, a common way to make it, particularly in America is to use a butter chicken sauce with the specially prepared chicken. Not surprisingly, it is my favorite way that I’ve tasted to date, though I still prefer the softer butter chicken prepared chicken texture and flavor.)

Now that we have been over the ABC’s of butter chicken, it is time to go try it for yourself. Enjoy a hearty meal of it prepared by Chef Anjalee’s expert hands at Anju or try a recipe or two at home. From easy to complex, this recipe is delicious and fun, whatever your ingredient interpretation. So, treat yourself tonight!

Bibliography

1. Discovery Communications, LLC. Top 10 Accidental Inventions. Science Channel. [Online] 2011. [Cited: June 8, 2011.] http://science.discovery.com/brink/top-ten/accidental-inventions/inventions.html.

2. Cilantro. Butter Chicken/Murgh Makhani. Cilantro: Cooking with Patience. [Online] 2010. [Cited: June 8, 2011.] http://www.cilantroonline.com/2010/02/butter-chickenmurgh-makhani.html.

Get creative with yogurt!

It’s not uncommon to go to an Indian home and get served a yogurt drink instead of a cold soda. The most commonly known yogurt drink, Lassi,

Fancy Yoghurt Variants

has gained fame all over the world, but is not so famous in common Indian households.

Instead, yogurt has a different variation from the north to the south of India. In Southern India the most common yogurt drink is called More (watered down yogurt). It’s nothing fancy, but definitely quenches the poor man’s hunger and cools the body from scorching mid-afternoon heat. A fancier version of More has finely chopped cilantro, green chili & red onion. Many in the Western world can’t really imagine drinking a totally diluted yogurt with these condiments, but I don’t blame them, it’s an acquired taste.

Next time when you trying to cut down on your sugar indulgence or just want to make a change to your daily liquid diet, try this yogurt drink. When summer rolls around in India you can find the salted version of the yogurt smoothie served almost in every restaurant, street stalls and outside of every school. Since refrigeration was rare luxury back in the days, simple clay pots were used to keep the yogurt chilled. In Northern India, they bury the clay pot in a sand pit and cover it to the neck of the pot so the ground continues to keep the yogurt drink cool all day long.

Another most favorable fame for yogurt among Indian taste is raita — yogurt dressed with cucumber and seasoned with roasted cumin and cilantro. This flavorful, refreshing condiment complements just about everything: grilled meat, plain or flavored rice, and almost all types of salad. Try this when you are bored with bottled salad dressing, and to keep it simple and healthy.

Raita

2 cups plain whipped yogurt to smoothie consistency

1 cucumber shredded or chopped finely

1 table spoon finely shredded carrot

1 tsp of crushed roasted cumin

Dash of salt

There are even fancier versions of sweet lassi that calls for exotic fruit flavors like pineapple, passion fruit and coconut — the list goes on. These variations can definitely compliment your Indian dinner or lunch, making it more exotic.

So, going back to the topic of why yogurt is not so boring, aside from the health benefit or quenching your thirst with sweet or salt, there is more to lassi than just a drink. Yogurt is so flexible that you can be creative in ways to use it. Try some yogurt-based salad dressing. Add pinch of cumin to a whipped yogurt and some fresh chopped cilantro — it’s yummy. Instead of cream add whipped yogurt to curries or for marinating.

Three essential curry ingredients

Hello, all – Anju here.  Welcome to my first topical blog post!

The general rule is to write what you know. So, for this post, my first big post, I’ll be sharing about one of the things I know best and am most passionate about getting just right: the essentials needed to make a curry just so.

   Curries have been around for a long time. In fact, the first similar dish is thought to have been made in Ancient Mesopotamia. Along the way it has been many things to many peoples. As far as we Indians are concerned, the word curry probably comes from a Tamil word, kari, which means “spiced sauce.” (1) Today, curry can refer to just about any spiced gravy, and a wide and delicious variety exists; unique from region to region, restaurant to restaurant, generation to generation, family to family.

Mouthwatering Egg Masala

   With that level of variety, with so many ways abounding in the world past and present to make a curry that sings in the mouth, there are really only three essentials that a good cook needs to watch out for. These are: the desired aroma, desired flavor, and the sauce. This post won’t cover all possibilities in-depth, but will give a few good tips for applying these three essentials to make a good Indian curry.

   Curry recipes often look complex, consisting of a large number of ingredients – so many that they can seem overwhelming to balance. I can vouch for the complicated looks of the recipes being hard to get over, both from previous personal experience and working with friends in the kitchen. Sometimes curries do not come out to their liking, but not because they lack the skill. Curries were cooked long before modern methods were available by many people of varying experience, after all. Instead, they do not come out right because people overcomplicate them mentally. Basically, any good curry will involve about the same process from start to finish. Get used to cooking one with a small ingredient list and you’ll be ready to cook most any curry.

   To begin, let us start with the aroma. Aroma is an especially essential part of Indian cooking. A very good place to start getting good aromas in your food is by using a combination of whole spices called garam masala. If you’ve ever wondered what makes basmati rice at an Indian restaurant smell so good, it is probably this mix, typically of cinnamon, green cardamom, cloves and bay leaves, that is the secret! Going a step further, to create even more aromatic curries, try adding mace, fennel, cumin, peppercorn and star anise. (To use these whole spices, my favorite method is to temper them in a little hot oil and pour it into a simmering curry or to the water for making aromatic basmati rice. If you want the flavors to be infused in your curry with the aromas, then temper the spices in hot oil and add ginger & garlic paste.) These ingredients have never failed me, and are fun to play around with, to get to know your own preferred mixes.

   Everyone’s palate is very different, and there is a curry to suit each one. For most curries, a very good flavor base will involve four main ground spices: chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and turmeric powder. If you struggle with proportions of these spices, try this never fail formula: Chili and cumin powders in equal portions, coriander should be double the amount of these and you’ll just want a pinch of turmeric, most likely. This combination will make an excellent base curry powder for most ingredients.

   Finally, the sauce is very important in all curries. It will deliver your carefully constructed flavors and aromas to the taste buds of those eating your delicious food. Using a creamy base, like whipping cream and/or coconut milk, will bring out the aroma and provide a light flavor to the mix. Using a tomato based sauce will cause the sauce to have a more robust flavor and typically make it less aromatic. Using whipped yoghurt instead of cream or coconut milk will bring a tartness to the curry while keeping the aromas paramount and helping to highlight the flavors of the ground and whole spices mentioned above.

   So, next time you are making curry, don’t worry too much about the long list. Just focus on these essentials and play around with your mixes. Find what suits you best and you’ll be well on your way to becoming a master curry chef.

Bibliography

1. n.d. The Origins of ‘Curry’. CURRY, SPICE & ALL THINGS NICE. [Online] n.d. [Cited: April 30, 2011.] http://www.menumagazine.co.uk/book/curryhistory.html.