Chicken Makhanwala - Comfort food on a rainy day | Chicken Makhanwala

As I have already spoken about being married into a family of food aficionados, every person including my husband and even my father-in-law is a great cook with his/her own specialty. This post is about a recipe from my brother-in-law's goody bag. He is exceptional when it comes to preparing non-vegetarian dishes and is our in-house chicken/mutton/pork expert. He never follows any recipe and cooks from the heart, which is perhaps the reason why food cooked by him turns out brilliant most of the time.

Last evening, as we welcomed the belated first shower of monsoon, our plans to go out for dinner were foiled. As we were all perplexed by the heavy shower, dear Brother-in-law (let's call him RD) decided to be the saviour of the evening and made this version of Butter Chicken (which he calls Chicken Makhanwala) for us. No points for guessing that it was finger lickin' good!

So here is the recipe that I have taken from him for the toothsome Chicken Makhanwala, which novices like me could breeze through.

CHICKEN MAKAHANWALA RECIPE

Preparation time : 2-3 hours                          Cooking time : 50 mins
Serves : 6

Ingredients

Chicken - 1 kg

Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Green chillies - 3 (sliced)
Tomatoes - 6 (puréed)
Cumin powder - 2 tsp
Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Salt - as per taste
Water - 1 cup
Milk - 1/2 cup
Cream - 5 tbsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Kasuri Methi - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves - finely chopped (for garnishing)


For Marination
Curd - 2 tbsp
Salt - 3 tsp
Red chilli powder - 2 tsp


Method

1. Take the chicken along with all ingredients listed under marination list in a bowl. Mix well and keep aside for at least 2-3 hours.
2. When done, heat butter in a pan on very low heat and as butter melts, add the garlic paste and cook.
3. As the raw smell of garlic goes, add sliced green chillies, cumin powder, red chilli powder and salt.
4. Add 1 tbsp of water and mix it well.
5. After 2-3 mins, add tomato purée and cook on medium flame till oil starts separating.
6. Now add 1/2 cup of water and sugar and stir.
7. Once the gravy comes to a boil, add the chicken pieces. Cover and cook till chicken becomes tender.
8. Once chicken is cooked, lower the flame (you can even remove from heat) and add milk. Stir well and cook for a minute.
9. Add cream, mix it all well.
10. Now add garam masala and kasuri methi. Mix well.
11. Transfer the contents of the pan into a serving bowl and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
12. Chicken Makhanwala is ready to be served.

Note: 

1. The milk should be kept at room temperature before adding to the gravy.
2. Be very careful when adding milk to the gravy. Lower the flame and you can even switch the flame off as high heat would cause the milk to curdle.