My Unconventional Indian 'Butter X' Sauce
a roasted variation on the traditional makhani sauce to pair with any protein
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The world loves Butter Chicken. Or at least that’s what it seems like on social media where all the influencers are making this dish since it gets them so many views. I get it. What’s not to like? It’s a scrumptious spicy creamy dish that screams fancy yet comfort food in the same bite. I love it too. But I also love to go beyond it. A few months ago I was inspired to make a Green Sauce Butter Chicken that came out so good it is in regular rotation in my kitchen. Last week I got inspired to make the traditional dish, but with a slightly more hands-free variation aligned with my laziness that day.
I wasn’t planning on writing about it because let’s face it, do we really need a millionth Butter Chicken post? But when I posted the three versions - Butter Chicken & Butter Tofu Peas & Butter Chicken Meatballs - on my twitter/X page, it got rave reviews and several requests for the recipe.
Since I am a people pleaser, here I am, writing out the recipe (even though I generally cook with my heart & eyes). Enjoy!
The traditional version of Murgh Makhani, literally translating to Chicken Buttery, builds flavors in a pan by roasting whole spices, tomatoes, onions, garlic, cashews in oil and then pureeing them. The chicken is marinated in yogurt and spices to be pan-fried and then married to the blended sauce with addition of butter. The modern versions add heavy cream to the finished sauce, which does not exist in the traditional dish.
Despite my Indian heritage, I only recently learned that makhani in a dish does not necessarily mean butter. It means thick & creamy. For example, the traditional daal makhani (beluga lentils buttery) builds the creaminess due to slow long cooking and release of mucilage, which this lentil is specifically high in.
My unconventional version takes a more hands-off approach, uses less fat overall, doesn’t use any butter, and has more spices for a multi-dimensional flavor.
Andee’s Makhani Sauce for your favorite protein
Oven Roast Vegetables: I was inspired to roast veggies in the oven purely because I wanted more couch time and less stand-by-the-stove time. I’m sure you can relate. I roasted tomatoes (2 large, ~250g), bell pepper (1-2 large, ~250g), onions (1 large, ~100g) at 400C for 1-1.5 hour, turning them half way.
Dry Roast Whole Spices: On low-medium heat, I added cumin seeds (1 tbsp), fennel seeds (0.5 tbsp), mustard seeds (0.5 tbsp), dried fenugreek leaves (1 tbsp), cardamom pods (3-4), cinnamon bark (~0.5 tbsp equivalent), bay leaf (1-2). It took about 5-6 mins while stirring regularly for these to become fragrant.
Prepare the Sauce: While the vegetables were roasting I soaked 10 cashews in 0.5 cups of water directly in the blender. Once the roasted veggies were slightly cooled, I added them all to the blender (de-seed the bell peppers first). I added the dry roasted whole spices, 6-12 oz of extra soft/silken tofu (it really helps with the creaminess!), chopped garlic (2 tbsp), chopped ginger (1 tbsp), chopped green chilies (1 tbsp, to taste), and 1 cup of water. All of this goodness was blended into a creamy silky sauce. Blend time will depend on your blender, mine took about 3-4 mins to get it to a consistency I like (with a little bit of texture). The color of the sauce will depend on the vegetables you used. In the first I had red bell pepper so my sauce was more red. In the second batch I had yellow and orange bell pepper so my sauce was more orange.
I transferred the sauce into a pot and added spice powders - turmeric (0.5 tbsp), cumin (1 tbsp), coriander (1 tbsp), mango (1 tbsp), Kashmiri red chili (1 tbsp), garam masala (0.5 tbsp), & salt (to taste). I cooked this on low heat for 15-20 mins and if it got too thick, I added half a cup of water at a time.
Add Protein of Choice: My first attempt was with chicken thighs, which I marinated in tandoori style and then cooked in the pan to 80% done-ness prior to adding the blended sauce. My second version was with Tofu and Peas. I pressed the tofu (15 oz), cut into pieces, and microwaved for 2 mins per side to remove some more of the moisture. I added the tofu pieces and frozen green peas (250g) into the blended sauce. I let both the proteins simmer in the sauce for 15-20 mins so the flavors can coat the protein properly. My third version was with ground chicken. I added spices and an egg yolk to 1 lb of ground meat and formed & dropped the meatballs directly into the simmering makhani sauce.
Finish & Enjoy: I balanced the sauce flavors with some lemon juice (~ 0.5 - 1 tbsp) & sugar (~0.5 tbsp) (optional: butter or cream (1 tbsp)). The dish was garnished with generous amount of hand crushed fenugreek leaves (1 tbsp) that gives it a most wonderful aroma. A nice trick is to quickly dry roast of the fenugreek leaves to make them even more fragrant and then crush them on top of the dish.
Having made this 3 times now, I am addicted! This lazy, healthy makhani resulted in comfort velvety bowls of spicy goodness that were divine when paired with roti (a whole wheat flatbread) or basmati rice.
Will you try this lazy makhani sauce?
Dish Debrief
Is this my winner or disaster? winner!!
How would I rate this dish out of 10? 10/10
What would I change next time? Play around with veggies to roast
Would I make this again? oh yes
This looks delicious! I’m going to give it a try this weekend.