By Mango and Winter Arc

Butter chicken, traditionally known as murgh makhani (pronounced [moor-muh-KHUHN-ee), is an Indian dish originating in Delhi.  It is a type of curry made from chicken with a spiced tomato and butter (makhan) sauce.  Its sauce is known for its rich texture.  It is similar to chicken tikka masala, which uses a tomato paste.

Ingredients 

• 1 tablespoon oil

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely minced or grated (or use paste)

• 2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced or crushed

• 1 ½ pounds about 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into ¾-inch chunks

• 4 tablespoons tomato paste, or 8 oz can of tomato sauce

• 1 tablespoon garam masala

• 1 teaspoon chili powder, or paprika, adjust to taste

• 1 teaspoon Fenugreek (can be powder or seeds)

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp black pepper

• 1 cup heavy cream

  • If you don’t have this, you can substitute it for half & half or low-fat yogurt

• Hot cooked rice and naan for serving

Method

1. Heat a large skillet or medium saucepan over medium-high heat. 

2. Add the oil, butter, and onions and cook onions down until lightly golden, about 3-4 minutes. 

3. Add ginger and garlic and let cook for 30 seconds.  Be sure to stir it so it doesn’t burn.

4. Add the chicken, tomato paste, and other spices. Cook for 5-6 minutes or until everything is cooked thoroughly.

5. Add the heavy cream and simmer for 8-10 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  

6. Serve over Basmati rice or with naan.

7. Enjoy!

Are you waiting for a taste of that Indian culture? Do you like something spicy? Do you want to finally cherish the heart of India? Then through these steps of how to make the most famous dish of India, you will have the best Diwali ever! 

Introducing…….CHICKEN BIRYANI: The spiciest dish ever tasted.

Recipe for Chicken Biryani

Ingredients

1. 900 gms of chicken

Marination

1. ½ teaspoonful of pepper powder

2. 1 teaspoonful of chilli powder

3. 1 ½ teaspoonful of coriander powder

4. ¼ teaspoonful of turmeric powder

5. 1 tablespoon of lemon juice

6. Salt

Masala

1. 5 large onion (finely sliced)

2. 2 ½ tablespoon of ginger and garlic (each crushed)

3. 5 green chilli (crushed)

4. 2 big tomato (sliced)

5. 3 tablespoons of coriander leaves (chopped)

6. 2-3 tablespoons of yogurt 

7. 1 tablespoon of Garam Masala

8. ½ cup of water

9. 2 tablespoons of cashew nuts

10. Oil/Ghee

11. Salt

For Rice

1. 3 cups of Basmati rice

2. 5 ¼ cups of water

3. 6 Cardamom

4. 6 Cloves

5. 2 medium to big pieces of cinnamon

6. 2 small to medium sized Bay leaves

7. 1 large onion (chopped)

8. 1 ½ tablespoons of ginger and garlic (each crushed)

9. 2 tablespoons of lemon juice

10. 2 green chilli (crushed)

11. 3 tablespoons of coriander leaves (chopped)

12. 2 tablespoons of mint leaves (chopped)

13. 3 tablespoons of ghee

14. Salt

For garnishing

1. 2 tablespoons of each cashew nuts and raisins

2. 1 large onion (sliced finely)

3. 3 tablespoons of coriander leaves (chopped)

4. 2 tablespoons of ghee

5. 3 tablespoons of mint leaves (chopped)

6. Boiled eggs for garnishing (optional)

Instructions

Masala Preparation

1. Clean the chicken pieces and make small gashes. Marinate the cleaned chicken pieces with the marination ingredients and keep for half an hour.

2. Grind tomato and coriander leaves to a smooth paste.

3. Soak the cashew nuts in hot water (2 tablespoons) for 5 to 10 minutes and grind it into a smooth paste.

4. Shallow-fry the chicken pieces in oil/ghee until they turn golden brown and half-cooked.

5. Add the finely sliced onion to the same oil/ghee (in which the chicken is fried) and cook until it becomes brown.

6. Add crushed ginger, garlic, and green chili, and cook it for 3 to 4 minutes.

7. Add the tomato and coriander paste and cook it until the oil separates. Add garam masala and cook for 1 minute.

8. Add yogurt and salt and mix well.

9. Add the fried chicken pieces and combine well. Make sure that the chicken pieces are coated well with the masala. Add ½ cup of water and cover and cook the chicken.

10. When the chicken is almost done and the gravy has dried, add the cashew paste. Cook it until the chicken is done.

Rice Preparation

1. Clean, wash, and drain the rice. Heat ghee and add spices(cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf). Fry for a min and add chopped onion, crushed ginger, garlic, and green chilli. Stir well until it gives out an aroma, for 4-5 mins.

2. Add rice and stir for 5 minutes

3. Add salt, lemon juice, and 5 ¼ cups of water. Bring the water to boil, reduce the flame to lowest, and cook until rice is done, around 7 mins.

Layering the Biryani

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees 10 minutes before baking the biryani. Apply some ghee to a baking dish. Put one layer of rice in the dish. Sprinkle some chopped coriander & mint leaves, fried onion, cashews, and raisins (if using), and drizzle some ghee. On top of that, spread some chicken masala. Repeat the process until the masala and rice are finished. The top layer should be of rice. Cover the dish with a wet cloth. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 mins.

Garnishing

1. Heat ghee/oil in a pan and fry the cashews & raisins. Remove them from the pan & in the remaining ghee/oil fry the onions until it becomes golden brown. Drain the excess ghee on a paper towel & keep it aside.

2. Garnish the baked biryani with fried cashews, raisins, onions, boiled eggs, chopped mint and coriander leaves. Serve hot with pickle, raita & papad.

Voila! Your biryani is finished. Now put it on a table, put some on your plate, and dig in! Happy Diwali!

Chicken Samosas

By Ayush Nair

Are you in the mood for something to really spice up your tongue?

Do you need the heat in these chilly November times?

Well look no further, because chicken samosas are the best snacks for you!  In this article, I will show you how to make these oily and greasy snacks step by step!

Ingredients

• Dough Ingredients

  • All-purpose flour

  • Salt

  • Vegetable Oil

  • Water

• Filling Ingredients

  • Onion

  • Ginger

  • Garlic

  • Salt

  • Minced Chicken (Ground chicken breast or thigh)

  • Ground Cumin Seeds

  • Coriander Powder

  • Chili Powder

  • Garam Masala

  • Frozen green peas

  • Green Chilies 

  • (Optional:  If you want more spice you could also put minced fresh cilantro as well)

Equipment

• Mixing bowl: for preparing the dough

• Rolling pin: to roll out the dough

• Frying pan: you will need a large skillet for cooking the filling

• Pastry brush: to apply oil or water on the dough edges

• Deep fryer or pot: for frying the samosas to golden perfection

Method

• Making the samosa dough

  1.  Flatten the balls. Then slice the oblong rounds down the middle to make half-moons. Take one half in your hand, brush some water on the edges, and fold the edges in to form an open cone. Add some filling to the cone and then seal the edges.

• Making the samosa filling

  1.  The filling is a tasty mixture of sautéed onions, ginger, garlic and spices along with minced chicken. You will need 100% willpower to shovel it into the samosa dough and not directly into your mouth.

• Frying the samosas

  1.  Deep fry the samosas and don’t get scared to fry them.

Enjoy this amazing delicacy!