How NYC’s Best Butter Chicken is Made | Made to Order | Bon Appétit

butter

🥗Healthier: olive oil

💰Cheaper: margarine

Olive oil reduces saturated fat while maintaining flavor.

cream

🥗Healthier: coconut milk

💰Cheaper: milk + cornstarch

Coconut milk offers a similar creaminess with fewer calories.

yogurt

🥗Healthier: Greek yogurt

💰Cheaper: sour cream

Greek yogurt adds protein while maintaining creaminess.

chicken

💰Cheaper: tofu

Tofu provides a vegetarian protein alternative.

Introduce the dish and the restaurant context.

Explain the concept of marinating chicken in two parts: initial flavor infusion and moisture extraction.

Add ginger-garlic paste, red chili powder, and salt to raw chicken thigh meat for the first marination.

Let the chicken marinate for 45 minutes to 1 hour, then drain excess moisture.

Heat mustard oil until smoking, then cool it down to room temperature.

Add red chili powder and garam masala powder to the cooled mustard oil and mix.

Incorporate ginger-garlic paste and salt into the mustard oil mixture.

Use hung yogurt or full fat Greek yogurt to coat the chicken, ensuring a thick consistency.

Marinate the chicken in the yogurt mixture for a minimum of 2 hours, ideally overnight.

Prepare the sauce by combining ripe tomatoes, ginger-garlic paste, sliced garlic, red chili powder, and butter in a pot.

Add cardamom seeds, cilantro stems, green chili, and dried red chili to the pot.

Tie the spices in a small bag for easy removal later.

Boil the tomato mixture until everything is cooked through, similar to making tomato soup.

Remove the spice bag from the boiled mixture.

Blend the sauce until smooth and strain it to remove any chunks, ensuring a fine consistency.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Dietary

Allergens