Creamy, rich, flavourful and finger licking Butter Chicken!

Want to impress your family and guests? Then this is all time famous Indian gravy must be on your menu. Serve this with a basket of roti or jeera rice and watch the gravy disappearing just like that!!

I adapted this recipe from my Paneer Butter masala recipe. I just added some extra spices as this is a chicken gravy. I have also added cream in this version. If you don't want to add cream, you can just follow my Paneer Butter masala version for this recipe too.

Today I am also going to share some tips that will improve the flavour and colour of your gravy,

• The first and foremost tip - onion! Always take your time to cook them, you want them to be cooked and start to caramelize ( Chop them finely to speed up the cooking process but you need them to brown slightly )
• When frying the onion tomato paste, make sure that you fry them until the oil separates. This adds a great depth of flavour.

 

Classic Butter Chicken

 Creamy, rich, flavourful and finger licking Butter Chicken!
 Prep time: 10 min | Cook time: 30 min
 Total time: 40 min |Yield: 4 or 5 people

INGREDIENTS:
For the Marinade: 
Chicken: 300 g 
Hung Curd: 2 tbsp 
Salt: to taste 
Turmeric Powder: 1/8 tsp 
Chilli Powder: 1/4 tsp 
For the Gravy:
Onion: 4 ( finely chopped )
Tomato: 3 ( finely chopped )
Ginger Garlic paste: 3/4 tbsp
Cashew: 12
Oil: 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp
Butter: 1 and 1/2 tbsp
Cumin Seeds: 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon: 1" piece
Cloves: 1
Red Chilli Powder: 1 and 1/4 tsp
Coriander Powder: 1 tsp
Garam Masala: 3/4 tsp
Kasoori Methi: 2 and 1/2 tsp
Cream: 5 tbsp (and for drizzling on top )
Water: 1 and 3/4 cup ( or as required )
Salt: to taste

METHOD:
1)First marinate the chicken in hung curd ( refer notes for how to make it ), salt, turmeric powder and chilli powder for 1/2 hour.
2) Heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadai. Fry the onions until it starts to caramelize ( it should be turn brown, but don't burn it as that will yield a bitter taste )

3)Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute until the raw smell goes. Add the chopped tomatoes and fry until it turns mushy. Let the mix cool to room temperature.

4) Pulse the cashews in the mixer. Add the cooled onion-tomato mix and grind to a fine paste.

5) Heat oil and butter in a kadai. Add the cumin seeds, cinnamon and cloves. After the cumin seeds splutter and nice aroma comes, add the onion-tomato paste.

6) Add the chilli powder and coriander powder. Fry well till oil separates and the mix doesn't stick to the pan.

7) Now add water and let it come to a boil. Add the marinated chicken pieces.

8) Give it a good mix and wait till it boils again. Close and let it simmer for 13 - 15 minutes. Add the garam masala and kasoori methi leaves ( crushed in between your palms)

9) Finally add the cream and give it a good mix. Turn it off and add the coriander leaves.

There you have it....One of the most delicious Indian gravies of all time - Butter Chicken!!!

Just drizzle some cream on top for extra richness before serving....

NOTES:

1) To make hung curd, just hang your regular curd in a veshti cloth ( or a muslin cloth ) over the sink for 2 hours. 

2) I have used medium sized chicken pieces. If you use big chicken pieces for your gravy then increase the cooking time accordingly.


Happy Cooking,
Sindhiya.S

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Double Chocolate Cheesecake

Satiny smooth Chocolate Cheesecake with a perfect chocolaty crust!!!

Ever since I made my No Bake Mango Cheesecake, I have been dying to make a cheesecake with the real cream cheese instead of the substitutions. I loved my mango cheesecake that I made with paneer but I wanted to taste, what the real version is...I wanted a classic baked cheesecake made with the famous silver packet:)

I bought just one packet Philadelphia cream cheese ( you wouldn't believe how costly it is, still I wanted to try and bought one :) ) And what better flavour to make than my favorite chocolate!!!

Now here is the result....

The cream cheese is totally worth the money. The cheesecake was soooo smooth, velvety, satiny.... What other words can I use to describe its texture?! You definitely have to try it to experience it. It has a mild salt background that uplifts the flavour of the cheesecake. 

Now about the flavour....

The chocolate flavour just burst through in every bite... I now have atleast 2 packets of Amul Dark chocolate in my pantry always. I have literally become addicted to it. I put them in my cookies, bread pudding, sandwiches...I kind of stuff them wherever possible:) And the crust is crisp and it remains so too after refrigeration due to our pre baking ( no soggy stuff and all...)

Everybody loves a crack free cheesecake right? Here I am going to give you some simple tips that will help you all yield one....

• Firstly make sure you don't overcook your cheesecake. Overcooking will always lead to cracks. Cheesecake is done when it has a wobble like jelly in the middle when shaken. It will continue to cook while it cools and set perfectly while resting in the refrigerator. So, when you see the wobble, turn off the oven ( don't worry that its under cooked )
• The second thing that can cause the crack on top of the cheesecake is sudden temperature changes. So, after the cheesecake is done, let it cool in the oven itself with the oven door slightly open for half an hour before taking out and cooling completely.

 

Chocolate Cheesecake

 Satiny smooth Chocolate Cheesecake with perfect chocolaty crust!!!
 Prep time: 20 min | Cook time: 45 min
 Total time: 1 hr and 5 min |Yield: 5" cheesecake

Ingredients:
Chocolate Cream Cookies: 12
Melted Butter: 2 tbsp 
Cream Cheese: 1 packet ( 225 g )
Condensed Milk: 1/2 cup
Vanilla Extract: 1/2 tsp  
Dark Chocolate: 112 g 
Butter: 2 tbsp 
Egg: 1 
Powdered Sugar: 2 tbsp 
Boiling water: as required 

METHOD:
1) Grease a 5 inch loose bottomed pan with butter. Take the cookies in a mixer and pulse to a fine crumb. Transfer the cookie crumb to a bowl.

2)  Add melted ( and cooled to room temperature ) butter to the crumb. Mix well with a spoon or a fork till it comes together. Dump the mix into the prepared pan.

3) Smooth it with the help of a glass and transfer the pan to a cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 8 to 10 minutes. Let it cool to room tempertaure. Wrap it around with aluminium foil and keep that aside.

Melt the chocolate and 2 tbsp butter in a double boiler ( just place the bowl of chocolate over a pan of simmering water) Refer here for step wise photos.
4) Beat the cream cheese until light ( about a minute ). Add the condensed milk and vanilla and beat until smooth.
5) Add the melted and cooled chocolate and mix well.
6) Add the egg and mix until just combined. Don't overbeat after adding the egg as you don't want the cheesecake to rise, it just needs to be set.
I found that the batter was little less sweet to my liking so, I added 2 tbsp powdered sugar. Mix that in. The batter will be very smooth and velvety... Make sure to scrap down the sides to ensure that everything is combined.
7) Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Gently tap twice and shake in a zig zag motion to remove any air bubbles. Transfer the pan to a larger roasting pan and fill it halfway with boiling water.
Bake in a preheated oven at 160 C for 30 to 35 minutes ( there should be a slight jiggle, when you shake the pan ) Turn off the oven and and let it cool in the oven itself for half an hour with the oven door slightly open.
After half an hour, take it out from the oven.
8) Run a knife around the edge and let it cool to room temperature. Once fully cooled, cover it with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours ( or preferably overnight )
When fully set, remove the foil and gently take it out from the pan.

There you have it, the most extraordinary chocolate dessert one could must have!!!! Dust with cocoa powder just before serving....

NOTES:
1) Make sure your cream cheese and egg are at room temperature.
2) To get clean cuts dip your knife in hot water, wipe it off and then cut ( As you can see my one side has a clean cut than my other side, as I was in a hurry to have a taste of one my dream cakes!!! Please don't be like me...take your time and make neat slices :) )
3) You can also pour ganache instead of dusting with cocoa powder.
4)  The total time in the recipe does not include the chilling time.

Happy Cooking,
Sindhiya.S

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