Butter Chicken or Makhani Gravy for Butter Everything! And Tandoori/Tikka Chicken Marinade (Indian)

This recipe is the one I've been using for more than a year to make Murgh Makhani, known as Butter Chicken.  This recipe is for the tomato gravy sauce, and for real restaurant butter chicken you have to have to have to use cooked tandoori chicken (so I'll provide a marinade recipe in this post too!)!  I took this recipe from the very talented and funny celebrity chef Harpal Singh Sokhi.  This is a recipe from one of his videos, but written down by me for your commodity in the kitchen (and mine!).  You can see the video here:

http://youtu.be/-nzHXxasZ8E

So here's the written version of Murgh Makhani by Harpal Singh Sokhi:

(for 3-4 people)

-500g tomatoes, diced in big cubes

-1 tbsp oil

-1 tbsp butter

-3-4 green cardamom pods

-a couple blades of mace

-1/2tbsp garlic, chopped

-1/2tbsp ginger, finely julienned

-1-2 green indian chilies, cut in 2 lenghtwise and deseeded, julienned

-1tbsp butter again

-1/2tbsp red chili powder (or less if you can't stand spicy, this is authentic indian food!)

-salt to taste

-half a cup 30% cream

-a pinch or 2 of green cardamom powder

-1/2tbsp honey

-1/4tsp (I use 1/2tsp to a tsp) kasoori methi leaves

-tandoori chicken (see marinade at the end of this recipe) or paneer and/or vegetables... for 4 people

In a warm pan, add 1 tbsp butter and the oil.  Once it's hot, add cardamom pods and mace and stir a little.  Then add garlic and cook 2-3 minutes.  Add tomatoes and simmer 10 to 15 minutes until cooked and soft.  Allow to cool down a little then grind in the blender into a fine paste.

Add the remaining 1 tbsp butter to the empty pan and melt, then add ginger and chilies.  Strain the tomato mixture over the pan and simmer for another 10 minutes stirring once in a while, until the acidity and rawness of the tomatoes fades totally.  Add chili powder and salt to taste, then add your main ingredient (chicken, paneer, vegetables...) and cook 5 more minutes.  Stir in cream, cardamom powder, honey and crumbled kasoori methi.  Simmer a minute or two and it's done! 

Tandoori Chicken Marinade, from "Ginger and Lemongrass" book by Leemei Tan:

-5tbsp Greek yogurt

-4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

-2tsp red chili powder

-1tsp paprika

-2tsp cumin powder

-2tsp turmeric powder

-1tbsp coriander powder

-1/2tsp ground black pepper

-1/4tsp saffron powder

-1/2tsp sea salt

-the juice of half a lime

-1tbsp vegetable oil

-30g butter, soft

Mix everything and marinate 6 whole chicken legs (with 4 deep slashes on top) or 3-4 deboned breasts in cubes overnight, then bake in the oven (skewering the breast cubes is convenient).

Hope you enjoy this really addictive, delicious authentic butter chicken!