Murgh Makhni or butter chicken

Chicken tikka

1. Put the chicken in a bowl with all the ingredients for the first marinade, rub together and leave to marinate for 30 minutes.

2. Whisk all the ingredients for the second marinade in a bowl and rub it on to the chicken. Leave to marinate in the fridge for 6 hours.

3. Thread the chicken cubes on to skewers and cook on a charcoal grill (alternatively, place on a wire rack and cook in a pre-heated fan-assisted oven at 180C for 9-10 minutes). Remove from heat and leave the chicken to rest for a couple of minutes.

Makhni sauce

1. Mix the vegetable oil, tomato puree, ginger and garlic pastes and all the ground and whole spices except the dried fenugreek in a deep pan.

2. Cook over a medium heat until the mixture bubbles, then add about 2 ½ times its volume of water and bring to a boil.

3. Cover with a lid, boil for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the sugar and salt, then pour in the cream and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for a further 4 minutes. (It’s optional to remove the whole spices at this stage)

4. Stir in the cooked chicken tikka and dried fenugreek leaf powder; simmer on medium heat till done and finish with single cream and butter. Serve hot in a bowl, garnished with swirls of cream.

Image courtesy: Indego by Vineet, Grosvenor House Dubai