Restaurant Style Indian Butter Chicken (Chicken Makhani) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Mexican chili powder (do NOT use chilli pepper! They are not the same!)
salt
3 -4 drops liquid smoke
1 cup full fat yogurt
salt
2 tablespoons garlic paste or 6 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon garam masala
3 tablespoons butter (melted)
1 tablespoon Mexican chili powder
2 tablespoons ginger paste
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 tablespoons garam masala
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1 tablespoon garlic paste
1 green chili pepper (Chopped)
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon Mexican chili powder
salt
1/2 tablespoon honey or 1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon fenugreek leaves
1 cup heavy cream

Preparation

To Marinade: Place cubed chicken in a nonporous bowl with yogurt, lemon juice, chili powder,salt and liquid smoke. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Mix in garlic, garam masala, butter, chili powder, ginger paste, lemon juice and oil. Replace cover and refrigerate to marinate for another 3 to 4 hours.
Preheat oven to 400\u00b0F (200\u00b0C).
Place chicken on an oven sheet and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.
To Make Sauce: Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in 1 tbsp garam masala. When masala begins to puff and bubble, mix in ginger, garlic paste and green chile peppers. Saute 5 minutes, then stir in tomato puree, tomato paste, chili powder, salt, 1/2 tbsp garam masala and a couple more drops of liquid smoke. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring in honey, fenugreek and cream.
Place cooked chicken in sauce mixture. Simmer on medium-low heat for about an hour or until liquid is reduced by 1/3.
Salt to taste and garnish with fresh chopped cilantro (optional).
Enjoy!