9 tips for making the perfect butter chicken at home, according to a Michelin-starred chef --[Reported by Umva mag]

For Bhardwaj, the first step to making the perfect butter chicken at home is choosing the right cut of meat, which, in this case, is a full chicken on the bone.

"Chicken on the bone will always give off more flavor across the board," said Bhardwaj. "So if you can, go with that."

You could ask your local butcher to cut a whole chicken into medium-sized pieces appropriate for curry or opt for bone-in thighs and wings.

But if it's unavailable or you prefer a boneless cut, "the next best thing would be to use chicken thigh instead," Bhardwaj said.

"This is the most important step, so make sure you're doing a proper marination," said Bhardwaj.

To make the marinade, combine yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, a teaspoon of garam masala, a little chili powder, and lemon juice. Next, rub and coat each chicken piece with the marinade.

"Then store it in an airtight container, refrigerate, and let the marinade work its magic overnight," he continued.

Most restaurants or home recipes in India use charred tomatoes and roasted cashews as the base for butter chicken.

"One major difference I've noticed between making this dish in India and here is that the tomato quality in the US tends to vary," Bhardwaj told BI.

To achieve a consistent flavor each time, he prefers to blend tomato puree and paste with regular roasted tomatoes and cashews.

He said the tomato paste helps lock in the flavors. With just tomatoes, the spices could overpower the sauce, undermining the kick of the tomato itself, he said.

Cashews help enrich and thicken the tomato base.

To make the paste, Bhardwaj says, "Soak the cashews for a couple of hours or overnight and then lightly roast them for a few seconds."

"Make sure you don't roast them for too long; just 2-3 seconds would be enough," he cautions, adding, "Once that's done, I blend them and add the paste to our tomato base."

Once you've made the sauce base, it's time to start cooking.

"Add a tablespoon of oil and 3 to 4 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. Let it cook for 30 seconds, and then slowly add the tomato-cashew paste. Let this cook for three to four minutes on medium-high heat," Bhardwaj said.

Once you notice the sauce thickening, add the spices.

"Start with 1/2 a teaspoon of turmeric, 1/2 a teaspoon of chili powder, a pinch of garam masala, some crushed cardamom powder, and a pinch of salt for taste. Then mix it all and allow the sauce to thicken some more," he said.

Bhardwaj shared that the team at his restaurant dry-roasts and grounds its spices in-house. "It's a small step, and yet it makes all the difference in the flavor and freshness of the dish," he said.

While your sauce is cooking, you can start prepping your chicken.

For this, Bhardwaj said, begin by preheating your oven — you could also use your air fryer if you prefer — and then half-cook your chicken for about 10 minutes at 400 Fahrenheit.

"You want to get a nice char on the chicken in the oven when you're baking at home before mixing it with our sauce. At the restaurant, of course, we add it to the tandoor, which gives it a nice, smoky and earthy flavor," Bhardwaj shared.

"Be mindful of overcooking, though," he said. "We're only trying to enhance flavor and texture. The chicken will still get cooked in the sauce later on."

"Once you notice a light char and the skin texture change, remove it from the oven and mix it with the sauce after a few seconds," said Bhardwaj.

For the last steps, let the chicken cook in the sauce for about 20 minutes, avoiding the temptation to peek and check if it's cooked.

You can adjust the amount of sugar you add based on whether you prefer a sweeter or a slightly spicy flavor profile.

"I prefer a balanced dish as opposed to anything extreme," Bhardwaj said, adding, "Butter chicken is all about the creamy, tomato-rich base, and it's important to allow those ingredients to shine."

When it comes to traditional dishes, which for Bhardwaj include home-cooked meals like butter chicken, about 99% of his recipes were passed down from his family.

"My mum would cook different sabzis (vegetables), daals (lentils), and curries at home about six times a week," he said. "So, those are the dishes I grew up eating daily."

On special occasions, though, he said, his dad would take over the kitchen: "He did more of the meat cooking, like the kormas and butter chicken."

From his dad, Bhardwaj learned the most important final step in making butter chicken: the garnish.

"Before you serve the dish, top it off with some finely chopped cilantro, 2 to 3 teaspoons of dry roasted fenugreek powder, and a little bit of cream," said Bhardwaj. At the restaurant, they also add sliced chili on top.

"Serve with steaming basmati rice, or my favorite way is to enjoy it with a fresh off-the-tandoor garlic naan."