Makhani sauce adds the magic to Butter Chicken, one of the most popular Indian dishes in the world. Moghlai Sauce and Tikka Masala Sauce are close cousins of Makhani sauce – Moghlai sauce also calls for Cashew Nuts to make it richer, and Tikka Masala has Onions. My preference is to make a clear distinction in the tastes of these sauces, and so I don’t use Cashew nuts and Onions in Makhani Sauce. However, you will come across recipes of Makhani Sauce that call for those ingredients and a variety of other spices. The recipe presented here is the classic recipe, and you can go beyond by experimenting at your pleasure.
The key to getting this recipe perfect is to – balance the tartness of the Tomatoes with sweetness (taste the sauce and adjust the quantity of sugar as needed), adding an underlying hint of bitterness with Dried Fenugreek Leaves, and adding the Tomato Paste to add another layer of flavor.
Makhani Sauce goes well not just with grilled Chicken, but you can also serve it with roasted Cauliflower, grilled Paneer or Pasta; one of my favorite pairings is with Gnocchi.
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 60 minutes
Yield: 6 cups
Ingredients
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) Unsalted Butter
1.5 pounds Tomatoes (preferably ripe)
6 oz can Tomato Paste
1″ piece of Ginger (coarsely chopped)
8 Garlic Cloves (adjust to taste)
1-2 Green Chillies (optional, to taste)
2 tsp Kashmiri Red Chili (substitute wholly or partially with Paprika to reduce the heat level)
2 tbsp Dried Fenugreek Leaves (Qasoori Methi)
1/2 tsp Garam Masala powder
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
Honey or Sugar (to taste)
1 tsp Salt (to taste)
1 cup Chicken Stock (optional, can substitute with water)
Preparation
Cut up the tomatoes; large chunks are alright, because they’re going to be pureed anyway.
Make the Dried Fenugreek Leaves powder by toasting them in a pan on low heat until the leaves become crispy, and then when they cool, crush them to a powder with your fingers or in a mortar and pestle.
Cooking Makhani Sauce
Step 1
In a pot, add the Tomatoes, Ginger, Garlic and Green Chillies in 3 cups of water, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes, turn off the heat, and allow to cool.
Step 2
Once the contents of the pot have cooled enough, empty them into a blender and puree to a smooth paste.
Step 3
Strain the pureed tomatoes into the same pot. Squeeze out as much of the sauce as possible and you should only have the seeds and skin of the Tomatoes left behind in the strainer.
Step 4
Add a cup of Chicken Stock, along with the Butter, Tomato Paste, Kashmiri Red Chili to the pot, mix well and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. NOTE: Kashmiri Red Chili adds heat and a deep red color to the sauce. If you’d like to reduce the heat level, you can substitute half of the Kashmiri Red Chili Powder with Paprika.
Step 5
Add the Garam Masala, Dried Fenugreek Leaves (crushed), and Salt and mix well, and continue simmering for another 5 minutes.
Step 6
Add the cream and mix well. Taste the sauce and add Sugar or Honey to balance the tartness of the Tomatoes and to your taste. NOTE: If you plan to prepare the sauce in advance and then assemble the dish with the protein a day or so later, then hold off on adding the Heavy Cream until you’re ready to serve.
Makhani Sauce is ready to serve.
Curry on!
- 4 tbsp (1/2 stick) Butter
- 1.5 pounds Tomatoes (preferably ripe)
- 6 oz can Tomato Paste
- 1″ piece of Ginger (coarsely chopped)
- 6-8 Garlic Cloves
- 1-2 Green Chillies (to taste)
- 2 tsp Kashmiri Red Chili powder
- 2 tbsp Dried Fenugreek Leaves (Qasoori Methi)
- ½ tsp Garam Masala powder
- ½ cup Heavy Cream
- Honey or Sugar (to taste)
- 1 tsp Salt (to taste)
- 1 cup Chicken Stock (optional, can substitute with water)
- Cut up the tomatoes; large chunks are okay, because they’re going to be pureed.
- Make the Dried Fenugreek Leaves powder by toasting them in a pan on low heat until the leaves become crispy, and then when they cool, crush them to a powder with your fingers or in a mortar and pestle.
- In a pot, add the Tomatoes, Ginger, Garlic and Green Chillies in 3 cups of water, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes, turn off the heat, and allow to cool.
- Once the contents of the pot have cooled enough, empty them into a blender and puree to a smooth paste.
- Strain the pureed tomatoes into the same pot. Squeeze out as much of the sauce as possible and you should only have the seeds and skin of the Tomatoes left behind in the strainer.
- Add a cup of Chicken Stock, along with the Butter, Tomato Paste, Kashmiri Red Chili and/or Paprika to the pot, mix well and simmer for 30 minutes. NOTE: Kashmiri Red Chili adds heat and a deep red color to the sauce. If you’d like to reduce the heat level, you can substitute half of the Kashmiri Red Chili Powder with Paprika.
- Add the Garam Masala, Dried Fenugreek Leaves (crushed), and Salt and mix well, and continue simmering for another 5 minutes.
- Add the cream and mix well. Taste the sauce and add Sugar or Honey to balance the tartness of the Tomatoes.
A great recipe, but it it was a hassel with the measurments, why dont you also put it in metric. Half a stick of butter doesnt make any sense.
Hi Mattis, Thanks for the feedback. While I had included the measurement in the main recipe, I had missed it out in the printable recipe. This has been updated.