This pumpkin chicken curry it’s a seasonal take on the classic butter chicken Indian with an extra soft and velvety touch.
I decided to start from the traditional butter chicken recipe to explore new gastronomic horizons, creating a seasonal variant that welcomes and enhances pumpkin as the main ingredient.
The Murgh makhani, known by the name of Butter Chicken, is a typical dish of the Indian gastronomic tradition characterized by a particular marinade of the meat, with spices, yogurt and lemon juice. This step gives the meat a succulent texture when cooked and a unique flavor.
The traditional recipe involves cooking in the traditional oven tandoorbut you can use the grill of your normal home oven and then sauté in the pan with the creamy part, or manage the entire cooking in the pan, as I propose today.
The final touch that can’t be missed? Fresh coriander (which you can replace with parsley if you really don’t like coriander) and a handful of crumbled cashews, which will add texture and chewiness to every bite.
While maintaining the characteristic elements of butter chicken, such as the inevitable Garam Masala*, I replaced the tomato sauce with pumpkin puree. In this way a simple chicken curry is transformed thanks to the sweet and autumnal note of pumpkin, with an even more velvety and enveloping consistency.
It’s not the first time I’ve told you: pumpkin goes perfectly with the warm spices typical of Indian cuisine (but also Thai, have you ever tried mine Thai pumpkin soup?), creating a surprising balance between the flavors.
The video recipe for my pumpkin chicken curry
You can find it on mine Instagram channel @lennesimoblog.