Matt's Makkhani Murghi

CQ writes: Matt and I went to high school together years ago.  We both pursued musical careers as performers and ended up doing different things with our lives. Who knew that we would also both grow up to be such food lovers? Here is a recipe he recently posted on Facebook that he agreed to let me re-post here. I hope you enjoy it, as I know I will.

Matt's Makkhani Murghi

For years I went to my local Indian buffet thinking that what they called Chicken Tikki Masala was what I wanted. I had experimented with recipes over the years and been sadly disappointed. Recently, I came across a recipe for Butter Chicken that sounded very much like what I was looking for. I even learned that it was often mislabeled as Tikki Masala!

So after trying out an initial recipe and somewhat liking it I hit the internet and every Indian cookbook I could put my hands on. What follows is what I consider to be what I have been after all these years. It is lengthy, but there are things you can make ahead like the marinade and tomato puree and your spice blends. Marinate one day. Broil the next. Make the Tomato Gravy the day after that and assemble.