Butter Chicken
Serves 1
Directions
- 1Mix half of the ginger and garlic with turmeric, cumin, coriander, garam masala, chili, and salt in a large bowl.
- 2Stir in the lemon juice and yogurt.
- 3Add the chicken and mix until well coated in the marinade.
- 4Cover and refrigerate the chicken for 3 hours to overnight.
- 5Heat half the butter and oil in a heavy based saucepan over medium-high heat.
- 6Add the onion and reserved garlic and ginger paste. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes until the onion starts to soften.
- 7Add the cardamom, cloves, and bay leaves and stir through to infuse the butter.
- 8Then add the turmeric, cumin, garam masala, chili powder, and coriander. Season with salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- 9Stir in the cashews, and cook until starting to toast.
- 10Pour in the water and deglaze the pan, then add the tomatoes.
- 11Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and cook at a simmer for 20 minutes (add a little more water if the sauce becomes too dry).
- 12Remove the hard spices and discard, then transfer the sauce to a blender and puree until smooth and creamy.
- 13Return the sauce to the saucepan over a low heat.
- 14Stir through the remaining butter and the cream.
- 15Season to taste with the caster sugar.
- 16Preheat a BBQ grill to high heat.
- 17Cook the chicken slices for 5-6 minutes, turning to char well on both sides.
- 18Remove the chicken from the grill and add it to the sauce.
- 19Stir through over low heat for a few minutes, until heated hot.
- 20Serve the butter chicken over steamed rice, garnished with coriander and kasoori methi with some fresh naan bread on the side.
Ingredients
- 1 thumb size piece fresh ginger, finely grated
- 6 cloves garlic, finely grated
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1.5 tsp ground cumin
- 1.5 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 juice of 1 lemon lemon juice
- 120 ml greek yogurt
- 8 chicken thigh fillets, sliced
- kasoori methi, for garnish
- coriander leaves, for garnish
- 2 tbs peanut oil
- 100 g unsalted butter
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 4 cardamom pods
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 3 whole cloves
- 0.5 tsp ground turmeric
- 1.5 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
- 1.5 tsp ground coriander
- sea salt, to season
- 60 g cashews
- 250 ml water
- 400 g can crushed tomatoes
- 100 ml thickened cream
- 1 - 2 tbsp caster sugar, to taste
Equipment
tandoor oven (or barbecue or oven's broiler)heavy based saucepanblenderBBQ grill
Tips
- Butter chicken is meant to be mild, creamy and balanced.
- Kashmiri chili powder is more for color than heat.
- Traditionally, the chicken is cooked twice: marinated and cooked in a tandoor first.
- If you don't have a tandoor, a barbecue or oven's broiler can be used.
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