Butter Chicken
A proper butter chicken: marinated yoghurt chicken, tomato base loaded with ginger and garlic, cream and butter at the end. Not the stuff from a jar.
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 720kcal
Ingredients
Chicken marinade
- 800 g chicken thighs, boneless, cut into 3cm pieces
- 200 g Greek yoghurt
- 1 tbsp ginger paste
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp flaky salt
- 1 lemon, juiced
Sauce
- 60 g butter
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 brown onions, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp ginger paste
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 400 g tin crushed tomatoes
- 100 g tomato paste
- 250 ml thickened cream
- 50 g butter, extra, cold
- 1 tsp brown sugar, or to taste
- fresh coriander, to serve
- steamed basmati rice and naan, to serve
Instructions
- Combine chicken and all marinade ingredients. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, ideally overnight.
- Heat a heavy frypan over high heat. Cook chicken in batches until just charred, about 3 minutes per batch. It does not need to be fully cooked through. Set aside.
- In the same pan, melt butter and oil. Add onions and cook for 8 minutes until golden.
- Add ginger, garlic, garam masala, cumin and chilli. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Stir in tomato paste, then crushed tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes, then blend smooth with a stick blender.
- Return chicken to the pan. Simmer for 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
- Stir in cream, cold butter and sugar. Taste for salt and sweetness. Top with coriander and serve with rice and naan.
Notes
Blend the sauce smooth before returning the chicken. That restaurant silkiness comes from blending, not just simmering.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 720kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 48g | Fat: 50g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Sodium: 1080mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g