AUTHENTIC INDIAN BUTTER CHICKEN
One cuisine that fascinates me is the Indian kitchen. The amount of spices and flavours that exist in this kitchen is unbelievable! There are so many dishes which I have yet to discover.
Butter Chicken is one of the most popular curries at any Indian restaurant around the world. Don’t worry, this dish is not filled with actual butter, it’s called butter chicken due to the soft, rich and creamy consistency of the curry. One of the best butter chicken dishes I ever had was actually in Singapore. We didn’t eat at a fancy restaurant but at one of the many local Hawker Centres in the city. Butter chicken is creamy, sweet and tangy. After many attempts of making this dish at home, I have discovered the best recipe which I’m sharing with you all! You will love how easy it is to make in the comfort of your own home, especially with basmati and fresh homemade naan bread!
I hope you will enjoy!
-Ari Yori
AUTHENTIC INDIAN BUTTER CHICKEN RECIPE
prep time: 15 minutes
cooking time: 1.5 hours
portion: 5-6 servings
INGREDIENTS
Ginger garlic paste (blend approx. 10-12 garlic cloves and third of the amount of ginger into paste like texture)
Chicken marinade:
800g mixture between chicken breast & thicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
2 tbsp tandoori powder
1/2 cup (145g) plain yogurt, full fat
salt & pepper
1 bay leaf
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
Curry:
2-3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 large onions, diced
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 cinnamon stick
1.5 tsp coriander powder
1.5 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp chilli powder
1.5 tbsp tomato paste
800g whole or chopped canned tomato
1/2 cup milk full fat
1/2 heavy cream (Schlagsahne)
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (optional)
half fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp sugar
fresh coriander leaves
Serve with:
Fresh naan and/or basmati rice
DIRECTIONS
First, marinate the chicken in a large mixing bowl. Combine chicken, ginger garlic paste, tandoori powder, yogurt, and salt & pepper together. Put it in the refrigerator for about 1-3 hours.
Heat your medium-large pot on medium heat. Add butter and cook your onions until they are soft & translucent. Then add your ginger garlic paste until fragrant. Then add tomato paste and your spices: coriander powder, cumin powder, cayenne pepper, and chilli powder and cook until fragrant. But make sure you don’t burn the spices and pastes.
Add the canned tomatoes and cinnamon stick and mix until well combined. Turn the heat down to medium heat, close the pot lid and cook until it is fully reduced, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. This is very important as this gives the most of the curry flavour of both sweet and tangy. This should take between 25-45 minutes. You want to cook it down to a thick stew paste like consistency (see image above). Remove the cinnamon stick and blend the curry using a blender until smooth and creamy.
Now it’s time to cook your marinated chicken. Heat a separate large pan/pot or using the same pot, drizzle vegetable oil and add a bay leaf. Add your marinated chicken with some additional salt & pepper. Add 2 tbsp of lemon juice and cook the chicken just before they are cooked through. If there is a lot of water coming out of the chicken, drain about half of the amount but you do want some juice in the chicken as this is additional flavour.
Once the chicken is almost cooked through, place them into the pot with the blended curry paste. Mix well.
Add milk, fenugreek leaves and garam masala to the blended tomato mixture. cook for about 2 minutes. Cook under low heat until the chicken is fully cooked through.
Add the cream. If you find that the curry is too thick, add water little by little until you reach the consistency. It should be a bit thick and not watery.
Squeeze some fresh lemon juice to the curry. Add salt & pepper to your taste. You can also add some sugar if you want some sweetness.
Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve with basmati rice and/or naan.
