Butter Chicken
Ingredients
- 1kg boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into large bite size pieces
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tbsp veg oil
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 5 green cardamom pods
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 2 tsp garlic chopped
- 1 tbsp ginger chopped
- 1 green chilli chopped (optional)
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 25g knob butter x 2
- 1 medium red onion diced
- 1 tbsp ginger chopped
- 1 green chilli chopped
- 1 tsp garlic chopped
- 2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
- 2 tbsp ground cashews
- 1 tbsp kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 200ml double cream
- salt
Preparation
Make the marinade - put the chicken in a bowl and with the lemon juice, salt, turmeric and kashmiri chilli powder, mix well and set aside
Mince or blend the garlic, ginger and green chilli into a paste and stir into the chicken
Then toast the whole spices in a little pan on the hob on a medium low heat for 3-4 mins, until you can smell them roasting but not burning
Then stir these in with the chicken, cover and marinate in the fridge (8 hours or more is best)
Grill the chicken - lay the chicken pieces out on a grill rack and pan, cram then together to achieve a char without overcooking
Grill on high for 4-5 mins then turn over and do the same on the other side
Set aside
Make the sauce - add one of the knobs of butter and ghee to a medium heat pan and sweat off the onion, ginger, garlic and green chilli for 6-7 mins, stir in the kashmiri chilli powder, ground coriander and fenugreek leaves and sauté for a couple of minutes
Now stir in the ground cashews, tomatoes and sugar, cover and simmer on low for 12-15 minutes, until you can see the oil separating form the tomatoes
Blend until smooth
Add the chicken pieces and any juices from the grill pan and combine
Bring up to a simmer for 10 mins, then stir in the cream and second knob of butter, bring back up to a low simmer for five mins, stirring to combine and season to taste