Butter chicken is a mild, creamy curry that’s always a crowd favourite and you can make it at home. This version keeps it fairly simple but gets all the right flavours. You grill the marinated chicken to get that proper char, then mix it through a smooth, spiced tomato sauce with cream and butter.
The cashews go in early so the sauce blends up nice and silky. It’s the kind of recipe you’ll come back to, and I think it's just as good as your favourite Indian takeaway.
Category
Dinner
Servings
4
Prep time
25 minutes
Cook time
40 minutes
Butter chicken is a mild, creamy curry that’s always a crowd favourite and you can make it at home. This version keeps it fairly simple but gets all the right flavours. You grill the marinated chicken to get that proper char, then mix it through a smooth, spiced tomato sauce with cream and butter.
The cashews go in early so the sauce blends up nice and silky. It’s the kind of recipe you’ll come back to, and I think it's just as good as your favourite Indian takeaway.
Start this recipe about 3 hours or the day before so the chicken has time to marinate.
Ingredients
- 8 chicken thigh fillets, sliced
- steamed Basmati rice and or naan to serve
- kasoori methi and coriander leaves, for garnish
- 1 thumb size piece fresh ginger, finely grated
- 6 cloves garlic, finely grated
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
- 1½ tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- juice of 1 lemon
- 120ml greek yogurt
- 2 tbs peanut oil
- 100g unsalted butter
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 4 cardamom pods
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 3 whole cloves
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
- 1½ tsp ground coriander
-
sea salt, to season
- 60g cashews
- 250ml (1 cup) water
- 400g can crushed tomatoes (or 6 fresh ripe tomatoes)
- 100ml thickened cream
- 1 - 2 tbsp caster sugar, to taste
Marinade
Sauce
Directions
Marinate the chicken
Mix the ginger and garlic together and set half aside for the sauce. Mix the other half with the turmeric, cumin, coriander, garam masala, chilli and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the lemon juice and yoghurt.
- Add the chicken and mix until well coated in the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours to overnight.
Cook the sauce
Heat half the butter and oil in a heavy based saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and reserved garlic and ginger paste. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes until the onion starts to soften.
- Add the cardamom, cloves and bay leaves and stir through to infuse the butter. Then add the turmeric, cumin, garam masala, chilli powder and coriander. Season with salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Stir in the cashews, and cook until starting to toast. Pour in the water and deglaze the pan, then add the tomatoes. Bring 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).
- Remove the hard spices and discard, then transfer the sauce to a blender and puree until smooth and creamy.
- Return the sauce to the saucepan over a low heat. Stir through the remaining butter and the cream. Season to taste with the caster sugar.
Grill chicken and add to sauce
Preheat a BBQ grill to high heat. Cook the chicken slices for 5-6 minutes, turning to char well on both sides.
- Remove the chicken from the grill and add it to the sauce. Stir through over low heat for a few minutes, until heated hot.
- Serve the butter chicken over steamed rice, garnished with coriander and kasoori methi with some fresh naan bread on the side.
Recipe notes
Cook support
Adding the cashews into the sauce early rather than at the end helps to cook them out and will result in a creamier sauce.
Cook method
As an alternative to cooking on the BBQ, you can cook the chicken under a high heat grill (broiler) for 10-15 mins, until well coloured.
Sourcing
Kashmiri chilli and Kasoori methi can be sourced from Indian grocers and spice stores.
Storage
Any leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
