Smoky Butter Chicken
Dinner | Indian
This isn’t butter chicken in the sense most people know it. There’s no tomato-based curry sauce here. This is inspired by Aslam Chicken in Old Delhi, a legendary street stall where whole bone-in chicken pieces are cooked over charcoal, pulled off the skewer and then drowned in warm cream and butter right before serving.
So if you love the flavours of butter chicken but want one that you can cook up on the BBQ for you friends and family, then I highly recommend you give this one a try. And make sure you prep extras because it’s great the next day as well.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground Kasoori Methi
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 2kg (4.4 lbs) chicken thighs, bone in
- 300g Greek yoghurt
- 3 tbsp (60ml) peanut oil
- juice of 1 lemon
- 250ml (1 cup) cream
- 125g butter
- naan, to serve
Directions
PREP THE MARINADE
- Combine the garam masala, cumin, Kashmiri, coriander, Kasoori Methi, cinnamon, cloves and turmeric. Mix until well combined, then set one third of it aside for finishing.
- Combine the other two thirds of the spices with the peanut oil, salt and yoghurt in a large bowl. Add the chicken and mix through the marinade until completely coated all over. Add the lemon juice.
- Cover the chicken and marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight in the fridge.
COOK THE CHICKEN
- Preheat a charcoal grill to high heat. Remove the top grill plate.
- Using 2 long metal skewers, skewer the chicken pieces with the skewers roughly 5cm (2 inches apart). Thread 3 to 4 pieces of chicken onto the pair of skewers (depending on their length), then repeat with additional skewers and chicken.
- Place the skewers over coals. (My skewers weren't long enough, so I used a rotisserie prong and placed it across the BBQ to rest the end of the skewers on - shown in video).
- Cook for 16-18 minutes, turning over every few minutes to ensure an even char on all sides.
- Remove from the grill and transfer the chicken to a tray.
FINISH AND SERVE
- Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until simmering. Remove from the heat.
- Melt the butter in another saucepan over medium heat, until it begins to brown. Remove from the heat.
- Slice the chicken off the bone and cut into large chunks. Divide the chicken between serving bowls.
- Sprinkle some of the remaining spice mixture over each serving then pour over the cream. Gently toss together, then drizzle with the melted butter. Serve with flat bread or naan.
Recipe notes
Kashmiri chilli powder:
Kashmiri chilli is known for its deep red colour and mild, slightly sweet heat rather than sharp spice. It’s what gives the chicken that vivid colour. Don’t substitute with regular chilli powder as it will make the dish much hotter and change the colour. Find it at Indian grocery stores or spice shops.
Kasoori methi:
Dried fenugreek leaves with a slightly bitter, aromatic flavour that’s a staple in North Indian cooking. Available at Indian grocers and spice shops. If you can’t find it, leave it out rather than substituting, as fenugreek seeds have a much stronger and different flavour.
Chicken thighs bone-in:
Bone-in thighs are important here. The bone conducts heat from inside and keeps the meat moist and juicy over the charcoal. Boneless thighs also work but they cook faster, around 10 to 12 minutes, so keep a close eye on them.
Greek yoghurt:
Full fat Greek yoghurt is best. It tenderises the chicken through the marinade and helps everything stick to the surface during cooking. Don’t use low-fat as it separates and doesn’t coat as well.
The spice mix:
All the spices get combined first before anything else. A third is set aside dry for the finish and the rest goes into the marinade with the yoghurt and oil. Make sure you set the finishing spices aside before mixing anything wet.