Dinner · Indian

Butter chicken

Name: Butter chicken
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 500g Chicken thigh fillets; 100g Greek-style yoghurt; 2 tsp Garam masala; ½ tsp Ground turmeric; 1 tsp Ground cumin; 4 cloves Garlic, crushed; 30g Fresh ginger, finely grated; 1 Brown onion; 50g Butter; 1 tbsp Vegetable oil; 500g Passata; 1 tbsp Tomato purée; 1 tbsp Clear honey; 150ml Double cream; 15g Fresh coriander; 300g Basmati rice, cook on the day

Mild, silky tomato sauce finished with a knob of butter. The curry the whole table agrees on.

Start to finish: 55 min
Hands-on: 34 min
In the fridge: 3 days
Freezes: Yes

A little heatContains dairy

Ingredients

4 portions

500gChicken thigh fillets
100gGreek-style yoghurt
2 tspGaram masala
½ tspGround turmeric
1 tspGround cumin
4 clovesGarlic, crushed
30gFresh ginger, finely grated
1Brown onion
50gButter
1 tbspVegetable oil
500gPassata
1 tbspTomato purée
1 tbspClear honey
150mlDouble cream
15gFresh coriander
300gBasmati rice, cook on the day

Plus salt, pepper and water.

Method

1
Crush the garlic, finely grate the ginger and finely chop the onion.
2
Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and mix with the yoghurt, 1 tsp of the garam masala, the turmeric, a third of the garlic and ginger and a good pinch of salt. Leave for 15 minutes, or overnight in the fridge.
20 min, mostly hands-off
3
Meanwhile, melt 30g of the butter in a large pan and cook the onion gently for 10 minutes, until soft and pale gold. Stir in the rest of the garlic and ginger, the cumin and the rest of the garam masala for a minute.
12 min, mostly hands-off
4
Add the passata, tomato purée, honey and 100ml water. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until thickened, then blitz with a stick blender until completely smooth.
18 min, mostly hands-off
5
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Shake the excess marinade off the chicken and fry it in two batches for 4 to 5 minutes each, until browned and charred in spots. It will finish cooking in the sauce.
6
Stir the cream into the sauce and add the chicken and any juices. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through with no pink in the middle.
11 min, mostly hands-off
7
Take off the heat and stir in the rest of the butter until it melts into a glossy sauce. Season, then serve, or cool and portion into tubs.

On the day

Reheat gently until piping hot, with a splash of water if the sauce has thickened. Cook the rice fresh on the night and scatter the chopped coriander over the top.

Cook’s tip

Blitz the sauce before the cream goes in. That smooth, velvety texture is what sets butter chicken apart from a chunkier tikka masala.