Butter Chicken

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Tender chunks of warmly spiced, melt in the mouth chicken fillet marinated in yoghurt and lemon juice with cumin, coriander, cardamom, chilli and garam masala, swathed in a heavenly sauce loaded with tomatoes, ginger, spices, cream and butter. So far so good – now serve it with light and fluffy Turmeric Pilau Rice, some fresh hot Naan Bread, fresh coriander and a squeeze of lemon juice and I’m literally drooling! A tomato and cucumber salad with sliced red onions would also be delicious on the side. Heavenly, delicious comfort food which packs a huge flavour punch and leaves you with a sensational yet mild tingle in your cheeks afterwards!

This is one of our all time favourite curries. We absolutely love it; Andrew quite happily eats any leftovers for breakfast. (I think he does this to make sure no one else gobbles it up before he has a chance!)

Growing up in the 1970s in North Wales, Indian restaurants were very few and far between and no one cooked Indian food at home. It wasn’t until we went to university in the early 1980s (Glasgow for me and Andrew in Manchester) that we were properly introduced to Indian food and, my oh my, what a revelation it turned out to be. Definitely, more Indian recipes will be coming soon on this blog. I have posted this one first because:

• it is an absolute favourite; it has been National Curry Week in the UK this week and I couldn’t think of a more perfect way to celebrate it than with this recipe.
• the marinated chicken used in this recipe is the same as my Chicken Tikka recipe, which is already on the blog. I often make double the amount of Chicken Tikka and eat half grilled and served with fresh naan, mango chutney, raita and salad and with the other half, I make this divine curry.

Whilst we love Butter Chicken, I do not like it when it is over-loaded with butter and cream. I have cut both these back as much as I dare, without, I believe compromising on flavour, texture and the glorious rich sauce you expect. I also ensure my chicken stays moist by cooking it in half fillets rather than chunks. I slice the fillets horizontally to get the maximum benefit out of the marinade, cook them whole on a griddle and then chop them up.

This ensures they keep as tender and moist as possible without compromising on flavour. Most restaurants and take-aways will chop them into chunks and load them on to skewers to cook. This is fabulous in a professional kitchen, but I find cooking it my way is the best, and easiest way, at home. Just remember, for that authentic and most delicious touch, pre-heat your pan (griddle is best if you have one) until very hot so you can get some slightly charred and caramelised edges.

How to make Butter Chicken

Collect all your ingredients together:

For the chicken:

• marinated Chicken Tikka see here

For the butter sauce:

• unsalted butter
• onion, peeled and finely chopped
• cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• peeled ginger, finely chopped
• chilli flakes
• tomato puree
• water
• garam masala
• Indian curry powder
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• sugar
• double/heavy cream
• milk

To serve:

• Pilau rice, Turmeric pilau rice or plain white or brown steamed basmati rice
• Fresh, hot naan bread
• sprinkling of chopped coriander
• ¼ lemon per person

Chicken Tikka:

Ideally you should start this dish a few hours, or even the day before, you are cooking it. The chicken benefits from a minimum of 1 hour to marinade but overnight in the fridge, will add a greater depth of flavour. For tips and tricks and all the details on preparing tender, melt in the mouth Chicken Tikka, please refer here.

Butter Sauce:

When you are ready to cook your dinner, make the sauce and cook the chicken:

1. Heat the butter in a pan over a moderate heat. Add the onions, garlic and ginger. NB I chop the onions, garlic and ginger in a mini food processor. Its a wonderful time saver and ensures everything is very finely chopped. You can, of course, do this by hand as well.
2. Cook on a low heat for 5 – 10 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the vegetables are soft and slightly caramelised.
3. Add the garam masala, curry spice, chilli, salt, pepper and sugar.
4. Cook for 1 minute until aromatic.
5. Add the tomato puree and water and stir well.
6. Turn the heat quite low, put the lid on and cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring every now and then.
7. Add the cream and milk and mix thoroughly.

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Cook the Chicken:

You should start cooking the chicken when you have added the tomato paste and water to the sauce. You can cook it either on a barbecue, the oven or on your griddle. For barbecue and oven cooking see here.

1. Using a griddle – spray your griddle with vegetable oil and heat over a high temperature. When it is very hot, add the chicken and let it cook for 3 – 4 minutes.
2. Turn, and cook the other side of the chicken for a further 3 – 4 minutes until just cooked. It is important that the pan is very hot so you can slightly char some of the edges.
3. When the chicken is cooked, take it out of the pan and let it sit for 5 minutes to rest.
4. After 5 minutes, slice the chicken ready to go in the sauce.
5. Do not throw away any of the delicious juices from the chicken – these will be going in the sauce.

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Bring it all together and serve:

1. Add the cooked chicken, and any juices from the chicken, to the sauce.
2. Mix and heat until everything is piping hot.
3. Serve over freshly cooked rice, scatter with fresh coriander and serve a slice of lemon on the side.
4. Delicious with freshly cooked Naan Bread. For recipe, see here.

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Made this recipe?

If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodilkitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.