Butter chicken is one of those gems that we end up ordering in a restaurant every time we place an order. It is tender and juicy chicken thanks to a deliciously spiced yogurt marinade, Butter Chicken is ridiculously easy to make. The curry sauce is out of this world. There are two main components in this chicken, the first is the butter chicken and the second is the gravy. Place your chicken pieces in a large bowl then add in garlic paste, ginger paste, red chili powder, and salt. Give everything a nice mix and then let the chicken marinate for 15 to 20 minutes. Once your chicken has marinated, start pan frying it.

Add oil in a medium heat pan and start frying the chicken pieces, once the chicken is almost done, transfer into another bowl. In the same pan you used for frying, add in chopped onions with a little oil and since its butter chicken, add in a spoonful of butter. Sweat your onions in the heat until almost ready then add in roughly cut tomatoes with some cashew nuts. Once everything is well mixed, add a little water then the garlic paste, salt, some malt vinegar some sugar, graham masala powder, and red chili. Let the mixture simmer for at least 20 minutes or until everything is nice and mushy. Once nice and soft, transfer the mixture to another container and in that container, you are going to use a hand blender to turn it into a fine puree.

Once your puree has been created, you are going to strain that in the same pan the preheat the gravy and then add in buttercream and chicken. Let it simmer for a few minutes then serve your chicken and drizzle over some fresh cream.

Ingredients;

  • 28 oz (800g) boneless and skinless chicken thighs or breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon red chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon of salt

For the sauce;

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons ghee
  • 1 large onion, sliced or chopped
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon ginger, minced or finely grated
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 14 oz (400 g) crushed tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon red chili powder
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 1 cup of heavy or thickened cream
  • 1 tablespoon sugar

Instructions;

  1. In a bowl, combine chicken with all of the ingredients for the chicken marinade; let marinate for 30 minutes to an hour.
  2. Heat oil in a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat.
  3. When sizzling, add chicken pieces in batches of two or three, making sure not to crowd the pan.
  4. Fry until browned for only 3 minutes on each side. Set aside and keep warm.
  5. Heat butter or ghee in the same pan. Fry the onions until they start to sweat while scraping up any browned bits stuck on the bottom of the pan.
  6. Add garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant, then add ground coriander, cumin, and garam masala.
  7. Let cook for about 20 seconds until fragrant, while stirring occasionally.
  8. Add crushed tomatoes, chili powder, and salt.
  9. Let simmer for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until sauce thickens and becomes a deep brown-red color.
  10. Remove from heat, scoop mixture into a blender and blend until smooth.
  11. You may need to add a couple of tablespoons of water to help it blend. Work in batches depending on the size of your blender.
  12. Pour the puréed sauce back into the pan. Stir the cream, sugar and through the sauce.
  13. Add the chicken with juices back into the pan and cook for an additional 8-10 minutes until chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick and bubbling.
  14. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with fresh, hot basmati rice.