This Butter Chicken recipe is a family favourite, given the chance my kids would probably eat it everyday! I have eaten Butter Chicken from so many different restaurants and it can vary so much but this is the one I have settled on as a favourite. If you like yours spicy then you could always add some hot chilli powder or fresh chillies to the sauce.
You will need:
Chicken & Marinade
8 Chicken Thighs (deboned) or 4 Chicken Breast if you prefer
2 Garlic Cloves (crushed)
Thumb Size piece of Ginger (finely chopped)
1 Tsp Garam Masala
½ Tsp Turmeric
1 Tsp Cumin
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
100ml Natural Yoghurt
Sauce
2 Garlic Cloves (finely chopped)
Thumb Size piece of Ginger (finely chopped)
Seeds from 1 Cardamom Pod (crushed)
2 Cloves (crushed)
1 Tsp Garam Masala
1 Tsp Dried Coriander Leaf
1 Tsp Turmeric
400g Tomato Puree
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
50g Unsalted Butter
150ml Double Cream
Plus a little oil, butter or ghee for frying your spices
1. Pour your yoghurt into a jug and combine the garlic, ginger, garam masala, turmeric, cumin and lemon juice together.
2. Put your chicken in a glass bowl or another container and pour the yoghurt mixture over the top, then massage it all over the chicken to make sure it is all coated.
3. Cover with cling film or put a lid on and put in the fridge for around 4 hours or even overnight.
4. Get a BBQ setup for direct grilling.
5. Put your chicken onto kebab skewers and cook the chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 74C/165F.
6. Heat up a high sided cast iron pan or dutch oven and start off by frying your garlic and ginger in a little oil, butter or ghee.
7. Next add your cardamom pod seeds, cloves, garam masala, dried coriander leaf and turmeric, cook them for a couple minutes to start to release their oils, at this point it should be smelling amazing!
8. Now add your tomato puree and lemon juice and give it all a good stir so all the lovely spices goes all through your sauce.
9. Chop your chicken into bite size pieces and add it to the sauce, ensuring all the chicken is covered.
10. Now add your butter to the sauce and stir it until the butter has all melted into the sauce.
11. Finally add the cream to the sauce and keep stirring until you have an amazing orange colour sauce.
12. Serve straight away with rice, naan breads and my personal favourite Brinjal (Aubergine) Pickle!
Cheers
Ben
BBQ Butter Chicken
By Ben Forte
19