Butter Chicken

If you like Indian food this is one that you must not skip. When I made Butter Chicken for the first time it was a little symphony of flavour. This is an amazing comfort dish, heartwarming, perfect for the colder months with some rice on the side, and maybe some greens like broccoli.

Now let’s get to the recipe, cause you will want this in your plate as soon as possible.

Ingredients:

• 500g chicken thighs/breast
• 400 ml tomato pulp/pasatta – I use Mutti all the time
• 1 medium onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 and 1/2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 100 ml heavy cream
• 50g butter
• juice of half of a lime
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Mix the turmeric, garam masala and ginger powder
2. Chop the chicken into small bite size pieces
3. Add 2 tsp of the spice mixture over the meat and massage the chicken until completely covered with the spices. You can let it marinate a bit, based on how much time I have, I may let it for about half an hour, but if I don’t, I will go right to step 4.
4. Add the butter in a pan, and when it is completely melted, add the chicken. Sear the chicken on all sides. Cook it for about 10 mins.
5. While the chicken is having a hot butter bath, it is time to dice the onion and mince the garlic.
6. Take the chicken out of the pan leaving the remaining butter in the pan.
7. In the same pan, add the onion and garlic and sauté them a bit. Add the rest of the spice mixture and the cinnamon sticks and stir continuously frying the spices for about a minute.
8. Add the tomato pulp and deglaze the pan. Then add the chicken back in the pan and let it simmer for about 10 mins.
9. Add the cream and mix it all together. Let it simmer for 5 to10 mins. At the end, squeeze the juice of half a lime (you can use lemon as well). This adds a bit of freshness to the dish.
10. Serve it with rice, or naan breads (I have a recipe for some delicious flatbreads in my Instagram highlights.

Let me know if you try the recipe and if you enjoy it!