Butter Chicken
This rich, complex and creamy butter chicken curry is a true crowd-pleaser - one to make for the whole family.
From the book
The Ramadan Cookbook
80 recipes for celebrating Ramadan and beyond
From filling ideas for suhoor to satisfying dishes for iftar
An essential resource for anyone observing Ramadan
Introduction
A royal dish if ever there was one, Butter Chicken is known for its luxuriously rich texture and for me, the thicker and creamier the better. It’s a flavourful, aromatic curry with a butter and tomato base – wonderfully creamy and tastes out of this world. My children absolutely love this beautiful dish. I make this often and serve it with basmati rice. My husband loves Butter Chicken too and makes it using this recipe – I’ve got to say it’s pretty good! Forget going out to dinner – make this and have a night in. You can thank me later!
Ingredients
| 4–5 tbsp | oil |
| 2 | bay leaves |
| 1 | onion, finely chopped |
| 500g | chicken breast, cut into chunks |
| 1 tsp | ginger paste |
| 1 tsp | garlic paste |
| 1 tsp | chilli powder |
| 1 tsp | chilli flakes |
| 1 tbsp | Kashmiri chilli powder |
| 1 tsp | ground coriander |
| 1 tsp | ground cumin |
| ½ tsp | ground turmeric |
| 1 tbsp | butter chicken masala or tandoori masala |
| ½ tsp | ½ teaspoon salt |
| ½ tsp | ground black pepper |
| 1 tbsp | dried fenugreek leaves |
| 1 | fresh tomato, chopped |
| 250g | tomato passata |
| 100–150ml | water |
| 125ml | milk |
| 150ml | single or double cream |
| 30g | butter |
| 2 tbsp | lemon juice |
| chopped fresh coriander, to garnish |
Method
Heat the oil in a large saucepan on a low heat, add the bay leaves and onion and cook for 5 minutes until golden brown. Add the chicken, ginger paste and garlic paste and cook for 25 minutes until only a little moisture is left from the chicken.
Add the chilli powder, chilli flakes, Kashmiri chilli powder, ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, butter chicken masala or tandoori masala, salt, pepper and dried fenugreek and stir well. Add the fresh tomato and passata, cook for 1 minute, then pour in the water, milk and cream and stir well. Simmer for 8–10 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
Add the butter, letting it melt through the sauce, then add the lemon juice and serve sprinkled with chopped coriander.
