Butter Chicken

The very best curry is fairly time consuming but so, so worth it. That’s how I categorise this meal; it’s more of a delicious weekend effort than a weekday meal. It involves juggling a few things and throwing in a lot of ingredients.

Served with some Nigella seeds and I reserved a little of the fried garlic for a topping

But during the cooking process it smells INCREDIBLE and the end product is one of the best curries I've ever eaten - woooooorth it!

Serves 4

Ingredients for the chicken

• 3-4 chicken breasts or 700g boneless thighs, diced into large chunks
• Thumb ginger, grated
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 80ml Greek yogurt

Ingredients for the sauce

• 4 cloves garlic, diced roughly
• 125ml vegetable oil
• Thumb minced ginger
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 green cardamom pods
• 2 cinammon sticks
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 200ml water (swilled around the empty tomato can)
• 100ml pasatta
• 30g butter
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp fenugreek leaves
• Pinch of dill
• 80ml double cream

Method

Begin with the chicken. Mix together all of the marinade ingredients, ensuring the chicken is well coated. Cover and set aside for at least an hour, up to 24 hours.

When you’re ready to cook the meal, start with the sauce.

Heat a large saucepan and add the oil. Add in the roughly chopped garlic and fry for a few minutes until light golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aisde.

Throw in the bay leaves, cardamom pods and cinnamon sticks and let crackle for a minute. Add the remaining minced garlic and the ginger and turn the heat down. Let cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly so it doesn’t catch.

Blitz the chopped tomatoes in a food processor until they are a smooth paste and add to the pan with the water and pasatta. Stir, then add the salt and chilli powder. Allow to simmer until reduced by half (about 30 minutes). You need to stir regularly.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C near the end of the 30 minutes. Add the chicken to the oven  and roast for 15-20 minutes.

Back to the sauce. Stir in the butter until melted, then add the garam masala, honey, cumin fenugreek and dill and gently simmer for a further 15 minutes.

Add the reserved fried garlic, the roasted chicken and the cream.

Simmer for 5 minutes more - it will be a beautiful dark orange colour and smell absolutely incredible.

Serve over some basmati rice and the bread of your choice. I also sprinkled over some Nigella seeds when serving mine because they’re delicious.