Homemade Butter Chicken
This homemade butter chicken is restaurant quality and is made with supermarket ingredients!
Servings: 4
Cost: £4 / $5
Equipment
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Large Mixing Bowl, Spatula & Cling Film
- Large Pan, Tongs & Wooden Spoon
- Blender
Ingredients
Marinade
- 160g / 2/3 cup full fat Plain Yoghurt
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tbsp finely grated/minced Fresh Ginger
- 3 cloves of Garlic, finely grated/minced
- 2 tsp Garam Masala (see notes)
- 1 tsp EACH: Turmeric, Ground Coriander, Salt, Kashmiri Chilli Powder (see notes)
- 1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
- 640g / 1.4lb boneless skinless Chicken Thighs, diced into large bite-sized pieces
Sauce
- 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil, or as needed
- 4 tbsp / 60g Unsalted Butter (divided into 4 pieces)
- 1 large White Onion, finely diced
- 2 tsp finely grated/minced Fresh Ginger
- 2 cloves of Garlic, finely diced
- 1 tsp EACH: Garam Masala, Ground Fenugreek, Ground Coriander, Ground Cumin, Kashmiri Chilli Powder (adjust chilli powder to spice preference)
- 500g / 2 cups Tomato Passata (pureed tomatoes in US)
- 160ml / 2/3 cup Water
- 40g / 1/3 cup Unsalted Cashews (see notes)
- 180ml / 3/4 cup Double/Heavy Cream, at room temp
- 1 1/2 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Salt, or to taste
- Rice, Coriander/Cilantro, Flatbreads or Naan, to serve
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together all the marinade ingredients beside the chicken. Mix in the chicken until fully coated, then tightly cover and rest in the fridge for 3-24 hours (aim for the latter if you can). Take out the fridge 30 minutes before needed.
- Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Use tongs to pluck out half of the chicken and space it out in the pan. Leave to fry until it begins to char, then flip the pieces and continue frying until charred on the other side and cooked through the centre (around 3 mins on each side depending on size). Remove and store in a bowl to one side and repeat with the second batch, adding more oil as needed. Keep the leftover marinade in the bowl!
- Turn the heat down slightly and melt in 1 tbsp of the butter. Add the onion and fry until soft and golden, then add in the garlic, ginger, garam masala, chilli powder, ground coriander, ground cumin and ground fenugreek. Fry for a minute, then pour in the passata. Swill out the carton/jar with 2/3 cup water and add that in too. Use a spatula to scrape in all of the leftover marinade then finally add in the cashews.
- Bring to a gentle simmer and allow to bubble away for 15 minutes until the sauce thickens and the cashews soften. Carefully transfer it to a blender and pulse until smooth, adding a dash of water to loosen it up if needed.
- Pour back into the pan and stir in the cream, sugar and salt. Bring to a very gentle bubble and stir through the rest of the butter, then stir in the cooked chicken alongside all of the resting juices. Gently simmer for around 10 minutes to heat the chicken back through and allow its flavours to seep into the sauce.
- Check for seasoning and adjust if needed (don't skimp on the salt), then serve up with rice, naan and fresh coriander/cilantro if desired!
Video
Notes
a) Chicken thighs - highly recommend using chicken thighs as they're much fattier than breasts. This means they're more flavoursome and are less prone to drying out. Getting a light char on the chicken is important to develop some authentic flavour!
b) Marinade - Definitely aim for the longer marination time if you can. When you fry the chicken, just use the tongs to pluck out individual pieces, so you're not pouring excess marinade into the pan. Any marinade that's left in the bowl is extra flavour and definitely shouldn't be wasted!
c) Store-bought spices - You'll find all of the spices in regular supermarkets, including garam masala and ground fenugreek. The only one you might struggle to find is the Kashmiri Chilli Powder. It'll be in most Asian/global stores, but if you want you can sub regular chilli powder you find at the supermarkets. Preferably the red chilli powder in the Asian section with the other Indian-style spices, but if not, just use regular chilli powder.
d) Cashews - These help add to the creaminess of the dish and also thicken the sauce. If you can't use them for allergy reasons consider adding a dash more cream at the end. The sauce will also be thinner, so simmer for a little longer to thicken up at the end if you feel you need to.
e) Serving - Naan or Flatbreads are a must!
f) Calories - Just the curry (no sides).
Nutrition
Calories: 658kcal | Carbohydrates: 29.43g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 44.35g | Saturated Fat: 23.836g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3.587g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13.446g | Trans Fat: 0.498g | Cholesterol: 247mg | Sodium: 1393mg | Potassium: 1230mg | Fiber: 4.1g | Sugar: 16.33g | Vitamin A: 1749IU | Vitamin C: 19.6mg | Calcium: 149mg | Iron: 5.68mg