This Butter Chicken is really a British recipe although it is Indian inspired. The sauce is velvety smooth but not thick. I really like this one, it is absolutely delicious served with either basmati rice or fresh hot Nan or both.
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Ingredients
Marinade
- 4-6 skinless boneless chicken thighs
- 2 cloves garlic grated (or 2 teaspoons of bottled garlic pre-grated)
- 2 tsp grated ginger (or bottled ginger pre-grated)
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 small juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/3 cup sour cream diluted with a little water, or yogurt
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- salt to taste
Sauce
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 garlic cloves grated (or 2 teaspoon of bottled, pre-grated)
- 1/2 tsp grated cardamom or one pod seed lightly crushed
- 2 whole cloves
- 2-3 whole pepper corns
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp Asian chili sauce or hot chili powder
- 1/2 cup tomato paste
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp sugar or honey or to taste (depends on how sour the tomato puree/yogurt is)
- salt to taste
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- Chopped cilantro to garnish
Instructions
- Gather all ingredients before starting recipe.
Marinade
- Cut chicken thighs into 1 inch pieces and add to a glass bowl; add grated garlic, ginger, salt, chili powder, lemon juice and yogurt or diluted sour cream. Mix to coat chicken pieces, then cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for a half hour of up to 4 hours.
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 400°
- Place marinated chicken on a non-stick aluminum foil lined cookie sheet and place in pre heated oven. Cook for 10 minutes, then turn and cook for a further 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside when time is up.
Sauce
- When the chicken is done, add butter to a sauce pan and heat over medium high heat until the butter melts.
- Add cardamom, cloves, pepper corns, coriander, garam masala, turmeric and chili powder, or Asian chilli paste, stir to combine, then add grated ginger and grated garlic. Cook for 1 more minute.
- Add the tomato paste and a 1/2 cup of water and salt and stir well to combine, simmer for 10 minutes. Add the sugar or honey.
- Remove chicken from oven, reserving all the juices from the pan.
- Add the chicken pieces, and any accumulated juices from the sheet pan and turn the chicken to coat each pieces, simmer for 5 minutes.
- Finally, add a tablespoon of butter and heavy cream and stir continuously until the butter has melted and the sauce is smooth.
Plating
- Serve Butter Chicken over basmati rice, sprinkled with freshly chopped coriander.
Author Notes
I have tried various recipes to try to replicate the Butter Chicken that I ate in London (England) and this version is close. I have tinkered with various versions to the point that this has become my recipe; it blends ingredients from various sources and chefs, as no doubt there is no fixed recipe for Butter Chicken
