I've been searching and searching for a way to make a traditional butter chicken complete with the right spices and I finally came up with one! Creamy and full of spice this comfort food makes for a wonderful family meal.
One of my favourite cuisines in the world is Indian food. The spices, the richness and warmth you get when eating it makes it one of the best and most comforting cuisines in the world. Usually when I had made butter chicken in the past it always has cumin in it, which is a wonderful spice but tastes like taco seasoning to me so it never seemed to fit right in the butter chicken recipe. I went and found some Indian spices such as Kashmiri chili powder and garam masala which I think really helped make this dish what I wanted.
You want to marinate the chicken overnight if you can or for at least 4 hours. Another trick I found was using cashew cream to give the sauce a rich creaminess that makes this recipe so delicious. The marinade is a greek yogurt base and filled with all those amazing spices.
Traditional Butter Chicken
Ingredients:
Marinade;
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon tumeric
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kashmiri chili powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
- 3/4 tablespoon ginger paste
- 3/4 tablespoon garlic paste
- 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Butter Chicken Sauce;
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste
- 1 teaspoon garlic paste
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Kashmiri chili powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
- 3/4 cup raw cashews - soaked in warm water for 25 minutes then puréed
- 1 1/2 cups tomato puree
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons coconut milk
- salt to season
- fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions:
Combine all marinade ingredients in a bowl and cube up chicken into 2 inch chunks. Coat chicken in marinade and wrap bowl in plastic wrap. Place in fridge and let marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
In a large sauce pan on medium heat cook the marinaded chicken until its cooked all the way, remove chicken from pan and cover with tinfoil to keep warm. Give the sauce pan a quick wipe and use it to make sauce.
In the same large saucepan melt butter, then stir in ginger and garlic paste, let cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in Kashmiri chili powder, turmeric and garam masala, let cook for another 1 minute.
Stir in tomato puree and honey, let cook for about 15 minutes. Using an immersion blender, blend sauce until well combines and smooth. Blend in cashew cream and coconut milk, season with salt.
Stir in cooked chicken and top with fresh cilantro. Serve on basmati rice and with a nice pice of naan.
This is easily one of my favourite meals to eat and now its a favourite meal to make!
Enjoy!
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