Butter chicken is perhaps one of the most commonly known and widely enjoyed Indian dish of all times. And there’s a very good reason why, it is amazingly delicious!
I would be totally failing you if I didn’t include a recipe for this world famous dish on my Indian inspired food blog, hahaha.
I have taken a traditional recipe and tweaked it a little so that it is a bit more waist friendly, but I must highlight that there is basically no difference in taste from the heavier version. The sauce is still thick and lush without being overly rich.
Let’s get cooking…
Marinate your chicken and set aside, this can be done up to 24 hours ahead of time.
Start by making the makahani sauce. This is great for batch prepping and freezes really well.
Begin by frying the onions in oil until translucent. Add spices and ginger and garlic and allow it to roast in the oil until fragrant. Add tomato paste and fry for 1 minute. Next pour in the pureed tomatoes and salt, simmer until the liquid has evaporated. Lastly add honey and coconut milk
Allow to simmer until it thickens about 15-20 minutes.
If you are cooking the sauce and on the same day then prepare your chicken while the sauce is cooking.
In a non-stick frying pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and sear the chicken, 3-4 minutes per side. When the sauce has about 5 minutes to go pour the chicken and any pan juices into the sauce and stir. Allow to cook together for the last 5 minutes then turn off the heat and allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Serve with Indian flatbreads, naan or roti’s would do.
Swaps, this is a very versatile sauce and paneer or haloumi can easily be swapped for chicken to make this vegetarian.
You can also use the sauce with frozen meatballs for a quick reheated freezer meal.
Ingredients
500g tomatoes (3-4 medium sized), pureed
1 large onion, diced
1 tblsp tomato paste
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp coriander
1 tsp ginger and garlic paste
1 tsp honey
1 tsp salt
2 tsp curry powder
½ tsp Kashmiri masala
1/ can coconut milk
Oil
- Chicken
500g chicken thigh fillets, cubed
1 tsp ginger and garlic paste
1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tblsp butter
1 tblsp vegetable oil
Directions
- Marinate your chicken and set aside, this can be done up to 24 hours ahead of time.
- Begin by frying the onions in oil until translucent. Add spices and ginger and garlic and allow it to roast in the oil until fragrant. Add tomato paste and fry for 1 minute. Next pour in the pureed tomatoes and salt, simmer until the liquid has evaporated. Lastly add honey and coconut milk
- Allow to simmer until it thickens about 15-20 minutes.
- If you are cooking the sauce and on the same day then prepare your chicken while the sauce is cooking.
- In a non-stick frying pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and sear the chicken, 3-4 minutes per side.
- When the sauce has about 5 minutes to go pour the chicken and any pan juices into the sauce and stir. Allow to cook together for the last 5 minutes then turn off the heat and allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.
- Serve with Indian flatbreads, naan or roti’s would do.
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