Butter Chicken~ish

Butter Chicken is a good place to start your introduction to Indian food - for the novice there's just enough spice to make it interesting without being intimidating. There's a wonderful creaminess and a combination of flavours that will soon have you wanting more.

I'm not going to pretend that this is an authentic version of Butter chicken, it's adapted from the Australian Women's Weekly but it hits the right bells when you're eating it. It's very simple and quick to make.




Butter Chicken
[Serves 2]

4 skinless & boned chicken thighs, cut into chunks
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons garam masala
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
½ teaspoon chilli powder
½ cup sheep's milk yoghurt (or plain yoghurt)

1 medium potato, diced
1 onion, sliced finely
½ cup peas

1 tablespoon oil
20 grams butter, diced
1 tablespoons red vinegar
1 tablespoons tomato paste
250ml tomato puree
100ml chicken stock
4 cardamom pods, bruised
1 cinnamon stick

100ml cream
fresh coriander leaves, to garnish

In a bowl place the crushed garlic, garam masala, ground coriander, ground cumin, chilli powder, sweet paprika and yoghurt - stir well to combine before adding the chicken pieces. Make sure they are well coated in the mix before covering with plastic wrap and placing in the fridge for 3 hours.

In a small bowl add the vinegar, tomato paste, tomato puree, chicken stock, cardamom and cinnamon - stir to combine.

Place the oil and butter in a deep pan over a medium heat. When the butter is melted add the onions and sauté until softened and starting to colour.

Remove the onions and set aside.
In the same pan, cook the marinated chicken in batches until browned.

Return the onions to the pan and add the diced potato. Cook for 2 minutes before adding the vinegar mixture.

Bring to the boil before turning down to a simmer.
Cook, uncovered for about 20 minutes before adding the peas. Continue cooking for another 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Stir in the cream until heated but do not let it boil.

Fold in the coriander leaves and place the mixture into a serving bowl before sprinkling over with some more fresh coriander leaves.



Serve with Jasmine rice and naan.

This curry scores from 1-10: