Category: Recipes

Butter Chicken

I have been searching for many years for a butter chicken recipe that tastes like an authentic restaurant experience. I don’t mean authentic Indian experience, just something I would get in New Zealand or Australia if I got a really nice takeaway. This is my best approximation of that! I print and laminate all my recipes out to use at home, but mum wanted this one so here it is, with pictures.

Ingredients . shopping list

Things you will need:

  • Pressure cooker, slow cooker or big pot

Per 1.2kg of raw chicken, makes about 2kg food in total, good for 2.5 meals for 2 people

  • 1.2 kg chicken thigh fillets (no bone, “cutlets” typically have bone in them)
  • 2 x 400g canned tomato
  • 1 x 400ml can of coconut cream
  • 1 x 240g Greek yoghurt
  • 1 onion

Consumables

  • tomato paste
  • ghee (clarified butter – you can use normal butter instead)
  • crushed garlic
  • crushed ginger
  • cashew nut butter
  • garam masala
  • cumin (ground)
  • chilli powder
  • sweet paprika (ground)
  • turmeric (ground)
  • salt
  • sugar

Method

Early prep:

Put the Greek yoghurt into a medium sized bowl

Add to the yoghurt:

  • 1 tsp sweet paprika
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1/2 tsp tumeric
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Cut the chicken into cubes about 1 inch in size

Toss chicken in the yoghurt mix

Put this in the fridge for up to 24 hours

In the moment:

Add 2 cans of tomato to the pressure cooker, set to heat up the pressure cooker (you can skip this if using an ordinary pot)

Measure spices into a small bowl:

  • 2 tsp sweet paprika
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp tumeric
  • 0 – 2 tsp chilli powder (0 for not hot, 2 for hot)

Dice 1 onion and start browning it in 1 tablespoon of ghee (or butter) in a stainless-steel pot

Add 1 tablespoon each of ginger and garlic

Brown the onion, ginger and garlic

Dump spices, and bloom them (you want them to darken and become fragrant, not to blacken

Add cooked onion / spice mix to pressure cooker

Brown the chicken from the fridge using ghee in small batches in the same stainless-steel pot.

Add chicken to pressure cooker, cook on high pressure for 10 mins. Alternatively cook in normal pot for 40 minutes

Add and mix through

  • 2 tbsp cashew butter
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp ghee (or butter)
  • 1 can coconut cream

add a pinch of sugar and salt to taste

Simmer to thicken the sauce

I tend to freeze in portions for 1 or 2 people, it actually tastes better the next day!