DAPHNE'S VERSION OF BUTTER CHICKEN ~ A SPICY LITTLE DISH

Good Afternoon to you,

Are you a lover of spice?

Do you enjoy that wonderful after taste, when you have eaten something flavoured with spices.

I know I do.

So today I thought I would share a recipe with you which was given to me by my friend Wasanti. It isn't exactly the same dish that Wasanti would make, as firstly, Wasanti loves her Butter Chicken very, very  hot, whereas I like mine less hot and more spicy.... and secondly Wasanti has her own special blend of spices which are mixed for her in her local village. Having said that, Wasanti kindly gifted me a jar of mixed spices, but I have made Butter Chicken so many times, that although the spices were used sparingly I used them all up quite a while ago.... and you will have heard me say before, that a recipe is a guideline, it can be adapted to suit your own taste, so that is what I have done, adapted the recipe to suit my palette.

For instance, I use olive oil instead of ghee to brush the chicken whilst it is baking,  also I use full fat Greek yoghurt, as both ingredients I use on a daily basis.

Now for the title, Butter Chicken.... does that fill your taste buds with delight.... probably not, I have to admit it does sound rather boring, but when I tell you that Butter Chicken is made with a glorious mix of spices which will tantalise the taste buds, then I feel sure you will be a little more interested.

.... but before I share the list of ingredients, I must tell you, there are two parts to this recipe.  The marinading of the chicken, which can be done first thing in the morning, ready to cook in the evening. Or, if you prefer, marinade the chicken overnight, which I prefer to do, ready to cook the next day.

.... and the ingredients, when you look at the list, you will probably think, 'oh no, not another recipe with 101 ingredients', but please don't fret, as the ingredients list, appears long, purely because of the amount of spices we are going to use.  Again that might put you off, but please don't let it, as I know you may not have all the spices in your store cupboard, but trust me, if you are a lover of spice, once you make Butter Chicken, it will be something you will make over and over again, as once the spices have been bought, the actual dish is not an expensive dish to make. My friends love Butter Chicken and my family love it also,  so I feel sure it will be worth investing in the spices as they will not go to waste.

Now for the dish itself,

What do you think.  Does this Butter Chicken look tasteless and boring.... I would say, absolutely not.  I'm looking at the photograph and I could just reach for a piece of Naan bread or crusty bread and dip it straight into the Butter Chicken sauce.

So let us begin with the ingredients you will need to make Butter Chicken.

INGREDIENTS

YOU WILL NEED

TO MAKE

BUTTER CHICKEN

Serves 4

1kg of chicken legs 

THE MARINADE

2 garlic cloves ~ grated or crushed

1 tablespoon of freshly grated ginger

1 teaspoon of sea salt

2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon of chilli powder

1 teaspoon of garam masala

1 teaspoon of ground turmeric

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons olive oil

100ml full fat Greek Yoghurt

THE SAUCE

40g of unsalted butter

2 garlic cloves ~ grated or crushed

1 tablespoon of freshly grated ginger

1 tablespoon of garam masala 

1 teaspoon of ground coriander

1 teaspoon of ground turmeric

1 teaspoon of chilli powder

8 crushed cardamom pods ~ crushed, seeds removed

1 teaspoon of sea salt

2 tablespoons of tomato puree

1 400g tin of tomatoes ~ chopped

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1 teaspoon of sugar

Water - fill the empty tin of tomatoes with water

100 ml Greek Yoghurt
Handful of coriander ~ chopped

You will also need a large baking tray

and

a baking rack

HOW TO MAKE

BUTTER CHICKEN

THE MARINADE

Using a large sized bowl, mix together all the marinade ingredients.

Place the chicken in the bowl and spoon over the marinade and make sure each piece of chicken is coated.  Cover the bowl with a plate or if you prefer clingfilm and place the bowl in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.

THE NEXT DAY

Preheat the oven to 180 F

Using a large baking tray, place a baking rack over the baking tray, as you will find, whilst the chicken is cooking some of the marinade will drip through the holes in the baking rack. 

Place the marinaded chicken on the grill rack, spoon extra marinade onto the top of the chicken and bake for 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and brush the chicken with oil and turn over. At this point I spoon any residue of marinade onto the chicken. Cook for another 10-15 minutes.   You may find there is still some marinade left in the bowl, but don't worry as it can be added to the sauce.

Whilst the chicken is cooking, make the sauce.

HOW TO 

MAKE THE 

SAUCE

Using a medium sized pan.

Using a medium heat, melt the butter and add the grated garlic and ginger.  Cook for a couple of minutes, moving the ingredients around the pan.

Turn up the heat and,

add the garam masala, ground coriander,  turmeric, chilli powder, cardamom seeds.

Stir for 2 minutes.

Reduce the heat.

Add the tomato puree to the pan and stir for another couple of minutes.

Add the tin of chopped tomatoes, sugar, water, lemon juice

and salt.

Bring to a simmer and simmer for 15 minutes. If you have any left over marinade, place it in the sauce (waste not want not) and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning, add more salt if necessary.

TO FINISH THE BUTTER CHICKEN.

Using a wide pan, place the baked chicken into the pan and gently pour the sauce around the chicken. Place a lid on the pan and gently simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes. Halfway through the cooking time baste the chicken with the sauce.

When the chicken is cooked, stir in the Greek yoghurt and garnish with some chopped coriander leaves.

You can serve this with Basmati rice and naan bread, or sometimes as I do, just crusty bread.  I have even been known to serve Butter Chicken with mashed potatoes, because the plain mashed potato works well with the rich spicy sauce. 

I have also used this sauce to make a similar curry ~ Paneer Curry.  I have added the recipe to this weeks Featured post.

Now just a word about cooking times.  It is always difficult to say how long it will take for meat to cook, because it depends on the size of the portions being used.  You might find you need to cook your chicken a little longer. So please, always check to make sure the chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Also, you might find this Butter Chicken too spicy, or not spicy enough.... again, adjust the heat to suit your taste.

.... and do I think you will make this Butter Chicken again.... oh absolutely.

Take care and I will catch up with you next Saturday.