After trying for my first time the butter chicken in an Indian restaurant, I know that I had to do it at home (you won’t guess how many Indian recipes are naturally gluten-free!). After many attempts, I could finally reach a balanced recipe that could please everyone, even the people that hate spices and hot food!

My wife and I cannot eat spicy hot food since it harms our stomachs. As well, we know loads of people, especially from Latin America, who are not used to spicy food and cannot tolerate it. But guess what, they went crazy with this one!

My final test was to give a cooking class for my whole family including my aunt, cousins and my grandmother! After all the chaos you would expect from an Italian family in a video call (on Zoom, of course, cause, you know… COVID) as everyone was talking, some shouting, some left behind and a lot of laughter, they managed to finish their cooking. I can’t explain their reactions when they tried the food they made themselves. They were totally amused saying that this was the best thing they have tried for a long time. I was so happy with the results that actually, that was the kickstart I needed to start this blog.

This recipe is quite easy to make and you need a few things only:

• A skillet
• A pot with its lid
• A blender

You need to know that you have to marinate the chicken for at least an hour before starting to cook (you can also leave it overnight). This step is essential to have a flavorful chicken and the yogurt and spices will make it tender as well.

Also, please read the labels. This recipe calls for a lot of spices, and I have seen quite a bunch that have either gluten ingredients or cross-contamination. So be careful!!

We will use a classic Indian spice mix called Garam Masala. You can buy it ready from your store or make it yourself (a future post coming for it!). Speaking with my Indian colleague, he told me that the quality of the garam masala is crucial for this recipe. Lots of brands that they sell here and not good enough and quite bland. He even brings his own garam masala from India! So my recommendation is to try to get an Indian branded spice. It will make a difference, trust me (I have tried).

Now, enough talking, let’s go to the recipe!

Simply the Best Butter Chicken

Recipe by Giovanni PamparanaCourse: Indian, MainsCuisine: IndianDifficulty: Medium

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Just OMG this Butter Chicken. It has flavor, creamy texture, the right amount of spices… everything!

Ingredients

• Chicken Marinade

• 800 g chicken thighs (boneless and skinless)
  You can use breasts also but I firmly recommend thighs

• 3/4 cup plain yogurt (if you can use 2% fat or more is better)

• 1 tbsp finely grated ginger

• 1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic (around 8 cloves)

• 2 tsp garam masala

• 1-2 tsp chilli powder (depending on how hot you like your food, with 1 tsp you won’t feel it spicy)

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp turmeric

• 12 g salt (1 1/2 tsp kosher salt)

• Sauce

• 2 tbsp ghee (you can replace it with 1 tbsp of butter + 1 tbsp vegetable oil)

• 1 onion (diced)

• 1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic (around 8 cloves)

• 1 tbsp finely grated ginger

• 2 tsp garam masala

• 1 1/2 tsp cumin

• 1 tsp ground coriander seed (or 1 tbsp dry coriander)

• 1-3 tsp chilli powder (depending on how hot you like your food, with 1 tsp you won’t feel it spicy)

• 550 g diced tomatoes

• 16 g salt (2 tsp kosher salt)

• 1 1/2 tbsp sugar

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 1 cup unsalted raw cashews

• Fresh parsley to garnish

Directions

• Cut the chicken into 2×2 cm cubes and mix with every ingredient in the marinade section. Cover up and let it rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour (can be overnight as well).
• Heat a large pot and melt the ghee (or butter + oil mixture) and fry the onions on medium heat until they start to sweat (they will start to look a bit translucent) stirring occasionally. It will take around 5-10 minutes, but be careful, don’t let them brown.
• Add the garlic and ginger, and continue cooking them for 3-5 more minutes until you feel the fragrance of them. Continue stirring occasionally.
• Incorporate all the spices and fry them for 1 minute so they release all their fragance as well!
• Now add the tomatoes, salt and sugar. Give it a good mix and put the lid on. Keep the heat on medium so it simmers (you will see some bubbles coming out from the sauce, it’s like a low boiling). Let it cook for 15 minutes stirring once in a while so it doesn’t stick to the bottom.
• Meanwhile, heat up a large skillet with 2 tbsp of olive oil. When it’s hot, start frying the chicken on medium-high with all the marinade (it has all the flavour!!). Just cook it until the sides are cooked, since we are going to finish it with the sauce!
• When the sauce finishes cooking, put it on the blender with the cashew nuts. Blend it until it becomes a smooth sauce. If you see that the sauce is too thick to be blended, you can add a little water to help it (no more than 1/4 cup, we still need a rather thick sauce).
  Tip: Be careful with this step, since the sauce is hot, steam bubbles can be produced and splash out sauce everywhere and can burn you!
• Return the sauce to the pot, transfer the chicken with all its juices to the sauce and add the heavy cream. Cook everything together at medium heat so it simmers for about 10 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked and the sauce has thickened.
• And now, serve over hot basmati rice, garnish with chopped parsley and a jet of cream! Enjoy!

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