BUTTER CHICKEN
PREP TIME
COOK TIME
SERVES
CALORIES
Ingredients
• 1 kg A’Saffa boneless chicken (skinless)
• Juice of 1 lime
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp red chilli powder (or to suit taste)
• 6 cloves
• 8-10 peppercorns
• 1” stick of cinnamon
• 2 bay leaves
• 8-10 almonds •
Seeds from 3-4 pods of cardamom
• 1 cup fresh yoghurt (not sour)
• 3 tbsp cooking oil
• 2 onions,chopped
• 2 tsp garlic paste
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
•1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 can (400 g) of tomato paste
• 1/2 Lt chicken stock
• 2 tbsp Kasuri Methi
(dried fenugreek leaves)
• 3 tbsp soft butter
• Coriander leaves to garnish
Cooking Instructions
• Mix the A’Saffa chicken, lime juice, salt and red chilli powder in a large, non-metallic bowl • Cover
and allow to marinate for 1 hr • Heat a flat pan on medium heat and gently roast (stirring frequently)
the cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, bay leaves and almonds till they darken slightly • Cool and add
the cardamom seeds • Grind into a coarse powder in a clean, dry coffee grinder • Mix the yoghurt,
whole spice powder (from previous step), coriander, cumin and turmeric powders and add them to
the chicken • Allow to marinate for 1 hr • Heat the oil in a deep pan on medium heat • When hot,
add the onions and fry till pale golden brown in colour • Add ginger and garlic pastes • Fry for 1 min
• Add the chicken from the chicken-spice mix and fry • Now add tomato paste, chicken stock, Kasuri
Methi and rest of the yogurt-spice mix • Cook till the chicken is tender and the gravy is reduced
to half of original volume • Melt butter in a small pan and pour it over the chicken • Garnish with
coriander leaves and serve with Naan (Indian bread) and Kaali Daal (dark lentil) • For an authentic
and traditional cooked-over-the-coals flavour: When the Butter Chicken is cooked, make a small
bowl shape with aluminium foil and place it on top of the curry (‘floating’ on it) • Heat a briquette
of charcoal on an open flame till red hot and gently put the charcoal into the aluminium foil bowl •
Cover the dish immediately (for a barbeque flavour) • Remove the cover just before serving, discard
the foil and charcoal, and serve