Butter Chicken

Not necessarily authentic but a lovely curry. It makes a large quantity with a lot of sauce - think a meal and one for the freezer or the next day and a container of sauce only. I usually spoon of a generous amount of the sauce, put it in a container and then in the freezer. It can be used in the same way as any of the commercial cooking sauces but is much nicer.

Use ground almonds if you do not want to grind the cashews. I have also made this without marinading the chicken and then adding all the marinade ingredients and chicken into the sauce. Still very nice.

Butter Chicken

Ingredients

Marinade 100 ml natural yoghurt Juice of 1  lemon 2 teaspoons  turmeric 1 tablespoon garam masala 2 teaspoons chilli powder 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 small knob/ 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger 1kilo chicken thigh/breast fillets, chopped into bite sized pieces 100g cashews unsalted, ground To serve chopped coriander cashews steamed basmati rice

Sauce 60g unsalted butter 1 tablespoon oil 2 onions, finely chopped 6 garlic cloves, crushed 2 teaspoons ground cardamom 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 2 bay leaves 1 cinnamon stick 1 tablespoon smoked sweet paprika 425 g can tomato puree or half bottle passata 1 cup chicken stock (water and stock cube) 300 ml thickened cream

Method

Combine yoghurt, lemon juice, turmeric, garam masala, chilli, cumin and ginger in a bowl.

Add chicken and stir well. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for as long as possible.

Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until the onion starts to soften but not colour, add garlic, butter, cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaves .

Reduce heat to low, add the chicken and marinade, paprika, tomato puree, ground cashews and stock. 

Simmer for 15 -20 minutes. Stir in cream and cook for a further 10 minutes. Remove bay leaves and cinnamon stick.

Garnish with cashews, chopped coriander and serve with rice.