Creamy Butter Chicken Curry

This is the perfect dish to warm you up amidst the gloomy January weather: mild yet warming and creamy whilst still brimming with flavour.

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I feel that my recipes generally fit into two broad categories: speedy and light or indulgent and a little more time consuming. This curry definitely fits into the latter category but the added amount of time and effort required is infinitely  worth it, I promise you!  The chicken is marinated and then grilled which makes it SO tender on the inside but with a charred tandoori esque texture on the outside. This is then added to a creamy tomato sauce that has been bubbling away for an hour to allow all the beautiful Indian spices to  meld with it. Serve this all up with rice and naan bread and a generous dollop of raita and you have a filling and heavenly meal.

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Serves 4 

Prep time – 15 minutes 

Cooking time – 1 hour

Ingredients

Marinade 

  • 400 g chicken breast, cut into medium chunks
  • 2 tbsp natural yogurt
  • 1 clove garlic, diced
  • 1 thumb of ginger, peeled and diced
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • juice of 1 lime
  • salt and pepper

Sauce 

  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 red onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, diced
  • 1 thumb of ginger, peeled and diced
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 chicken stock cube
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 small bunch fresh coriander, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • salt and pepper
  • 100 ml double cream
  • 2 tbsp natural yogurt

Method

  1. In a bowl mix together all of the ingredients listed under “marinade” apart from the chicken breast until evenly combined. Add the chicken breast and use your hands to coat it with the marinade. Cover and place in the fridge until you are ready to cook it.
  2. Place a large frying pan or saucepan on a medium heat and add 2 tbsp of butter and the vegetable oil. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, chili flakes and fresh coriander and fry for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the remaining spices (garam masala, coriander, curry powder, cumin and paprika) and fry for a further 1 minute. This will help to unlock the flavour in the spices.
  3. Stir in the honey and tomato puree and then the tin of tomatoes. Fill this tin with warm water and then pour that into the pan as well. Crumble over the stock cube and a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper, stir to combine and then turn the heat up until it boils. When it starts to bubble turn the heat down and leave this to simmer away for 45 minutes – 1 hour.
  4. Meanwhile preheat a grill to 250 degrees. Line a tray with foil and sprinkle down a little oil. Place the chicken onto this tray and then place under the grill, when there is 10 minutes to go for the sauce, and cook for approx 10 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
  5. Pour the cream and yogurt and the final 2 tbsp of butter into the sauce and then add the chicken to the pan as well and stir until everything has evenly combined. Taste the sauce and add more salt, pepper, chili flakes, cream etc depending on your preference.
  6. Sprinkle over any remaining coriander and a swirl of cream and then serve with rice and naan bread, or anything else you have around!

I hope that you enjoyed this recipe! Please let me know in the comments what you think and do not forget to subscribe or follow my Instagram for more recipes from me! The links to do both can be found in the side bar >>>

 

43 thoughts on “Creamy Butter Chicken Curry”

  9. Wendy says:
    Reply

    Yummmmmy – I LOVE butter chicken but have never cooked it myself. I’ve saved this recipe to try – thank you and I’m sure it’s going to taste as good as it looks and sounds from your post! xx

    Liked by 2 people

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