Every time we chose Indian for dinner, Butter Chicken was the dish I would choose at the restaurant to contribute to the evening meal. I tried to recreate the dish using pre-made jars from the stores but found they never tasted quite the same as the restaurant. With my restaurant-style Butter Chicken cravings costing me lots of money, I decided to try and find a recipe that I could prepare at home to indulge in this comfort dish at a fraction of the cost.

Prep & Cooking Time – 45 minutes + marinating time | Serves – 4

INGREDIENTS

for the marinade
– 600g chicken breast or thigh, diced
– 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
– 170g (one standard tub) of natural yoghurt
– 2 teaspoons minced ginger
– 2 teaspoons minced garlic
– 3 Tablespoons Tandoori paste

for the gravy
– 3 Tablespoon butter
– 2 cardamoms
– 1 cinnamon stick
– 2 cloves
– 400g (1 can) of tomato puree
– 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
– 1 teaspoon garam masala
– 1 Tablespoon honey
– 1Tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves (optional)
– 250ml thickened cream

METHOD

Step 1. Combine chicken, lemon juice, salt, chilli powder, yoghurt, ginger, garlic and tandoori paste in a bowl. Leave to marinade for at least an hour but for best results, leave to marinade overnight.

Step 2. Once marinated, lay it out on a baking tray to cook under a grill, set to high to brown the chicken.

Step 3. Once one side of the diced chicken is browned, turn the chicken over to cook the other side.

Step 4. While the chicken is grilling, prepare the gravy by melting butter in a saucepan on medium heat. Then add cardamoms, cinnamon stick and cloves, stirring for one minute.

Step 5. Add tomato puree and tomato paste then leave to simmer on low heat for 15 minutes with the lid half covered. During this time, the sauce will thicken.

Step 6. Add the rest if the ingredients (garam masala, honey, fenugreek leaves and thickened cream) as well as the grilled chicken to the saucepan and let it simmer for a further 15 minutes.