Seema's butter chicken
Tender and rich butter chicken is perfect for a weekend feast. Serve with homemade roti for the ultimate fakeaway,
Ingredients
For the paste
- 10 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2cm/1in piece fresh root ginger, grated
- 6 green chillies, crushed
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
For the chicken marinade
- 150²µ/5½´Ç³ú plain full-fat yoghurt
- ½ lemon, juice only
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp garam masala
- 800g/1lb 12oz boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 tsp salt
For the curry
- 150²µ/5½´Ç³ú butter or ghee
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 1 star anise (optional)
- 1 cinnamon stick (optional)
- 3–4 cloves (optional)
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp red chilli powder
- 3 tbsp tomato purée
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 250ml/9fl oz double cream
- 2 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves (optional)
- ½ lemon, juice only
- small handful fresh coriander
- 1 tsp salt
For the roti
- 300g/10½oz chapati flour, wholemeal or plain
- pinch salt
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 200ml/7fl oz freshly boiled water
To serve
- steamed basmati rice
Method
To make the paste, mix together the garlic, ginger, chilli and oil in a small bowl.
To make the chicken marinade, in a large bowl mix the yoghurt, lemon juice and spices together with the salt, then stir in half of the garlic, ginger and chilli paste. Add the chicken and mix well. If you’re making this ahead, you can now cover and leave in the fridge until the next day. If not, carry on as below!
Preheat the grill to its highest setting. Place the marinated chicken on a baking tray and grill until it’s charred, about 5–6 minutes on each side. It doesn’t need to cook through at this stage. Set aside.
Meanwhile, to make the curry, in a large saucepan melt the butter over a medium heat. Once it’s melted, add the onion and cumin seeds along with the star anise, cinnamon stick and cloves, if using. Cook the onions for about 10 minutes, until they turn golden and caramelised.
Add the rest of the garlic, ginger and chilli paste to the pan, along with the ground spices, salt and tomato purée. Cook for another 10 minutes, until the tomato purée separates from the oil.
Add the tinned tomatoes and cook for 15–20 minutes, until the sauce thickens and the oil separates from the tomato mixture, creating a rich sauce.
Add the grilled chicken, along with any cooking liquid. Stir in the double cream and add the dried fenugreek leaves, if using. Stir well and cook for about 5 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked through.
Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
To make the roti, combine the chapati flour with the salt, oil and freshly boiled water in a large bowl. Mix it with a spoon until it's cool enough to handle, then knead for 5 minutes to form a sticky dough. Pour another tablespoon of oil over the dough and continue to knead so that the dough is less sticky and very soft. Cover the dough and leave to rest for 15–20 minutes.
Place a frying pan on a high heat and allow it to warm up for 2 minutes. Pinch off a golf ball-sized piece of dough and liberally dust your work surface with flour. Roll the dough gently into a small circle and coat it again with flour. Continue rolling until you form a thin circle about 15cm/6in in diameter.
Place the roti face side down in the frying pan. Cook for 30 seconds, until small bubbles appear, and then flip it. Cook for a further 30 seconds and flip again. Then, using a clean tea towel, press down on the roti. This will help it to puff up - press down on the parts that are puffing up to push the air to the sides of the roti.
While one roti is cooking, roll out the next one - bring in a friend to help you. Continue rolling and cooking the roti until you have run out of dough.
Garnish the curry with fresh coriander and serve with rice and roti.