Curry in a Hurry

BUTTER CHICKEN

Butter chicken is one of my all time favourite Indian curries however, making it at home is never the same as buying it from your local Indian restaurant. I was reminded to start looking for a recipe after my sister-in-law, Taryn, organised a curry night. Taryn made a beautiful butter chicken. I also found this one on the internet and I’ve modified it a bit to suit my tastes (I’m selfish like that!). This is the best butter chicken recipe I have ever made! Big call but I am prepared to put it out there. Try it and let me know what you think. It’s super easy too so it’s perfect for a mid-week dinner.

Ingredients
150ml natural yoghurt
50g almond meal
1.5 teaspoons chilli powder (this is for a medium curry. Add less for a mild and more for a hot curry…fancy that!)
2 bay leaves
3 cloves
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tsp garam masala
4 green cardamom pods
5 cm ginger, finely grated
3 large garlic cloves, crushed
400g tin crushed tomatoes
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
1kg chicken, diced into 3cm pieces
75g butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions, sliced
2 tablespoons fresh coriander
4 tablespoons thickened cream

Method
1. Ground bay leaves, cloves in a mortar and pestle until fine.
2. Place the yoghurt, almond meal, spices, ginger, garlic, tomatoes and salt in a mixing bowl and mix together.
3. Add chicken to yoghurt blend. Mix until all the chicken is coated. Set aside.
4. Melt butter and oil in a large frying pan over medium to high heat. Add onions and fry for 3 minutes or until onion starts to brown.
5. Reduce heat and add chicken and yoghurt mixture. Cook mixture until the chicken has cooked through (approx 10 mins). Stir occasionally.
6. Stir in coriander and cream. Bring to the boil and then remove from heat. It’s now ready to serve.
7. Garnish with more chopped coriander.