Buttery Chicken
My authentic version of everyone's restaurant favourite Butter Chicken, made using almonds and tomatoes, not cream.
You may be familiar with Butter Chicken, as it is a staple on Indian Restaurant menus. There is no typo here, I am choosing to call it Buttery Chicken instead as there is no butter in this dish, and certainly no cream. Authentic Pakistani dishes never utilise cream to thicken the sauce or add richness to the dish. What this chicken dish does have, however, is a buttery, almost velvety character to the sauce, hence the more appropriate name.
The sauce in this dish is created from a combination of tomatoes and almonds or cashews. Traditionally, the nuts are soaked in water for several hours and then ground to a paste. I find that good quality almond or cashew butter works just as well if not better, and without the extra work.
I tend to use almond butter, purely out of personal preference, but it tastes equally nice using cashew butter. Experiment with different nut butters and discover your favourite.
In a medium sized bowl, mix the chicken pieces with the lemon juice, ½ teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon Laal Spice Blend. Leave to marinate for 15-30 minutes at room temperature. If you are short on time, you can proceed to step 2 without taking too much away from the flavour of the dish.
Over a medium flame, heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan and fry the marinated chicken pieces until browned. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside to add to the sauce later.
In the same pan, adding some more oil if necessary, fry the garlic and half the ginger till soft and only just starting to colour.
Add the nut butter and remaining Laal Spice Blend, and fry gently for 30 seconds, stirring to make sure the spices and butter don’t burn.
Next, add the tinned tomatoes and mix well, using the liquid from the tomatoes to scrape up all the bits of chicken etc from the bottom of the pan. Add ½ cup of water.
Add remaining salt, cover and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 10 minutes until the tomatoes have cooked down and the sauce has thickened.
Add the chicken pieces (along with any juices) and the Sona Spice Blend to the sauce and continue to cook with the lid on and over low heat for another 15 minutes.
15 Minutes
The dish is ready when the chicken is tender and the sauce has thickened. This dish is left quite saucy, with the chicken pieces completely covered by the delicious, velvety sauce.
If it looks too dry, add a little bit of water and bring the sauce up to the boil.
Once you are happy with the consistency of the sauce, mix in the fresh coriander, mint and remaining ginger off the heat. Cover and let the flavours of the fresh herbs infuse into the chicken for 5 minutes.
5 Minutes
Ingredients
Directions
In a medium sized bowl, mix the chicken pieces with the lemon juice, ½ teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon Laal Spice Blend. Leave to marinate for 15-30 minutes at room temperature. If you are short on time, you can proceed to step 2 without taking too much away from the flavour of the dish.
Over a medium flame, heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan and fry the marinated chicken pieces until browned. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside to add to the sauce later.
In the same pan, adding some more oil if necessary, fry the garlic and half the ginger till soft and only just starting to colour.
Add the nut butter and remaining Laal Spice Blend, and fry gently for 30 seconds, stirring to make sure the spices and butter don’t burn.
Next, add the tinned tomatoes and mix well, using the liquid from the tomatoes to scrape up all the bits of chicken etc from the bottom of the pan. Add ½ cup of water.
Add remaining salt, cover and turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 10 minutes until the tomatoes have cooked down and the sauce has thickened.
Add the chicken pieces (along with any juices) and the Sona Spice Blend to the sauce and continue to cook with the lid on and over low heat for another 15 minutes.
15 Minutes
The dish is ready when the chicken is tender and the sauce has thickened. This dish is left quite saucy, with the chicken pieces completely covered by the delicious, velvety sauce.
If it looks too dry, add a little bit of water and bring the sauce up to the boil.
Once you are happy with the consistency of the sauce, mix in the fresh coriander, mint and remaining ginger off the heat. Cover and let the flavours of the fresh herbs infuse into the chicken for 5 minutes.
5 Minutes