Hayden Quinn

BBQ · SHARING

24 March 2016

Shanti Home Butter Chicken

When in Delhi, Dani Venn and I were lucky enough to stay at Shanti Home where we were guided through a cooking class showing off an array of incredible Indian dishes, which we all gobbled up for dinner. After my trip to India I came back with a number of secret recipes and incredible new dishes. This is one of may favourites and one that I think nearly everyone in the world is familiar with; Butter Chicken.

Serves
6–8 as a part of a shared Indian style meal
Prep
25 mins plus 2 hrs marinating
Cook
45 mins
Total
3 hrs 10 mins
Difficulty
Capable Cooks
Jump to recipe
Shanti Home Butter Chicken, recipe by Hayden Quinn

Ingredients

Marinade

Cashew nut purée

Gravy

To serve

Method

  1. Marinade chicken pieces in non-reactive container with lemon juice, salt, three tbs of the ginger and garlic paste, one and a half tsp chilli powder. Combine well, working marinade into the scored flesh and leave to marinade for two hrs.
  2. While the chicken is marinading begin the cashew purée by adding cashew nuts to small pot adding enough 1 cup water to just cover along with the red onion, salt and milk. Simmer gently for 15–20 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly, adding cashews and liquid to liquidiser or blender and blend until you have a smooth purée. Set aside until needed.
  4. Once the chicken has finished marinading pour off excess marinading liquid. Mix in yoghurt, oil, the remaining chilli powder, ginger and garlic paste, turmeric and the fenugreek leaves coating well, again working into the scored flesh.
  5. Cook chicken on hot barbecue or griddle pan so that you get nice and charred flesh and chicken is just cooked through. Set aside ready to add to sauce.
  6. Getting onto the gravy; in a large pan, add one bay leaf, four green cardamom, all the black cardamom and cinnamon, cooking in oil until aromatic adding tomatoes, stirring continually over high heat until the tomatoes begin to break down.
  7. Once tomatoes have broken down add one cup of water, along with coriander powder, turmeric and chilli powder. Cook simmering until tomatoes are further broken down for 10–15 minutes.
  8. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly and add tomato mix to liquidiser or blender and blend until you have a smooth purée. Set aside.
  9. To finish sauce, heat ghee in large pot over medium heat, add remaining cardamom, star anise and garlic paste. Cook for 2–3 minutes until aromatic.
  10. Add tomato purée, stir and cook on high heat to combine with new spices and ghee. Simmer.
  11. Take the cashew paste and spoon into the pot, you may not need it all, just enough to begin to thicken the sauce. Combine well.
  12. Add cooked chicken, coat and warm through in sauce. Finally, season with a little extra chilli powder, salt, crushed fenugreek leaves and the secret ingredient, honey.
  13. Enjoy served on a bed of rice with flat breads.

Notes

Garlic and ginger paste is a mix of 3:1 garlic to ginger. If you do not want to make your own, you can buy a premixed jar at Indian / Asian speciality stores. Fresh is the best!

Removing the excess marinading liquid gets rid of the “chicken” smell from the meat and leaves a clean fresh taste to the dish.

Traditionally the chicken is cooked in a tandoor so if you have one at home, or even a pizza oven use that, but obviously the most accessible piece of equipment is the barbecue.

The chicken does not have to be cooked 100% as it is going to be finished in the butter gravy.

You’ll find fenugreek at Indian grocers and spice shops.

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