This is my version and my take on butter chicken curry. The origin of butter chicken curry is embroiled in a legal battle between two families . Both claim their grandfathers were the original makers of the dish. While they battled it out in court , here is my version of Butter Chicken Curry. Inspired by Gordon Ramsay and Madhur Jaffrey. Butter is definitely not an Indian or Pakistan ingredient. It appears that butter chicken curry was created for the British palate.
Here I take the liberty of creating my own version of mixing spices together with what is readily available on our supermarket shelves. The idea is to create a fast and delicious aromatic curry for any day of the week. Whilst travelling in the Drakensburg area earlier this year I stumbled upon Cape herb and spice butter chicken curry spice already blended for convenience. I have included the use of this already mixed spice in my version of butter chicken along with a few other flavours that I enjoy.
“It is essentially a non-Indian dish,” says Pant, the Indian food writer. “Satin-smooth, butter-laden gravy, boneless chicken,” he says. “This is the lowest common denominator for a non-Indian palate.”
From what I can establish, the recipe was created to use up dried tandoori chicken. Because not many places in East London SOUTH AFRICA sell Tandoori chicken I have used uncooked chicken breast in this recipe and marinated them in yoghurt with medium curry, coriander, cumin, turmeric, and cinnamon. You can mix this marinade in the morning and make the butter chicken in the evening when you get home from work or you can mix it and make it straight away.
And if you love curry why not try my Chicken Biryani and my Lamb Curry
Butter Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 850 g cubed chicken breasts
- 80 g yoghurt plain I use double cream
- 1 tablespoon medium curry powder
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground tumeric
- A pinch of cinnamon
- A pinch of garam masala optional not traditional
- 1 large red onion chopped
- 4 large garlic cloves chopped
- 2 tsp grated ginger
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons Butter Chicken Curry Spice Cape Herb & Spice Company
- 2 tablespoons Tomato paste
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 125 g crème fraîche
- Handful of chopped coriander
- Handful of chopped macadamia nuts
optional ingredients 1 tin of butter beans
Instructions
- Mix the chicken breast with the yoghurt, medium curry, ground coriander, ground, cumin, ground turmeric, and pinch of cinnamon with an optional pinch of garam masala in a bowl cover and set aside until ready to use.850 g cubed chicken breasts, 80 g yoghurt plain, 1 tablespoon medium curry powder, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon ground tumeric, A pinch of cinnamon, A pinch of garam masala
- In a pan on medium high heat add the olive oil and one tablespoon of butter. When sizzling add the onion and cook until soft and translucent2 tablespoons olive oil, 3 tablespoons butter, 1 large red onion chopped
- At the garlic, ginger and butter, chicken curry spice for about a minute now add the tomato paste and Cook for a further two minutes making sure it doesn’t burn4 large garlic cloves chopped, 2 tsp grated ginger, 2 tablespoons Butter Chicken Curry Spice, 2 tablespoons Tomato paste
- Add the yoghurt chicken and the rest of the butter stir to mix the onions with the chicken and cook for seven minutes ensuring that it doesn’t burn
- Add the tomatoes and crème fraîche stir through to the chicken1 tin chopped tomatoes, 125 g crème fraîche
- Turn off the heat place lid on the pot and leave to rest for 15 minutes
- When ready to serve taste and season accordingly. The Cape Herb & Spice have added salt to there mix so you may not want to add extra salt. Add the chopped coriander and macadamia nutsHandful of chopped coriander, Handful of chopped macadamia nuts
- If you decided to use the butter beans add them when you add the chicken