This recipe for butter chicken is really easy and delicious. This is the healthy version of the Indian classic!
Butter chicken can be found on almost every Indian restaurant menu, and for good reason! It’s super tasty and flavourful curry. Butter chicken is an incredibly creamy curry and this recipe is just superb!
The secret to succulent chicken is the marinade! The marinade we have used is a mix of yoghurt and spices. The yoghurt tenderised the chicken while the spices add flavour even before you start cooking! Marinading for at least half an hour before cooking will do the trick but you can even leave it overnight for even more flavour!
There is little you can do to improve the traditional recipe taste-wise but we have succeeded in making it a little healthier. Instead of adding copious amounts of cream to the sauce we have opted to add yoghurt instead. We chose yoghurt because of its a higher-protein, lower-fat alternative and you don’t have to compromise on the taste or texture!
Of course, you can’t have butter chicken without butter, that’s a given but you can achieve that wonderful buttery texture with a little less than you would expect!
We have opted for boneless chicken thighs instead of breast because they can be cooked for longer and they stay exceptionally juicy.
Start by making the marinade. Mix the garlic, ginger, lemon juice, cumin, paprika, chilli powder and yogurt together in a medium sized bowl. Add the chicken to the bowl, and cover. Leave in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes.
In a large saucepan, add half the oil and the chicken. Brown the outside it should not be cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan and reserve for later.
Finely chop the onion.
Add the onion, garlic, green chilli, ginger to the pan and cook until soft.
Turn the heat down and add garam masala, mustard powder, onion powder, tomato purée, stirring continuously. Cook until the purée has darkened slightly.
Add the passata and almonds.
Remove from the heat and using a hand blender, blend until completely smooth.
Return the sauce to the heat and cook for another few minutes.
Add the and chicken back to the saucepan and cook thoroughly. If the sauce is a bit too thick add the water.
Add the yogurt and the butter then simmer gently. Add salt and adjust accordingly.
Chop some fresh coriander and garnish. Serve with basmati rice.
