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Butter Chicken

5.0(11405)

Butter chicken is a great, ever-evolving, cross-continental dish found in Delhi, London, New York, Perth and most points in between. In its purest form, it is yogurt-and-spice-marinated chicken dressed in a velvety red bath comprising butter, onions, ginger and tomatoes scented with garam masala, cumin and turmeric, with a cinnamon tang. This version was adapted from Amandeep Sharma, a young kitchen hand at the restaurant Attica, in Melbourne, Australia, who used to make it for staff meal. It is wildly luxurious. Serve with basmati rice and mango chutney, with papadums or naan if you can find them, with extra rice if you cannot.

by Sam Sifton·published 2014-08-24

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IndianDinner, Lunch, Weeknight, Curry, Main Course

Servings

6 servings

Total time

1h 15m

Calories / serving

1018 kcal

Ingredients (21)

serves

1 1/2 cups full-fat Greek yogurtyogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juicelemon-juice
1 1/2 tablespoons ground turmericturmeric
2 tablespoons ground cumincumin
1 tablespoon garam masalagaram-masala
3 pounds chicken thighs, on the bonechicken-thighs
1/4 pound unsalted butterbutter
4 teaspoons neutral oil, like vegetable or canola oiloil
2 medium-size yellow onions, peeled and dicedonion
4 cloves garlic, peeled and mincedgarlic
3 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and grated or finely dicedginger
1 tablespoon cumin seedscumin
1 cinnamon stickcinnamon
2 medium-size tomatoes, dicedtomato
2 red chiles, like Anaheim, or 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
Kosher salt to tastesalt
2/3 cup chicken stock, low-sodium or homemadechicken-stock
1 1/2 cups creamcream
1 1/2 teaspoons tomato pastetomato-paste
3 tablespoons ground almonds, or finely chopped almonds, optionalalmond
1/2 bunch cilantro leaves, stems removed.cilantro

01Whisk together the yogurt, lemon juice, turmeric, cumin and garam masala in a large bowl. Put the chicken in, and coat with the marinade. Cover, and refrigerate (for up to a day).
02In a large pan over medium heat, melt the butter in the oil until it starts to foam. Add the onions, and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent. Add the garlic, ginger and cumin seeds, and cook until the onions start to brown.
03Add the cinnamon stick, tomatoes, chiles and salt, and cook until the chiles are soft, about 10 minutes.
04Add the chicken and marinade to the pan, and cook for 5 minutes, then add the chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for approximately 30 minutes.
05Stir in the cream and tomato paste, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
06Add the almonds, if using, cook for an additional 5 minutes and remove from the heat. Garnish with the cilantro leaves.

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