Butter Chicken

BUTTER CHICKEN SERVES 4 OR MORE AS PART OF A MULTI-COURSE MEAL In 1947, Kundan Lal Gujral opened the first tandoori restaurant, called Moti Mahal, in Delhi, India. Although tandoor-style ovens had already been used for thousands of years, he was the first to have large tandoors manufactured for use in a restaurant. The restaurant served delicious marinated chicken, meat, and vegetables, all charred to perfection in a tandoor. Not one to waste, Gujral came up with the idea of using the leftover marinades in a curry, and butter chicken (murgh makhani) was born. For the chicken, use Tandoori Chicken Tika (seg-page 92) or Tandoori Chicken Legs (see page 46). Reserve the marinade for the sauce.

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% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. When hot, toss in the cinnamon stick, star anise, cardamom pods and bay leaves, and stir them in the oil for about 30 seconds.

Step 2

2. Now add the onions and carrot, and fry for about 15 minutes. stirring occasionally, so that the onions turn soft and translucent but not browned.

Step 3

3. Sprinkle 1 tsp salt over the top to help release some ofthe moisture from- the onions.

Step 4

4. Now add the garlic and ginger paste and fry for 30 seconds, followed by the chopped tomatoes

Step 5

5. Add the paprika and the ground cumin, coriander and turmeric, and simmer for: about 3 minutes.

Step 6

6. At this stage you have a choice. You can either leave the sauce as it is or take the whole spices out and blend it to a smooth sauce, I'll leave that one to you. I usually leave it as is.

Step 7

7. Lower the heat to medium and place the grilled chicken pieces in the sauce to heat through.

Step 8

8. To finish, whisk in the cream and reserved marinade from preparing the chicken, and turn the heat back up to medium-high.

Step 9

9. Add the chilled butter, 1 tbsp at a time, and check for seasoning, adding more salt if needed.

Step 10

10. Sprinkle with the garam masala and serve.