One of my favourite takeout foods ever is Butter Chicken! I always try and order it at different places to see how delicious each version can be. My favourite Windsor places to get Butter Chicken would be Eastern Flavours, Factory House and The House of India. I had a little bit of extra coconut milk left from a soup recipe I made, so I knew I wanted to try and recreate this meal at home. I was SHOCKED at how simple and delicious this meal was. My boyfriend kept laughing saying it was comparable to our takeout restaurants versions. This meal is perfect for a low key Netflix night! Give it a try!
You may be surprised that butter is not an ingredient in this butter chicken recipe. The buttery flavour in this dish comes from the coconut cream.
Ingredients For Chicken Marinade:
1/2 cup plain Green yogurt
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp tumeric powder
2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp chili powder or cayenne pepper powder (I only added a little bit of cayenne pepper and that’s it)
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger (Optional but I didn’t use)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 pieces of chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
Ingredients for Sauce:
1 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee (I used Vegetable Oil)
1 cup tomato or puree (I just used a simple tomato sauce from the grocery store)
1 cup Coconut Milk (You may need to add a bit more like I did)
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
To serve:
Rice – Jasmine with a little bit of salt and butter or Basmati rice which is more traditional
Coriander/cilantro (optional)
Directions:
1. Combine the Marinade ingredients with the chicken in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or up to 24 hours. You don’t have to marinate over night, but I would for more flavour.
2. Heat the vegetable oil over high heat in a large fry pan. Take the chicken out of the Marinade but do not wipe or shake off the marinade from the chicken.
3. Place chicken in the fry pan and cook for around 4-5 minutes, or until the chicken is white all over (it doesn’t really brown because of the Marinade).
4. Add the tomato sauce, coconut oil, sugar and salt. Turn down to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Do a taste test to see if it needs more salt.
5. Garnish with coriander/cilantro leaves if using. Serve with basmati or jasmine rice. You MUST serve with a plain or garlic NAAN bread as well.
