Have you had butter chicken before? If not, you have done yourself a massive disservice! Today I’m going to give you a curry recipe for an amazing butter chicken dish that you have got to try at least once in your life! Butter Chicken is an Indian curry that’s popular all around the world. I know that in Australia and New Zealand this dish is featured in every Indian restaurant menu without fail. Once upon a time though, I remember refusing to eat butter chicken. I had the misfortune of eating “faux butter chicken” that was no doubt made with a bucket load of cream, during my first few tries. I quite naturally hated it. I tasted the cream more than anything else. For a while this was what I thought butter chicken was until my family and I went to this great Indian restaurant in New Zealand and one of the servers there convinced us to try the “authentic” Butter Chicken. Oh my goodness! I was converted! It was beyond amazing. It was still creamy, but not heavy at all and the complex spices were just shining through. I had FINALLY tasted proper butter chicken… & I was happy! Since then, I have found more amazing Butter Chicken dishes that I loved to eat – so remembering all that I love about these dishes, I tried to recreate one for us to eat at home. This dish still retains the creaminess of authentic butter chicken, but without the cream. Instead I used yoghurt and cashew nut paste. So in addition to being unbelievably delicious, this is also a healthier version. Isn’t that a great combo? Garam Masala is the star spice of this dish. You can easily find Garam Masala in your local supermarket or Asian grocery store. If you don’t have it, then you can make your own Garam Masala but you will need coriander, cumin, pepper, cloves, aniseed, cinnamon and cardamom. It’s best to marinate the chicken overnight – but at least 3 hours should be fine too. When it was time to make the curry, I just seared the chicken pieces in a very hot pan to mimic a tandoor oven. It doesn’t need to be cooked through, and this step can be skipped completely to save time if you choose to. Use raw cashew nuts to make the nut paste, because this will give the best creamy consistency. If you can only find roasted cashews, you have to make sure to soak the cashews in the fridge for at least 24 hours to soften them up. Make the nut paste in the food processor with the onions, ginger and garlic and process until it becomes smooth. Cook the tomato and spices on medium-high heat to cook out the raw tomato flavour. Butter Chicken is a tomato based curry, but you don’t want that tomato flavour to be overpowering. Keep cooking the tomato paste and cashew nut paste together before adding the chicken and leftover marinade. The gravy is really thick, and I prefer to thin it out with some water, but you can adjust it to your preference. You can eat this with rice or naan, with a side of Raita (which is a yoghurt, cucumber, onion salad) and pappadams! This will become a family favourite, I’m certain of it! It is so delicious it is guaranteed to make repeat visits to your dinner table. And it is in fact a healthier version of the butter chicken dishes that you will come across in many Indian restaurants. The creaminess WITHOUT the greasiness and packed with flavour, you have to try it for dinner this week and see for yourself! My husband isn’t the biggest fan of Indian food but loves this dish – and I have made this a few countless times already! What’s your favourite Indian dish? What do you think about this recipe? Do let me know. I always love to hear from you guys 🙂
Other delicious meat curry recipes
Sri Lankan chicken curry Spicy black pork curry Authentic mutton curry (lamb curry) Authentic beef curry Sri Lankan fish curry recipe Spicy dry beef curry (devilled beef) Sri Lankan meatball curry
If you liked this butter chicken without cream (murgh makhani) recipe don’t forget to subscribe for new (and free) recipes by entering your email address below or on the side bar (and get all these recipes delivered straight to your inbox), so you don’t miss out on a thing. You can find me on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST and GOOGLE-PLUS too.
