Instruction to make Recipe
Marinate the chicken
- Bring the chicken and the rest of the marinade ingredients together in a large bowl. Using your
hands, massage the marinade into the chicken.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight.
Soak cashews and almonds
- Soak cashews and almonds in water for at least an hour to (or up to overnight) before preparing the
rest of the recipe.
Cook the chicken
- Heat a skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle a teaspoon of oil to the pan.
- Working in batches, remove chicken from the marinade and grill them on the pan for 3 to 5 minutes on
each side, until the chicken is cooked through (clear juice runs out of it when you cut into it). Do
not crowd the pan.
- Once cooked, transfer the chicken into a separate dish. Cover and set aside for later.
Start making the sauce
- Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium sized Dutch oven or a skillet on medium low heat.
As soon as the butter melts, add the ginger garlic paste followed by sugar. Sauté for 1 to 2
minutes.
- Stir in the tomato and cook for 8 to 10 minutes on medium high heat, until all the extra liquid is
cooked off. The sauce should be a loose, paste-like consistency.
- Add coriander, garam masala, Kashmiri Lal Mirch, and salt. Stir and cook on medium heat for 2 to 3
minutes. Turn off the heat.
Puree the sauce with the nuts
- Transfer the paste to a blender or the bowl of a food processor. Add the soaked, drained cashews and
almonds. Blend into a smooth paste.
Finish the dish
- Return the paste to the cooking pan over medium heat. Add the water to the paste and stir to make a
smooth sauce.
- As the sauce begins to boil, add the grilled chicken and heavy cream. Stir well. Cover the pan and
simmer for 5 minutes.
Rest the Butter Chicken
- Turn off the heat and uncover the pan. Stir in the remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter and the kasuri
methi. Cover again, and let the dish rest for 8 to 10 minutes so the flavor of kasuri methi can
marry into the butter chicken.
Serve
- Serve the butter chicken with a side of steamed basmati rice, roti, or naan. Leftovers will keep
refrigerated, covered, for up to 5 days.