Butter Chicken Masala served with Pilaf

Name: Butter Chicken Masala served with Pilaf
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 85 min
Yield: 3
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 400 g Boneless and Skinless Chicken Thigh; 2 Tbsp Plain Greek Yoghurt; 7 g Ginger; 1 Garlic Clove; 1 tsp Chilli Powder; 1 tsp Paprika Powder; 1/4 tsp Salt; 220 g Basmati Rice; 375 ml Water; 80 g Frozen Peas or Mixed Vegetable; 20 g Green Chilli; 4 Cloves; 2 Bay Leaves; 1 tsp Cumin Seeds; 1 inch Cinnamon Stick; 1 Star Anise; 1 Tbsp Oil; 1/2 tsp Salt; 1 Tbsp Oil; 500 g Tomatoes; 100 g Red Onions; 50 g Baked Cashew Nuts; 15 g Unsalted Butter; 1 clove Garlic; 1 Tbsp Paprika Powder; 1/2 Tbsp Chilli Powder; 1/4 tsp Salt; 1/4 cup Water; 45 g Unsalted Butter; 3 Tbsp Cooking Cream

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Level

moderate

Cooking

25 min

Preparation

60 min

Ingredients

Servings

Chicken Marinade
Boneless and Skinless Chicken Thigh	400 g
Plain Greek Yoghurt	2 tbsp
Ginger grated into ginger paste	7 g
Garlic Clove grated into garlic paste	1
Chilli Powder red	1 tsp
Paprika Powder	1 tsp
Salt	¹⁄₄ tsp
Pilaf Rice
Basmati Rice	220 g
Water	375 ml
Frozen Peas or Mixed Vegetable optional	80 g
Green Chilli cut into 4	20 g
Cloves	4
Bay Leaves	2
Cumin Seeds	1 tsp
Cinnamon Stick	1 inch
Star Anise	1
Oil	1 tbsp
Salt	¹⁄₂ tsp
Part 1 of the Masala Gravy
Oil	1 tbsp
Tomatoes cut into wedges and halved	500 g
Red Onions cut into wedges and halved	100 g
Baked Cashew Nuts	50 g
Unsalted Butter	15 g
Garlic grated into garlic paste	1 clove
Paprika Powder	1 tbsp
Chilli Powder	¹⁄₂ tbsp
Salt	¹⁄₄ tsp
Water	¹⁄₄ cup
Part 2 of the Masala Gravy
Unsalted Butter	45 g
Cooking Cream	3 tbsp
Honey can be replaced with 4 tablespoon of white sugar	2 tbsp
Green Cardamom	4
Bay Leaf	1
Cinnamon Stick small	1
Cumin Powder	¹⁄₂ tsp

How to cook

Marinate the chicken

In a large bowl, add in the chicken, greek yogurt, red chilli powder, paprika powder, garlic paste, ginger paste, and salt.
Mix well and cling wrap the bowl.
Place the bowl in the chiller and allow it to marinate for at least 1 hour.

Prepare the rice while the chicken is marinating

Wash and soak the rice for at least 15 minutes.
Drain the water, transfer the rice into the rice cooker and add in 375ml of water.
In a pan, heat up the oil and add in all the cumin, cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon, star anise, green chilli and peas - sauté for 2 minutes until the fragrance releases.
Pour all the ingredients from the pan into the rice cooker and add in salt.
Cook the rice on “white rice” mode.

Grill the chicken

In a non-stick pan, heat up 2 tablespoon of oil.
Grill the marinated chicken for 2 minutes on each side.
Once the chicken is fully cooked, transfer to a plate and set aside.

Prepare the first part of the masala gravy

In a clean pan, cook the oil, butter and onion until the onion turns slightly brown.
Add in tomatoes, cashew nuts and grated garlic - cook till it’s fragrant.
Mix in chilli powder, paprika powder, salt and water - cook for 10 minutes till the tomato and onion have softened.
Transfer the gravy mixture into a large bowl and blend the ingredients into a fine puree with a hand blender or table top blender.
Strain the gravy into another bowl.

Start cooking

In a clean frying pan, add the butter, green cardamom, bay leaf and cinnamon stick - sauté for 10 seconds.
Add the strained gravy and cumin powder - let it simmer for 5 minutes.
Add in the grilled chicken, honey and cooking cream.
Stir and let it simmer for 5-7 minutes.
Garnish it with some cream (optional) and serve it with the pilaf rice or ready-made Naan.