ZAR - Recipe - Butter Chicken

I know I put quite a lot of spicy recipes up on the blog, but it really is such a good way of getting flavour into food without the calories. This does have cream in it but a minimal amount considering.

Also, this is a bit harder work than usual but is SO BLOODY GOOD!! You'll never buy a takeaway butter chicken again!! The recipe recommends naan bread but I used Lebanese bread which is much less bready.

If you're not too keen on too hot, leave out the chilli. It's flavoursome enough without.

Serves 4

400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 long green chilli, deseeded (optional)
2.5cm piece ginger, peeled and grated
25g unsalted butter
2 tsp cumin
1.5 tsp paprika
100ml thickened cream (longlife is fine)
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp toasted cumin seeds (toast in a dry pan)

Tandoori chicken
800g chicken thigh fillets, in 4cm cubes
1/4 cup lemon juice
120g Greek yoghurt
2 garlic cloves, grated
2 tbsp good quality tandoori paste

Raita, to serve
280g Greek yoghurt
1 garlic clove, grated
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 Lebanese cucumber, finely chopped

Lebanese bread or naan bread to serve

This uses a base of tandoori chicken.

Toss the chicken with the lemon juice and 1 tsp of salt. Stand for 30 mins.
Stir in the yoghurt, garlic and tandoori paste, cover and marinate in the fridge for 2-3 hours, or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Place the chicken on a wire rack over a baking tray filled with about 3 cm of water. Bake for 20 mins.

Place the tinned tomatoes, chilli and ginger in a liquidiser and whiz to a smooth paste. Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed pan over a medium low heat. Add the ground cumin and paprika and cook for a couple of mins, stirring. Add the liquidised tomato paste and cook for 10 mins, until thickened, stirring every once in a while. Add the cream and the chicken, garam masala, cumin seeds and a little salt.

To make the raita, mix all the ingredients together.

Serve with the raita and bread, tearing off pieces and topping with a little chicken and raita.