You simply can’t get this dish’s depth of flavours using a store bought Butter Chicken paste or simmer sauce. The result is the most succulent chicken in a creamy, nutty, tomato based sauce.
I won’t lie to you though. This is one of the trickier recipes on the blog.
Notes:
- I hope to char grill the chicken better next time but oh my it was amazing anyway. I think I might hit them with a chef’s torch for a bit.
- I also didn’t sprinkle it with Rick’s Chat masala at serving and want to do that next time.
Steps
- Marinating the chicken in marinade 1 for one hour
- Marinating the chicken in marinade 2 for four hours
- Charring the chicken pieces
- Making the sauce
- Serving
Ingredients
- 4 large chicken breasts, skinned and deboned
- Marinade 1
- The juice of 2 limes
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
- 1 tsp table salt
- Marinade 2
- 50g plain yoghurt
- 50g double cream
- 4 garlic cloves, diced
- 5cm ginger, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp Garam masala
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 3/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp beetroot powder (for color)
- The sauce
- 50g ghee
- 5 garlic cloves, diced
- 5cm ginger, diced
- 400g tomato passata
- 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Garam masala
- 1 tsp dessicated coconut
- 1.5 tsp table salt
- 200ml water
- 25g cashew nuts
- 25g pumpkin seeds
- 2 Tbsp boiling water
- 1 Tbsp fenugreek leaves
- 1/2 tsp caster sugar
- 45ml double cream
Equipment
- 1 chef’s knife
- 1 chopping board
- 1 wooden spoon
- 1 mixing bowl
- 1 bowl or dish for marinading
- 1 wet mixer/blender (used twice so you will need to clean it)
- 1 large heavy based saucepan
- Several skewers
Marinating the chicken in marinade 1 for one hour
- Cut each breast into 3 pieces.
- In a large bowl mix the:
- Two limes worth of juice
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
- 1 tsp table salt.
- Put the chicken pieces in the marinade and mix to coat.
- Pop the bowl in the fridge for 1 hour.
Marinating the chicken in marinade 2 for four hours
- In your wet mixer/food processor add the:
- 50g plain yoghurt
- 50g double cream
- 4 garlic cloves, diced
- 5cm ginger, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp Garam masala
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 3/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp beetroot powder (for color).
- Blend until smooth and add to the chicken making sure every knook and cranny is coated.
- Marinate for 4 hours in the fridge.
Charring the chicken pieces
- Preheat your fan forced oven to 240C.
- Thread the chicken pieces on either oiled metal skewers or pre-soaked (in water to stop them burning) wooden ones.
- Roast for 15-20 minutes aiming for slightly charred but not cooked fully through just yet.
- Start the next step while the chicken is roasting.

Making the sauce
- Grind, dice and chop the sauces ingredients.
- Heat the 50g ghee in the saucepan over a medium heat.
- Add the 5 diced garlic cloves and diced ginger and fry for a minute.
- Stir in the 400g tomato passata and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the:
- Simmer for another 10 minutes while you do the next step.
- In your wet mixer/food processor blend into a paste the:
- 25g cashew nuts
- 25g pumpkin seeds
- 2 Tbsp boiling water
- Stir the paste into the passata sauce and the rest of the water.
- Add the chicken to the sauce and gently mix everything.
- Simmer for 10 minutes and then stir in the:
- 1 Tbsp fenugreek leaves
- 1/2 tsp caster sugar
- 45ml double cream
Serving
I served this dish over a bed of basmati rice with some steamed vegetables and a plate of pappadums to share.
Spoon the chicken pieces onto the rice using a slotted spoon and then add as much sauce as the person likes.
Rick Stein says to garnish with some torn fresh coriander leaves, shredded ginger and a sprinkle of chat masala.
Enjoy,
PK
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