During the summer on a trip to Jamaica I ordered one of my favourite dishes,Buttered Chicken in an Indian restaurant in Kingston (I Know !!). Theirs was the best I’ve tasted , in fact so good I asked them to show me how to make it. I was delighted to return and spend the next day in their kitchen learning this dish and many others. It’s the ultimate comfort food and a dish my son loves after an energetic rugby match.As he cold weather approaches I urge you to give it a try!
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
5 chicken fillets, butterflied
1 small red onion, roughly chopped
1/2 red pepper, roughly chopped
1 red chilli, roughly chopped
5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 thumb size piece of ginger ,roughly chopped
500g passata
100g cashew nuts
1/2 cup of hot water
50g butter
100 ml cream
2 tsp ground fenugreek
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground coriander
1-2 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper
Squirt of lemon juice
Handful of chopped parsley or coriander, chopped
Tbsp flaked almonds, to garnish
MARINADE
250g Greek yoghurt, unsweetened
3 garlic cloves ,peeled and crushed
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric
METHOD
Combine the chicken and marinade ingredients and leave in the fridge for at least 2 hours .
Remove from fridge 20 mins in advance to bring to room temperature. Grill on high for 2-3 mins each side until the chicken has good colour on the outside and slightly under cooked in the centre. Chop and add to the finished sauce .Cook for a further 3 minutes.
SAUCE
Heat a large sauce pan and drizzle with olive oil. Blitz onion ,pepper, ginger ,garlic and chilli in a food processor then add to the pan. Over a medium heat cook for 3-4 mins until excess liquid has evaporated. Add the passata and cook for a further 5 minutes. Taste and add sugar ,salt and pepper to season. Soak the cashew nuts in hot water for 30 mins then purée in a blender. Add to the sauce and combine. Add butter and most of the cream .Retain a little to garnish. When combined stir through fenugreek, ground coriander and chilli. Cook for a further 5 minutes .Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add the chopped chicken and cook for a further 3 minutes.
Place in a serving dish. Add a squirt of lemon juice to the remaining cream and drizzle over the buttered chicken. Sprinkle with chopped parsley or coriander and flaked almonds
Serve with basmati rice and toasted nan bread.
I’ve never met someone who just gets food as much as Yvonne Connolly does. You can really see it by just sitting down and having a conversation about cooking with her. Chef’s watch out because this lady knows her stuff. From her travels she has learned a broad skillset and knowledge of cuisine. I love the fact that one week she will cook a recipe thats for the family on tv and then the next week she’s cooking a scallop dish that any restaurant would have on the menu. If you need great tips for shopping and cooking hit her up on Instagram. She’s even shown me the best asian market ever. Make sure you give her butter chicken a try. 🙂