Easy Butter Chicken Curry

chicken + marinade

• 700 g (1.5 pounds) boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into cubes
• 4 tbsp natural full fat yogurt
• 1 tsp each: salt, ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, curry powder, cayenne pepper, garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp white pepper

sauce

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp red curry paste
• 500 ml (2 cups) unsweetened coconut milk
• 140 g (5 oz) tomato paste
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp lime juice

salt + black pepper

for serving

chopped pistachios

chopped scallions

crushed chili flakes

cilantro

basmati rice

naan

How to

1. Add the chicken and the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl. Massage yogurt mixture into chicken until well coated. Set aside while you prepare the ingredients for the sauce. You can also prepare the chicken beforehand and marinade it up to 3 hours in the fridge.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, cook the chicken, stirring occasionally, until browned all over, 5 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken to a plate.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low. Melt 1 tbsp butter. Add garlic, onion and ginger. Cook until soft, 3 minutes. Add garam masala and chili powder. Stir in tomato paste and red curry paste. Cook for 2 minutes. Add coconut milk and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Return chicken along with any juices to the skillet together with 1 tbsp butter and lime juice. Bring to a simmer and cook until chicken is just cooked through, 10 minutes. If the sauce thickens too much, add a splash of water.
4. In the meantime, steam the rice and prepare naan.
5. Serve the chicken with rice and naan. Top with scallions, chili flakes and pistachios. Enjoy!
6. Let me walk you through making this butter chicken, step by step in this video.
7. And …IF YOU LOVE THESE RECIPES … please consider supporting my work for just the cost of a cup of coffee.