Butter Chicken Curry (Murg Makhani)

Butter chicken curry is a rich, creamy, tomato-based curry. It's not particularly known for it's spiciness, but you can adjust this how you like. Though I'm a firm believer that not all curries need to have chilli heat (mostly because I'm not good at handling it). 

This is my favourite curry to make and, if you're going to try it, it's well worth letting the chicken marinade with the yogurt overnight if you can. The lactic acid in the yogurt breaks down the protein  in the chicken, making it really tender and succulent. 

Even with a whole punnet of tomatoes, this recipe isn't exactly the healthiest considering the amount of cream and ghee used. But, oh my, it's worth it. And it's got to be healthier than a takeaway curry... right?

Serves 2

2 chicken breasts, cut into chunks

200g yogurt

15g tandoori seasoning

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1tsp root ginger, chopped

2tsp ground cumin

2tsp garam masala

1tsp turmeric

1tsp chilli flakes

1tsp salt

25g ghee

300g cherry tomatoes, halved

160g single cream

Pinch of sugar

Dash of lemon juice

Small handful fresh coriander, chopped

Combine the chicken, yogurt and tandoori seasoning together in a glass bowl, making sure it's all thoroughly mixed. Cover with cling film then let it marinade in the fridge for at least an hour, but ideally overnight. 

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Spread the chicken pieces out on an oven tray and bake for 30 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces over and cook for another 10 minutes. You want to try and get some charring on the edges. 

Next, heat the oil in a large saucepan over a low heat and add the onion, stirring occasionaly. You want to slowly sweat the onions until the become really soft and transulcent. If they start to colour, try and go lower with the heat if you can. This should take about 10-12 minutes. 

Then add the garlic and ginger and continue to cook for another minute before adding the spices and salt. Cook them for about 30 seconds - they should become very aromatic but not burn. 

Now, go in with the ghee and, once melted, the tomatoes. At this point, turn the heat up to medium (always making sure nothing burns) and stir well. I use a wooden spoon to help break down the tomatoes and release their juices. 

After about 10 minutes, add the cream, chicken pieces, sugar and lemon. Bring it up to a simmer and cook for another 10 mintues. 

Just before serving, stir through the coriander.