Gordon Ramsay’s Butter Chicken

Saturdays have developed into a kind of curry day in our household.
One Saturday, a few weeks ago, I made curry, took some to the bosses who work downstairs(Because I’m a feeder and that’s what feeders do!!) because I know they too enjoy a good curry….next Friday rolls round and I’m being asked with eager anticipation, and pleading little eyes.. ‘Are you making a curry again tomorrow?’ I don’t like to let people down – food wise or other wise, so that’s how it’s evolved. Saturday’s our curry day.
I was feeling a bit lazy yesterday too, knowing that in between curry making, taking the little daughter to Greek School, picking the big daughter up from Uni, I was also making fiddly-iddly cake pops. I really couldn’t be bothered peeling and chopping (finely!) loads of onions. That’s when Gordon Ramsay’s Butter Chicken recipe came to mind.
I’ve made it before (which is when I took the photograph!) and know that it involves no onions, which I always find unusual. The recipe is from Gordon’s book ‘Great Escape’.

800g boneless and skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3-4cm pieces
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely crushed
2cm ginger, peeled and finely grated
½ tsp fine sea salt
½ tsp hot chilli powder
1½ tbsp lemon juice
75ml natural yoghurt
½ tsp garam masala
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil, for brushing
For the sauce

1½ tbsp ghee or melted unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2cm ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 cardamom pod, seeds lightly crushed
2 cloves
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp hot chilli powder, or to taste
275ml tomato puree
1 tbsp lemon juice
40g unsalted butter
100ml double cream
1 tbsp chopped coriander, to garnish
Method

1. Place the chicken in a bowl with the garlic, ginger, salt, chilli powder and lemon juice. Mix, cover with cling film and chill for 30 minutes. Mix together the yoghurt, garam masala, turmeric and cumin and add to the chicken, making sure that each piece is well coated with the mixture. Cover again and chill for 3-4 hours.

2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Put the marinated chicken pieces on a grill rack set on a baking tray and bake for 8-10 minutes. Brush the chicken pieces with a little oil and turn them over. Bake for another 10-12 minutes until just cooked through.

3. For the sauce, heat the ghee or butter in a pan and add the garlic and ginger. Fry for a minute or so then add the cardamom, cloves, coriander, garam masala, turmeric and chilli powder. Stir well and fry for 1-2 minutes until they give off a lovely aroma. Stir in the tomato pure and lemon juice and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the chicken pieces to the sauce and stir well to coat. Finally, add the butter and cream and stir continuously until the butter has melted and the sauce is smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Transfer to a warm bowl and serve hot, garnished with chopped coriander.

my tips are:
1. I used chicken on the bone, not just thighs.
2. I don’t use tomato puree as stated in the recipe, but passatta instead, 275ml of puree sounds a lot! I always wonder if it’s a typo that slipped by un-noticed.
3. there is no water added to the sauce, I like to make sure my chicken is really cooked, so I always add water to the sauce, 1 glassful maybe, and simmer the chicken for an additional 20 minutes.
Serves with lots of steaming, fragrant Basmati rice….and enjoy!