Cheat's butter chicken

No need to marinate, no grill in sight—this butter chicken shortcut elevates the humble store-bought roast chook for a quick, comforting curry with a silky tomato cream sauce that tastes like you’ve been at it for hours.

Credit: Sippakorn Wongthanapa

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 50 g butter
• 3 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tbsp finely grated ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 250 ml  tomato puree or tomato passata
• ½ tbsp Kashmiri red chilli powder (see Note)
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 x rotisserie chicken, breast meat cut into 3cm (just over 1 inch) chunks
• ½ cup cream
• 2 tbsp natural yoghurt mixed with 2 tsp water, to serve
• Kasoori methi*, to serve (see Note)
• Naan or roti bread and/or rice, to serve
• To serve: Finely sliced red onion, finely sliced green chilli, lime wedges

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a large deep frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the cardamom pods and cinnamon stick and cook for about a minute until aromatic. Stir in the ginger and garlic and sauté for another minute until fragrant.
2. Add the tomato puree along with the Kashmiri chilli powder, paprika, sugar and salt. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, giving it the occasional stir, until the sauce is rich and deeply flavoured.
3. While the sauce is simmering, add the chicken to the sauce and toss gently to coat. Then, pour in the cream and stir until warmed through.
4. To serve, drizzle over the yoghurt and sprinkle with kasoori methi. Serve with naan and/ or rice, as well as red onion, chillies and lime, to taste.

Notes

• Kashmiri chilli powder is widely used in Indian cuisine, especially in tandoori and butter chicken. It’s well worth seeking out online or at an Asian grocer to give this dish its colour and smoky flavour. Substitute regular chilli powder and a little sweet paprika if you can’t find this particular variety.
• Kasoori methi is also known as dried fenugreek leaves. Find it online or at an Indian grocer. Dried mint is a good substitute.

Watch how to make this recipe on Marion Grasby's Flavours Of Heart & Home streaming free on SBS On Demand.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.