March 30, 2026

Butter Chicken Curry

Serves:

Cooking Time:

< 60 min

Ingredients:

Chicken marinade:
1 kg chicken thighs
1 lemon(s), grated zest & juice
2 garlic clove(s), grated
4 cm piece ginger, grated
5 ml chilli powder
sea salt flakes to taste
500 ml LANCEWOOD® Double Cream Plain Yoghurt
5 ml garam masala
5 ml turmeric
5 ml ground cumin

Curry sauce:
800 g tomato(es), chopped & peeled
30 ml butter
2 garlic clove(s), grated
4 cm ginger, grated
4 cardamom pods
lightly crushed
1 ml cloves
grounded
5 ml ground coriander
5 ml garam masala
5 ml turmeric
2.5 ml chilli powder to taste
30 ml sugar
salt to taste

To finish:
45 ml butter
250 ml cream

To serve:
625 ml basmati rice, cooked
3 naan breads
fresh coriander, chopped

Sambal:
1 tomato(es), chopped
onion, chopped
green pepper(s), chopped
salt for seasoning

Method

Chicken marinade:

Place the chicken thighs in a large bowl. Using clean kitchen shears cut them into two.
Add the lemon zest and juice, garlic, ginger, chilli powder and a pinch of sea salt and mix well. Cover and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Mix the yoghurt with the garam masala, turmeric and cumin. Remove the chicken from the fridge and mix into the spiced yoghurt until completely covered. Return to the fridge and leave to marinade for at least 3 hours.
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Set a large metal cooling rack on top of a large baking tray.
Place the pieces of chicken onto the rack and bake for 20 minutes.

Curry sauce:

Using a stick blender, blend the tomatoes into a puree.
Place a large casserole dish over medium heat. Add the butter. Once melted, add the garlic, ginger, cardamom pods, cloves, coriander, garam masala, turmeric, chilli powder and sugar and cook until fragrant.
Add the pureed tomatoes and simmer until the tomato begins to thicken and is well combined with all of the spices. Season to taste.

To finish:

Add the cooked chicken to the curry sauce and gently stir until well coated. Finish the curry with knobs of butter and fresh cream.
Serve with basmati rice, naan bread, coriander and sambal.