My Daughter Jennifer's Amazing Butter Chicken Recipe

Step 1

Place the chicken thighs in a large bowl.

Step 2

Squeeze the lime juice over them and leave to rest while you make the marinade.

Step 3

In a blender, blend the garlic, ginger, chili peppers, chopped coriander, cumin and yogurt until nice and smooth.

Step 4

Pour this marinade over the chicken and rub it into the flesh with your hands.

Step 5

Leave to marinade for 3 to 48 hours. The longer the better

Step 6

When ready to cook the chicken, pre-heat your oven to its highest setting and cook until the chicken begins to blacken slightly on the outside. You could of course do this in a tandoor oven or on a barbecue.

Step 7

TO MAKE THE SAUCE

Step 8

Heat the oil in a large saucepan.

Step 9

When hot, toss in the cinnamon stick, star anise, green cardamoms and the bay leaves.

Step 10

After about 30 seconds, through in the sliced onions and let them fry for about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally so that they get soft and translucent but not browned.

Step 11

After 15 minutes or so, sprinkle a little salt over the top. This will help release some of the liquid from the onions.

Step 12

Now add the grated carrot, garlic puree, ginger puree, the chopped tomatoes, paprika and turmeric.

Step 13

Let simmer for about three minutes.

Step 14

At this stage you have a decision to make. You can either leave the sauce as is or take the whole spices out and blend it to a smooth sauce. I'll leave that one to you.

Step 15

To finish, place your cooked chicken pieces in the sauce and add the cream.

Step 16

Bring this up to heat and then add the chilled butter one tablespoon at a time.

Step 17

Serve immediately with fresh naans and/or white rice.