Johnny’s Infamous Butter Chicken & Oven-Baked Rice
This chicken curry is published in his first cookbook EEN MAAL and is served with an oven baked rice dish. The addictive taste, Johnny says, is not in the chicken but in the rice.
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading... Ingredients
For the butter chicken
125ml (1/2 cup) full cream natural yoghurt
15ml (1 tbsp) lemon juice
5ml (1 tsp) turmeric
1ml (2 tsp) garam masala
10ml (2 tsp) tandoori masala
5ml (1 tsp) chilli powder
5ml (1 tsp) ground cumin
10ml (2 tsp) freshly grated ginger
2 garlic cloves, cut into small pieces
1kg chicken fillets, cut into bite sized pieces
150g butter
15ml (1 tbsp) olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
5ml (1 tsp) cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
1 fresh bay leaf
10ml (2 tsp) paprika
1X410g can tomato puree
150ml chicken stock
250ml (1 cup) cream
fresh chopped coriander leaves
For the oven baked rice
5 cinnamon sticks
10 cloves
3 fresh bay leaves
grated skin and juice from 1 lemon
3 sprigs fresh curry leaves
680 ml water
400g Spekko India Gate Basmati Rice, soaked in water for 15 minutes
60g butter
Method
1.Mix the yoghurt, lemon juice, turmeric, garam masala, tandoori masala, chilli powder, cumin, ginger and garlic in a glass bowl. Add the chicken, cover and leave to marinate overnight in the fridge.
2.Heat the butter and oil in a large pan. Add the onion, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick and bay leaf and sauté for about 2 minutes until the onion is just soft.
3.Lower the heat and add the chicken and marinade, paprika, tomato puree and stock. Lower the heat and cook for 15 minutes more.
4.Add the cream, season with salt and pepper and simmer for another 10 minutes.
5.Garnish with the coriander leaves and serve with the oven-baked rice.
6.To prepare the rice, preheat the oven to 200 ºC.
7.Add the cinnamon sticks, cloves, bay leaves, lemon peel and curry leaves to the water in a pot. Bring to the boil, remove from the heat and set aside.
8.Drain the rice (but keep the water). Pour the rice in an oven-proof baking dish (24 X 30 cm). Top with the spiced water and mix through.
9.Place a sheet of greaseproof paper on the rice, then cover the dish with foil.
10.Bake for 20 minutes, remove from the oven, and stand for another 10 minutes.
11.Heat the butter and add the lemon juice. Just before serving, stir the rice with a fork, then pour over the butter and lemon juice.