Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)

Ingredients

• 700g boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1.5-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup plain full-fat yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 teaspoons garam masala, divided
• 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 3/4 teaspoons salt, divided
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil
• 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
• 5 ripe tomatoes, or 1 (400g) can whole peeled tomatoes
• 12 raw cashews
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)

Before you cook

• Cut the chicken into 1.5-inch pieces.
• Whisk the yogurt, lemon juice, ginger, garlic, 1 teaspoon garam masala, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, turmeric and 3/4 teaspoon salt together in a bowl.
• Stir the chicken into the marinade, cover, and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Soak the cashews in hot water for 15 minutes, then drain.
• Puree the tomatoes.

Steps

1. Heat a grill pan or cast-iron skillet over high heat.
2. Sear the marinated chicken in batches until charred at the edges and just cooked through, about 3 minutes per side.
3. Set the chicken aside.
4. Melt 2 tablespoons butter with the oil in a large pot over medium heat.
5. Add the ginger-garlic paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
6. Pour in the pureed tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes until darkened and the oil separates at the edges.
7. Remove the pot from the heat and let the sauce cool for a few minutes.
8. Blend the tomato sauce with the drained cashews until completely smooth.
9. Push the sauce through a fine sieve back into the pot.
10. Stir in the remaining garam masala, remaining chili powder, sugar and remaining salt.
11. Simmer the sauce over low heat for 5 minutes.
12. Add the seared chicken and its juices to the sauce.
13. Simmer gently for 8 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked and has absorbed some of the sauce.
14. Lower the heat and stir in the cream.
15. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter until melted.
16. Crush the kasuri methi between your palms and stir it in.
17. Rest the curry for 5 minutes off the heat before serving.