Topic: Change of Style: Chicken Butter Masala

[Naga]

I was all set to prepare Chewytikka's Chicken Tikka Rezala for the second week in a row (because it's so good!) when my good lady wife pointed me in the direction of a recipe published in The Guardian newspaper last Thursday.

BIR it definitely is not, but I'm always game to try new recipes and this one, Chicken Butter Masala (click for recipe) from the Gymkhana restaurant in London, read OK to my mind and it was easy enough to be knocked up without a lot of fuss.

Instead of grilling or BBQing the meat, I griddled the marinated chicken on a ridged, non-stick pan. I've used this technique before when cooking conditions were limited and it works quite well - 4 minutes per side on a hot, dry pan over a high flame produced really nice, tender chunks of chicken thigh meat.





For the tomato base, I used what I had to hand, so instead of 5 medium tomatoes, quartered and 250g chopped tomatoes, I used 500g of fresh tomatoes (3:2 ratio of "normal" tomatoes and cherry tomatoes) and 200g of canned chopped tomatoes.

For the spice mix ingredients, I just blitzed whole garlic and ginger along with the salt, sugar, herbs, spices and almonds (I used almond powder) in a little oil and chicken stock to produce a stiff-but-still-runny paste.

I cheated a wee bit by using home-made chicken stock instead of water for the sauce! Oh, and I used about half-a-bulb of garlic as we're quite keen on the stuff!







My verdict? Very nice indeed, and, sticking to the recipe's suggested amount of chilli, just the right heat level for my good lady wife. It was light and flavoursome, the marinated and griddled chicken thigh was tender and juicy, and the fresh julienned ginger garnish gave an extra taste hit, which complemented the rest of the dish. I would definitely add another couple of bird's eye chillies if I was making it for myself, though.

Using the ingredient quantities suggested by the recipe means that I was able to freeze half, so that's some delicious leftovers to look forward to for another day!

[Onions]

Great catch naga, cheers. Looks a really pro dish, definitely next but one on the menu here!

[Garp]

That looks really nice, Naga.

Might give that a go too. Would have to use breast as Mrs G doesn't do thigh 

[Madrasandy]

Wow looks great naga, I shouldnt look at curry porn at this time of the day, just makes me want to eat it, now!

[Onions]

Wots wrong with this kind of day? Got a couple of Dopiazas on the go!

So get on with it!!!

[rshome123]

Your cooking and photography skills are making me hungry Naga.