Butter chicken (Murgh Makhani)

The summer before I started university, I remember nervously scouring through student forums on how best to adapt to uni life. I had no idea what to expect. Would I like the place, would I make friends, would I hate the course, could I survive without my family? The eternal optimist in me had no doubts but my stomach was still in knots as I watched my parents and sister drive away that first day. A lot of the posts I'd read said it was vital to make friends during freshers week so when I heard people in the kitchen, I squared my shoulders and went to say hi. In my memory, Alice and Sammy are far taller than they really are but I quickly realised we all shared the same shy smiles. Once Joe poked in his friendly face, I knew I'd be just fine. And when Kenny joined us, two weeks late, our band of seven was complete. In no time, it felt like we'd known each other forever.

I met some wonderful people at university, and there are a few I really wish I'd spent more time with and gotten to know better. It's just that every day of that first year, all I wanted to do at the end of each lecture or seminar was to go home to my flatmates. It didn't matter that we spent almost every moment together or that there was a lot of drama in our lives that year. They were mine and we were family.

In the years since we've graduated and scattered across the country, we've all met up sporadically but it's not easy to get the whole gang together. It wasn't possible this time either: Danni is travelling across Australia with her fiancé and Emma was in Japan at the time. But Alice, Joe, Kenny and Fay came to visit me in Dubai for one beautiful week in January and it was like living together all over again.

Fay, Joe and Kenny giving me their best 'Hurry up, we're hungry!' smiles.

Being acutely British, they all love Indian food so my mum and I decided on an Indian spread for one of the nights. Here's what's on the table: butter chicken, basmati rice, tuna cutlets (fishcakes), cucumber raita and poppadoms. Butter chicken, or murgh makhani, is very mild and a great option for those who love 'curry' but can't handle spicy food. It's probably for the same reason that butter chicken is loved by many children in India, often paired with butter or garlic naan. The lively Indian spices of this tomato-based curry are smoothed over with butter and cream into something entirely more luxurious. Is this in any way healthy? No. Is it worth every sinful bite? Hell yes.

This is my aunt Sheilu's recipe and it's honestly amazing. With her butter-chicken-loving sons and nieces, she had no choice but to perfect her butter chicken game - and she did. This is easy enough to whip up on a weeknight and impressive enough to serve for a dinner party. Let me know if you give it a go.

To my cheeky uncle Achu and my dear friend Joe, happy birthday! May this year give you all the love and laughter you have given me.

Update: I've made this recipe a few more times since posting and have tweaked it here and there. This is so good and actually remarkably simple to pull together. While my mother prefers the whole chicken pieces, I tend to use diced chicken thighs. If you're vegetarian, try making this curry with paneer (from an Indian store, for best results). Everyone will love it.

Serves 4.

INGREDIENTS

1kg chicken (I use a combination of chicken thighs and drumsticks)
OR 600g diced chicken (boneless chicken thighs have more flavour than breast meat)
OR 1 1/2 cups paneer cubes
4 teaspoons tandoori masala
2 tablespoons yogurt
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon butter
1 large onion, thinly sliced into half moons
2.5 inches fresh ginger
5 garlic cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 heaped teaspoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 cup tomato passata
1/4 - 1/3 cup double cream
1/2 tablespoon butter (optional)

METHOD

If using whole drumsticks and chicken thighs:

Mix together the tandoori masala, yogurt and lemon juice. Thoroughly coat the chicken and marinate in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. If you're using whole drumsticks and chicken thighs, grill on high for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway, until brown.

In a large pan, heat a tablespoon of butter over medium heat and sauté the onion for 5 minutes until translucent. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the garam masala, ground coriander, cumin and chilli powder. Stir for for another couple of minutes. Then add the kasuri methi, sugar, tomato passata and salt to taste. Let this simmer for a few minutes, and then use a spatula to scrape all of it into a food processor or blender (be careful). Blend the tomato mixture until it’s smooth, adding up to 1/3 cup water if necessary, and then pour back into the pan.

Add in the chicken thighs and drumsticks, cover and simmer on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes or until the chicken pieces are cooked all the way through. It’s optional, but you can add the butter and let it melt through at this stage for a little extra richness.

Add the cream to the pan, starting with 1/4 cup and adding to taste. Simmer on low for another minute, just until hot all the way through. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt if needed.

If using diced chicken or cubed paneer:

Mix together the tandoori masala, yogurt and lemon juice. Thoroughly coat the chicken/paneer and marinate in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.

In a large pan, heat a tablespoon of butter over medium heat and sauté the onion for 5 minutes until translucent. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the garam masala, ground coriander, cumin and chilli powder. Stir for for another couple of minutes. Then add the kasuri methi, sugar, tomato passata and salt to taste. Let this simmer for a few minutes, and then use a spatula to scrape all of it into a food processor or blender (be careful). Blend the tomato mixture until it’s smooth, adding up to 1/3 water if necessary.

If you’re using diced chicken or cubed paneer, heat a tablespoon of oil in the same pan over medium heat. Saute the chicken/paneer for about 8 minutes or until brown on all sides (the chicken should be cooked through, with no pink in the middle). Reserve any excess cooking liquid as it will become part of the gravy. You may need to cook this in two batches, so set aside one batch and then put it back in the pan once the second batch is cooked. Pour the tomato mixture back into the pan and simmer for another 3-5 minutes. It’s optional, but you can add the butter and let it melt through at this stage for a little extra richness.

Add the cream to the pan, starting with 1/4 cup and adding to taste. Simmer on low for another minute, just until hot all the way through. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt if needed.