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Gordon Ramsay's butter chicken

Gordon Ramsay's butter chicken

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This is the celeb chef's version of the classic Indian dish, butter chicken, from his show Gordon's Great Escape

Serves: 4
Prep time: 20 mins
(plus chilling time)
Cooking time: 30 mins
Total time: 50 mins
Skill level: Bit of effort
Costs: Splashing out

Spice level Medium
Make in advance

Ingredients

Natural yogurt and cream helps to make this curry milder, but if you don't like it too hot, just use 'mild' chilli powder instead of the 'hot' one

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800g chicken thighs, boneless and skinless, cut into 3-4cm pieces
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely crushed
2cm ginger, peeled and finely grated
½tsp fine sea salt
½tsp hot chilli powder
1½tbsp lemon juice
75ml natural yoghurt
½tsp garam masala (mixed Indian spices)
½ tsp ground turmeric
1tsp ground cumin
1-2 tbsp vegetable oil, for brushing

For the sauce:

1½ tbsp ghee or melted, unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2cm ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 cardamom pod, seeds lightly crushed
2 cloves
1tsp ground coriander
1tsp garam masala (mixed Indian spices)
1tsp ground turmeric
1tsp hot chilli powder, or to taste
275ml tomato pure
1tbsp lemon juice
40g unsalted butter
100ml double cream
1tbsp chopped coriander, to garnish

Method

Place the chicken in a bowl with the garlic, ginger, salt, chilli powder and lemon juice. Mix, cover with cling film and chill for 30 mins.
Mix together the yogurt, garam masala, turmeric and cumin and add to the chicken, making sure that each piece is well coated with the mixture. Cover again and chill for 3-4 hours.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/Fan 160ºC/gas mark 4. Put the marinated chicken pieces on a grill rack set on a baking tray and bake for 8-10 mins. Brush the chicken pieces with a little oil and turn them over. Bake for another 10-12 mins until just cooked through.
For the sauce: Heat the ghee or butter in a pan and add the garlic and ginger. Fry for a min or so then add the cardamom, cloves, coriander, garam masala, turmeric and chilli powder. Stir well and fry for 12 mins until they give off a lovely aroma. Stir in the tomato pure and lemon juice and cook for another couple of mins. Add the chicken pieces to the sauce and stir well to coat. Finally, add the butter and cream and stir continuously until the butter has melted and the sauce is smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Transfer to a warm bowl and serve hot, garnished with chopped coriander.

This recipe is taken from Gordon Ramsay's Great Escape, published by Harper Collins, priced £25, available from Amazon

Gordon's Great Escape series starts from Monday 18th - 20th January 2010, on Channel 4 at 9pm

By Gordon Ramsay

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