Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast
By Jamie Oliver
Claudia Winkleman's butter chicken
Onion pickle, mint yoghurt & cheat’s naan
1 hr 30 mins plus marinating
Not Too Tricky
serves 6
About the recipe
Claudia’s family are obsessed with butter chicken, so I tracked down the grandson of the chef who invented the dish to find out how to make the original. It’s fragrant and layered with a good back note of heat that’s not too spicy so great for the whole family. An absolute winner!
Recipe From
Ingredients
FIRST MARINADE
800g skinless free-range chicken breast
1 lemon
5cm piece of ginger
3 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon chilli powder (I used mild)
SECOND MARINADE
1 teaspoon chilli powder (I used mild)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
100g Greek set yoghurt
SAUCE
75g unsalted cashew nuts or 1 heaped tablespoon cashew butter
optional: milk
1 onion
groundnut oil
1.5kg ripe tomatoes
1 tablespoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 fresh green chillies
50g unsalted butter
1 teaspoon fenugreek powder (kasoori methi)
50g double cream
optional: fresh coriander, to finish
ONION PICKLE
1 red onion
cider or white wine vinegar
MINT YOGHURT
1 bunch of fresh mint (30g)
1 lemon
1 teaspoon mango powder
200g natural yoghurt
CHEAT’S NAAN
375g self-raising flour
375g natural yoghurt
1 teaspoon runny honey
Method
- For the first marinade, put the chicken in a bowl and squeeze over the lemon juice. Peel the ginger and garlic and finely grate over the chicken. Add a pinch of sea salt and the chilli powder, and give it all a good rub and mix up. Cover and chill for 1 to 2 hours.
- For the second marinade, stir the ground spices into the yoghurt and season with ½ teaspoon of salt. Pour it over the chicken, mix well and leave to marinate in the fridge overnight
- To get the first part of your sauce started, soak the cashews overnight, if using, in 150ml water. When you’re ready to cook your curry, drain the liquid then grind to a paste in a pestle and mortar (or use a powerful blender), adding a splash of milk to loosen, if needed. Set aside.
- For the onion pickle, peel and finely dice the onion, then place in a small bowl with 2 tablespoons of the vinegar. Add a good pinch of salt, toss well and leave to pickle.
- Now back to your sauce: peel and finely chop the onions and place in a large pan on a medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of groundnut oil. Cook for 5 minutes, or until softened but not coloured.
- Roughly chop the tomatoes and add to the pan with a good pinch of salt. Cook for 15 minutes, breaking them up with the back of a wooden spoon, until they’ve cooked right down. Add the chilli powder and cumin, cook for 1 minute more, then strain the tomato mixture through a coarse sieve set over a clean bowl.
- Halve and deseed the green chillies, then place in a large clean pan on a medium-high heat with the butter. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden and aromatic, then pour in the tomato sauce. Stir in the fenugreek and 1 heaped tablespoon of your cashew paste and leave to simmer on a low heat for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the chicken in a hot griddle pan on a high heat, until gnarly all over but still slightly pink in the middle.
- For the mint yoghurt, pick the mint and pound to a paste in a pestle and mortar. Squeeze in the lemon juice, then add the mango powder and a pinch of sea salt. Stir it through the yoghurt and set aside.
- To make the naan, combine the flour, yoghurt and honey in a bowl and mix until combined. Tip onto a clean flour-dusted surface, knead until smooth, then cut into 6 even portions. Stretch and press each piece into an oval shape, then make pocket marks with your fingers.
- Carefully remove the chicken from the griddle and cut into large chunks. Add to the sauce and simmer for a further 10 minutes, or until the chicken is completely cooked through, then swirl through a little double cream.
- Cook the naans in a dry frying pan for a couple of minutes, or until golden, then flip over and cook for a further 2 minutes. Repeat, cooking to order. Brush with a little melted butter, if you like.
- Dish up your curry with the naan, onion pickle and a dollop of mint yoghurt. Garnish with a few coriander leaves, and tuck in!
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