The following recipe started as a recipe for Butter Chicken, but has evolved so that it can now also be adapted to create a Chicken Korma or Chicken Tikka Masala with just a few extra ingredients. The main difference is that coconut milk is added to the Korma and passata is added to the Tikka Masala whereas just extra water is added to the Butter chicken.
I’d encourage that the recipe is adapted and modified to suit taste. Add extra chili if you like it spicy, extra salt, sweetener, coconut milk, vegetables, etc. whatever you like. This recipe makes quite a mild curry so extra chili will be needed if you want to turn up the heat. All measures for tsp/tbsp are level and not heaped, but if you like extra of something then make it heaped. Be creative and make it yours. 🙂
The recipe is split in two where you make a curry base and then the rest of the curry. The curry base can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge for 5 days or even frozen. It was adapted from the recipe book that came with a Tala Thali Cooks Measure that I purchased. Basically, I started to make the butter chicken according to the recipe, but didn’t “agree” with it so totally adapted it to create my own curry starter recipe.
Ingredients:
Curry base:
2 tbsp peanut oil
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1tbsp yellow mustard seeds
6 cloves garlic, crushed
3cm fresh ginger, grated
1 large white onion, finely diced
2 tsp chilis, finely diced
1tsp Garam Masala
1tsp Tumeric
1 tsp salt
1 tsp smoked paprika
If making a Korma:
+1 tsp ground corriander
If making a Tikka Masala:
+1 tsp ground corriander
+1 tsp mild or medium chilli powder
The Curry:
6 chopped salad tomatoes
100-150ml single cream (I use Elmlea cream substitute to reduce the calories)
Dash of lemon juice
Pinch of salt
600g chicken, chopped
400g mushrooms, quartered
Small handful of fresh, chopped coriander
2tbsp Tomato purée
Korma:
+ 50g creamed coconut dissolved in 200ml water
+ sprinkle (1tsp maybe) Canderel or 1tsp honey (for sweetness)
Tikka Masala:
+1tbsp Tomato purée (so, 3tbsp in total)
+300g Passata
Method:
Curry base:
1. Fry the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, garlic and ginger in the oil for a few mins, add a splash of water if they stick.
2. Add the onion and fry for 7-10 mins so that it softens. Again, add a splash of water.
3. Add the garam masala, tumeric, salt, chillis and paprika (Korma: + ground coriander; Tikka Masala: + ground corriander, chili powder). Fry for a few mins.
4. Use a hand blender and blend the mixture to turn it into a paste.
The Curry:
Use the curry base (ensure it’s heated first if you’ve taken it from the fridge/freezer) and add to it to make the Butter chicken curry…
1. Add half the tomatoes, cream, tomato purée, dash of lemon juice and pinch of salt with a good splash of water (Korma: + coconut milk and sweetener; Tikka Masala: + Passata). Cook for about 5 mins to soften. Hand blend the mixture again and add a bit more water to make more into a thick sauce.
2. Add the chicken, mushrooms, 3/4 of the coriander and the rest of the tomatoes.
3. Check the consistency of the sauce and if you’d like a runnier curry add some hot water until you achieve the desired thickness.
4. Bring to the boil then leave to simmer uncovered for 15-20 mins so that the chicken is cooked through and absorbs all of the flavour.
Serve and garnish with the rest of the coriander.
macros2muscles 