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homemade butter chicken recipe

Homemade Butter Chicken From Scratch

A rich, velvety homemade butter chicken made completely from scratch. Features a fresh tomato-cashew sauce blended until silky smooth and juicy chicken thighs roasted perfectly in the air fryer
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Servings 4 People

Ingredients
  

Homemade Butter Chicken Sauce

  • 3 medium Tomatoes cut into rough chunks
  • 1 can 400g Crushed Tomatoes
  • 1 large Brown Onion roughly cut
  • 4 Garlic cloves roughly cut
  • 10 g Fresh Ginger piece roughly cut
  • 20 g Raw Cashews
  • 1 handful Fresh Coriander leaves
  • 1 cup Water
  • 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
  • 3 tbsp Garam Masala
  • 2 tsp Chilli Powder
  • ½ tsp Turmeric
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 splash Vegetable Oil for sautéing

The Roasted Chicken & Marinade

  • 600 g Boneless Chicken Thighs left whole
  • 3 tbsp Yogurt
  • 1/4 tsp Turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp Salt

The Creamy Finish

  • 1/2 cup Thickened Cream
  • 50 g Butter

Instructions
 

Roast the Chicken

  • Marinate your whole chicken thighs in a bowl with the yogurt, turmeric, and a pinch of salt.
  • Pop them into your Ninja Foodi/Air fryer to roast for 25 minutes, using your tongs to turn them over halfway through so they get evenly golden.

Sauté the Chunky Ingredients

  • Heat a splash of oil in a large pan over medium heat.
  • Toss your rough-cut onion, garlic, ginger, fresh tomatoes, cashews, and coriander leaves straight into the pan.
  • Along with those, add your cumin seeds and salt. Sauté everything together for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the veggies soften up and smell amazing

Simmer and Blend the Sauce

  • Pour the can of crushed tomatoes, garam masala, turmeric, and chilli powder into the pan along with 1 cup of water.
  • Stir it all together, bring it to a gentle simmer on medium heat, and cook for 5 minutes so the flavors can meld.
  • Turn off the heat and remove the pan from the stove to let the mixture cool completely.
  • Once cool, safely transfer everything into your blender and blend on high speed until it becomes a silky smooth, velvety sauce.

Snip and Finish the Curry

  • Pour your smooth, blended sauce back into your pan over medium heat.
  • Take your roasted chicken thighs straight out of the Ninja Foodi/Air fryer with tongs, and use kitchen scissors to cut them and add the cut chickn the simmering sauce.
  • Stir in your thickened cream and a big chunk of butter, letting it simmer for 10 minutes until bubbling and glossy.
Keyword butter chicken