Trissalicious

Butter Chicken

Ajoy Joshi is a passionate man.  He is the owner and chef of Nilgiri’s Restaurant in Sydney.  If there was anyone you’d want to learn Indian Cooking from – this is the man.

A few months ago I developed a serious addiction to Indian food.   Being a creature of habit, every other day I would insist that we have dinner at the local Indian restaurant five minutes from our house.  It came to a point that the waiters would memorize our order already.  One butter chicken, one jinga molee, garlic naan, basmati rice and two mango lassi.  One day, the waiter said to me “Wow!  You’ve become addicted to our food!” – which was true but somehow embarrassed me a little bit.

The next day, I was craving for Indian (again!) and I decided that I would ask my husband to go and get take away instead.  In that way, I would not have to see the waiter that knew my Indian food addiction.  So anyway, when my husband got home he said to me that one of the waiters said something funny to him.  “What did he say?”  I asked.

“Your wife is addicted to our food!” he replied!  There was no escaping it.   The only way to overcome this (not that it was really a problem!) was for me to learn how to cook that butter chicken!

So that’s how I found myself at Nilgiri’s on a Saturday morning with twelve other people to learn the art of chicken korma and mughlai cuisine. Mughlai cuisine I learned comes from the kitchens of  Indian aristocracy or the Moghul Emperors.

The first thing that strikes me about Chef Ajoy is how passionate he is about his cuisine.  We get a lesson on the history of Indian cuisine.  As with any cuisine, many factors including climate, availability of ingredients, natural resources etc have their influences on the regional styles of food.  For example, food from the North of India have richer sauces while the Southern states have lighter sauces.

The next thing that strikes me is how methodical he is.  In fact, his philosophy in cooking is that if you”get the procedure/process right, you reach your destination”.   He asks us to lay all the ingredients per recipe on a large tray, the first ingredient on the 12 o clock position and placing the following ingredients (in the order that they will be used) clockwise.

There are six dishes that we need to go through in about 4 hours so the class is very fast paced.  The dishes on the menu were:

Pakay Gosht Kebab – skewered lamb kebabs made with fresh herbs and garam masala
Paneer Makhani – which is paneer in “butter chicken sauce” and yes! we made our own paneer!

Making the paneer. I didn't realize it was so easy!

Murg Nawabi – which is a classic korma dish
Dal Palak – a vegetarian dish of spinach and mung lentils
Cucumber Raita
Naan Bread

Naan Bread

Of course the true test to see whether a cooking class that I’ve attended has been successful is if I am able to re-create the dish we made in my own kitchen.  While we didn’t make the butter chicken in our class that I’ve become so addicted to, we did make paneer in the same sauce.  So with a bit of help from Chef Ajoy this is my “Never have to go back there again butter chicken” recipe.

Recipe

The first part of this recipe is making the Tandoori chicken.  The next part is the butter chicken sauce.  The process is quite an experience (ie LONG) but the results are fantastic.  I do suggest making a large batch and this recipe is suitable for freezing.  Freeze the butter chicken in individual portions and defrost as necessary.

• 1 kilo chicken thigh fillets (no skin)
• 1/4 cup white vinegar or lemon juice
• 1/3 cup coriander seeds
• 1 cinnamon stick, about 2 inches long, broken into small pieces
• 5 brown cardamon pods
• 1 teaspoon whole cloves
• 3 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground mace
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt (he uses Dairy Farmers brand)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons crushed garlic
• 2 1/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
• 2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• salt to taste

1. Cut the chicken fillets into quarters.  In a glass bowl, combine the chicken with the vinegar/lemon juice.  Set aside.
2. In a spice grinder, grind the coriander seeds, cinnamon, cardamon, and cloves to a powder.  Place in a bowl and combine with turmeric, chili powder, paprika, nutmeg, mace, yogurt, garlic, giner, and oil and mix well.  Season with salt and add the chicken.  Mix well and cover.  Place in the refrigerator to marinate for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat the over to 240C and in a shallow roasting pan, place the chicken pieces in a single layer.  Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and set aside.

Sauce

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil and melted butter combined
• 1 kilo brown onions (about 6 medium), chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
• 2 1/2 tablespoons crushed garlic
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 3 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh green or red chili
• 1 kilo tomatoes, chopped, and pureed in a blender or food processor
• 2/3 cup cream (150 ml)
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 4 teaspoons honey
• 2 tablespoons dried fenugreek leaves
• 1/3 cup chopped coriander

1. In a large frying pan, heat the oil and butter over a medium-low heat.  Add the onions and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, uncovered stirring occasionally until onions are dark golden brown.  This will take around 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for around 2 minutes.  Add the chili powder, turmeric, and chili pepper and cook for 1 minute.  Add the tomatoes and cook, uncovered stirring often, until tomatoes are soft, around 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Add the cream and butter to the pan and cook, stirring until the butter melts.  Stir in the chicken, honey, fenugreek and cook, stirring often until chicken is cooked through.
4. Stir in the coriander and serve.