Indian cooking is synonymous with Butter Chicken & Tandoori chicken.  This recipe gives you both. I use full chicken or chicken whole legs when making only tandoori chicken but I prefer to use boneless chicken breasts for butter chicken.  Don’t be alarmed by the amount of butter used in the recipe…you are not going to eat the whole pot, are you? If you are then I’d be alarmed!  Anyway, for the health conscious, you may adjust the butter and cream as per your requirements.  Actually I don’t use butter for tandoori chicken on most occasions, if I do may be just a tablespoon if the chicken turns out too dry. But I do use butter for butter chicken…..for what is butter chicken without butter?!

Ingredients

• 2 medium tandoori chickens (Murgh Tandoori)  or 2 lbs. boneless tandoori chicken breasts

The Gravy

• 250g butter , or as required
• 3 tbsp. ginger paste
• 3 tbsp. garlic paste
• 4 cups tomatoes, chopped or 3 cups passata
• Salt
• 1 tbsp ginger chopped
• 8 green chillies chopped
• 5 tsp. cashewnut paste
• 1/2 tsp. paprika or chillie powder
• 150 ml or 2/3 cup cream
• 1/4 cup coriander leaves chopped

The Tandoori Chicken – 1^st marinade

• 2 medium chickens or 2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts (for butter chicken)
• Salt
• 2 tsp red chillie powder or to taste
• 4 tbs. lemon juice
• Butter for basting (optional)

2^nd Marinade

• 100g/6 tbsp. yoghurt
• 100g/7 tbsp. cream
• 2 1/2 tsp ginger paste
• 2 1/2 tsp garlic paste
• 1 tsp. cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp. saffrom
• 1 drop orange color

1. Marinate the chicken with salt, chillie powder and lemon juice. Keep aside for 15 minutes.
2. Whisk yoghurt in a large bowl, add the remaining ingredients and mix well.  Rub the chicken with this mixture.  Keep aside for four hours or overnight if desired.
3. Preheat oven to 350deg F. Skewer the chicken from tail to head, leaving a gap of at least 2 inches between the birds. Keep a tray underneath to collect the drippings. Roast in a hot tandoor or pre-heated oven till the moisture evaporates and it starts leaving oil. Baste with butter, if required.
4. Your tandoori chicken is now ready!
5. Cut the tandoori chicken into desired sized pieces or the breasts into strips.
6. Melt half the butter in a pot, add the ginger and garlic pastes and stir over medium heat until the liquid evaporates. (To save the effort of sieving the tomato gravy, use tomato Passata (readymade tomato puree) instead. Please don’t make the puree with tomato paste, does not give the same results. I have used passata in this recipe.
7. Melt the remaining butter in a vessel, add chopped ginger and green chillies, saute over medium heat for a minute.
8. Add cashewnut paste and saute until light brown, add paprika or chillie powder and stir.
9. Than add the tomato gravy, bring to a boil, add the tandoori chicken and simmer for 10 minutes or till fat surfaces.  Stir-in cream and adjust seasoning.
10. Remove to a bowl, garnish with coriander leaves and serve with naan or any bread of your choice.