Who doesn’t love a warm plate of butter chicken? It’s creamy, and a perfectly spiced Indian curry with tender chicken and lots of sauce to mop up with some garlic naan. Calvin Venter, the general manager of the Adonaroza Restaurant & Lounge in Alberton, Gauteng shares his recipe for butter chicken.
This young gun first fell in love with cooking in his aunt’s restaurant in Walvisbay, Namibia at the age of 10. His food journey continued into his teens when he worked at the Thornbirds Wedding Conference Centre in Johannesburg.
“I learnt most of the food and restaurant procedures. From there I became the executive chef at age 15 at Buksies Resort, cooking for 5 000 guests daily,” he says. “I started working as a chef aged 10, I now have 14 years’ experience.”
Journey full of flavour
Venter’s journey continued in Rustenburg where he worked at the Protea Hotel. He later returned to Johannesburg and worked as an executive chef at the Northcliff Boutique Hotel.
While working a shift he was poached by a guest attending a fine dining experience, who offered him double his salary to work as a private chef. “I still work as a private chef now still cooking for him, as well as occasionally cooking for Shaun Mkhize, Melody Dzingai and many more celebrities.”
His most favourite ingredient is coriander. “It’s used across the whole world, East and West, and it elevates any dish. Second runner up is of course, butter! Because it makes everything taste so much better.”
Try out his butter chicken
Butter chicken makes the world go round. It is one of the most popular curries in the world and the easiest, says Venter. You don’t have to hunt down the ingredients. The chicken is tender and injected with the flavours from a yogurt marinade sauce you’ll want on tap.
ALSO READ: Make Mokgadi’s impepho-smoked cauliflower
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Ingredients
- 800 g of boneless chicken thighs
- ½ cup plain yogurt
- 1 ½ tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger (or finely grated)
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons ghee (or 1 tbs butter + 1 tbs oil)
- 1 large onion, sliced or chopped
- 1 ½ tablespoons garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger, minced or finely grated
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 400g crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder (adjust to your taste preference)
- 1 ¼ teaspoons salt (or to taste)
- 1 cup of heavy or thickened cream (or evaporated milk to save calories)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon kasoori methi (or dried fenugreek leaves)
Instructions
1. In a bowl, combine chicken with all the ingredients for the chicken marinade (from yogurt to olive oil); let marinate for 30 minutes to an hour (or overnight if time allows).
2. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. When sizzling, add chicken pieces in batches of two or three, making sure not to crowd the pan. Fry until browned for only 3 minutes on each side. Set aside and keep warm. You will finish cooking the chicken in the sauce.
3. Heat butter in the same pan. Fry the onions until they start to sweat for about 6 minutes while scraping up any browned bits stuck on the bottom of the pan.
4. Add garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant, then add coriander, cumin and garam masala. Let cook for about 20 seconds until fragrant, while stirring occasionally.
5. Add crushed tomatoes, chili powder and salt. Let simmer for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until sauce thickens and becomes a deep brown, red colour.
6. Remove from heat, scoop mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. You may need to add a couple tablespoons of water to help it blend (up to 1/4 cup). Work in batches depending on the size of your blender.
7. Pour the blended sauce back into the pan. Stir the cream, sugar and crushed kasoori methi (or fenugreek leaves) through the sauce. Add the chicken with juices back into the pan and cook for an additional 8-10 minutes until chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick and bubbling.
8. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with fresh, hot garlic butter and fresh homemade naan bread.
