I remember when I moved into my new place in Bryanston, I came across an old recipe book that people who had stayed there before me, had left behind.
I opened the book and found a hand-written note that said, “Check page 160 – this dish is delicious!” I could not wait to try out the recipe, and ever since then this has become my go-to recipe for special occasions.
Ingredients (Serves 6 )
500 g chicken breast fillets, cut into small pieces
Curry Sauce
60 ml vegetable oil
1 kg ripe tomatoes
120 g butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
180 ml fresh cream
1 green chilli, deseeded and julienned
fresh coriander leaves, to garnish
cooked basmati rice, flatbread or roti, to serve
sambals, to serve
Marinade
15 ml crushed garlic and ginger mix
15 ml garam masala
5 ml ground coriander
5 ml ground cumin
15 ml tomato paste
30 ml lemon juice
Method
1 Mix the garlic and ginger, masala, coriander, cumin and tomato paste with the lemon juice. Rub this mixture into the chicken pieces. Marinade at least for 10 hours, preferably overnight.
Brush the grill with some oil to prevent the chicken from sticking. Place the chicken pieces on the grill over extremely hot coals and grill for about 2 minutes on each side. Alternatively, grill the chicken in the oven for 10 minutes.
Boil the tomatoes for about 2 minutes, then put them in cold water to cool down. Once cooled, peel and cut into quarters. Remove all the seeds. Then process the remaining tomato flesh in a food processor to a pulp.
Place the tomato pulp in a heavy skillet and let it simmer gently until the liquid has evaporated leaving a thick paste. This will take 15 to 20 minutes.
Add the butter, salt and pepper. Add the cream and chilli. Stir through thoroughly.
Add the chicken pieces and stir through.
Simmer gently for about 10 minutes.
Transfer the cooked butter chicken into a heated serving dish and garnish with coriander.
Serve with rice, flatbread or roti, and sambals on the side.
This recipe is from Lucia Mthiyane's cookbook, "Kitchen Queen."