Murgh malai (white butter chicken)
This is the perfect Friday-night curry from Nisha Parmar, the MasterChef finalist and cookbook author. It is gently spiced, wonderfully comforting and mild enough for the whole family to enjoy. Serve with chapatis or steamed rice. Follow Nisha on Instagram.
- Serves4
- CourseMain meal
- Prepare20 mins
- Cook1 hr
- Total time1 hr 20 mins
- Plusmarinating. Cooking time is 45 minutes - 1 hour depending on method
Ingredients
For the marinated chicken
- 20g piece ginger, peeled
- 4 clove/s garlic
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp Greek style yogurt
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1½ tsp sea salt
- 1½ tsp ground white pepper
- 1 green chilli, chopped (optional)
- 550g pack chicken thigh fillets, cut into chunks
For the malai sauce
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp GoodPhats Organic British Grass Fed Ghee, plus more to serve
- 1 stick/s cinnamon
- 5 cardamom pods, slightly bashed
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 125ml double cream
- 75g frozen petits pois, defrosted (optional)
- 1 lemon, juice
- ½ x 25g pack coriander, leaves
Method
To make a ginger and garlic paste, roughy chop the ginger and garlic, put into a small blender, add a pinch of salt, the oil and 1 tbsp water, then whizz to a purée. Put this and the other marinade ingredients and the chicken into a large bowl and mix well. Cover and chill for at least 3 hours (or overnight). Air fry the chicken at 180ºC for 15-20 minutes, or preheat the oven to 200ºC, gas mark 6, then roast in a foil-lined tin for 30-35 minutes, or until charred and cooked through, with no pink meat and juices that run clear.
Meanwhile, start the sauce. Blend the onion to a purée. Set a large frying pan over a medium heat, melt the ghee and infuse the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods and fennel seeds in it for a few seconds until they fizz. Add the onion purée and cook until translucent but not brown.
Add the cooked chicken with any resting juices. Mix well, then add the cream, 100ml water, peas, if using and salt to taste.
Cover and simmer on a low heat for 12-14 minutes, until you can see ghee floating on top (some separation is to be expected). Finish with an extra drizzle of melted ghee, squeeze over the lemon juice to taste, then garnish with the coriander and serve with chapatis or rice, if you like.
Cook’s tip
To layer even more flavour, freshly grind ½ tsp fennel seeds and the seeds from 5 or so cardamom pods in a pestle and mortar. Add to the pan at the end of step 3.
Nutritional
Typical values per serving when made using specific products in recipe
Energy | 1,958kJ/ 472kcals |
|---|---|
Fat | 36.5g |
Saturated Fat | 19.1g |
Carbohydrates | 7.1g |
Sugars | 4.9g |
Fibre | 1.9g |
Protein | 27.9g |
Salt | 2.3g |