Chicken Ruby Makhani Curry

Ingredients:

700g skinless, boneless chicken thighs
20g unsalted butter, melted
50ml double cream

For the makhani sauce:
35g garlic (7–8 cloves)
175ml vegetable oil
20g fresh root ginger
800g chopped tomatoes (fresh or good-quality tinned)
2 bay leaves
6 green cardamom pods
2 black cardamom pods
2 cinnamon sticks
2 tsp fine sea salt
1½ tsp deggi mirch chilli powder
30g butter
1 tsp garam masala
20g granulated sugar
1 tbsp runny honey
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp kasoori methi flakes (dried fenugreek leaves), crushed to a powder between your fingers
½ tsp fresh dill fronds
80ml double cream

For the marinade:
10g chopped fresh ginger
20g chopped garlic
5g fine sea salt
1 tsp deggi mirch chilli powder
1½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp garam masala
2 tsp lime juice
2 tsp vegetable oil
75g full-fat greek yoghurt

For the garnish:
Ginger, sliced into matchsticks
Coriander leaves, chopped
1 tbsp pomegranate seeds

Method:

First make the makhani sauce. Peel and finely dice 15g of the garlic. Warm a large saucepan over a medium-high heat and add the oil. Toss in the chopped garlic and fry until light golden brown and slightly crisp – about seven to eight minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

Grate the remaining garlic and the ginger to a fine paste on a microplane (or grind in a mortar). Using a blender, blitz the chopped tomatoes to a fine paste.

Put the saucepan containing the oil back on a medium-high heat and add the bay leaves, green and black cardamom pods, and the cinnamon sticks. Let them crackle and splutter for one minute, stirring regularly, then reduce the heat and add the garlic and ginger paste. Cook for five minutes, allowing the paste to brown (but take care it does not burn).

Add the tomatoes, salt and chilli powder to the pan. Bring to a rapid simmer and continue cooking until the volume has reduced by half, stirring regularly so it doesn’t catch (about 30 minutes in total). Add the butter and simmer for a further five minutes. Now add the garam masala, sugar, honey, cumin, crisp garlic, kasoori methi powder and dill fronds, stir to incorporate and cook for a further 15 minutes. Add the cream and simmer gently for five minutes. The sauce is now ready.

For the marinade, blitz all the ingredients together to form a smooth paste (add a little water as needed), then transfer to a bowl. Cut the chicken into 4cm chunks, add to the marinade and turn to coat. Cover and set aside to marinate in the refrigerator for six to 24 hours.

Pre-heat your grill (broiler) to medium-high. Arrange the marinated chicken on a rack in the grill pan, brush with the melted butter and grill for eight to 10 minutes (turning over half-way thorugh), until cooked through and nicely charred.

To finish, warm a large saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the makhani sauce, cream and grilled chicken, and simmer very gently for 10 minutes. Serve the curry garnished with ginger matchsticks, chopped coriander and pomegranate seeds, with a bowl of steamed rice on the side.