Recipe for Success: Chef Ethna Reynolds Shares Her Recipe For Indian Butter Chicken

One thing that we’ve noticed over the years is that food plays such an important role our in lives and not just for fuel but for entertaining and providing us with fond memories too.

We’ve chatted to some of Ireland’s well-known faces to discover their favourite dishes and meals, be it from their childhood or simply something they like to rustle up at home.

Ethna Reynolds aka The Burlesque Chef is a vintage-clad, food-loving trained Chef from the North-West of Ireland who offers an exciting approach to cooking, by vowing to introduce people into celebrating every meal and allowing themselves to experience this through sensory eating.

Ethna runs popular food blog ethnacookseverything.com, where she offers a range of tried and tested recipes suiting all tastes and budgets. She also takes requests for specialised recipes for certain dietary requirements. Here in her own words, she describes her love for her favourite recipe: Indian butter chicken.

“When you are a young teenager, all you can think about is getting older, moving out of home and having an independent life, but is the grass actually greener on the other side?

“Since moving from home at the age of 17 to start college, I have, in the 11 years in-between lived as far as New Zealand and Australia as well as various parts of Ireland, and here I am at age 28, currently living just under an hour from my family home in lovely Leitrim.

“The sad thing is I don’t get the chance to get home as much as I would like, between work, college and other obligations.

“Visiting home and family is truly something that you should never take for granted, and it is only as you get older that you realise just how wonderful the place of your childhood really is.

“You see for me, a self-confessed food obsessed woman, food was always a centre point in our lives growing up, and I was blessed that my parents had a more adventurous palate than the average Irish person from the countryside.

“So many memories from my childhood revolve around food, with my earliest memory being that of nibbling ham from Spring Rolls.

“Now when I do get to visit, I love to cook for my parents, and as it occasionally may involve a weekend night, it’s really a time for a little indulgence.

“And you can’t get much more indulgent than an Indian Butter Chicken!

“I make no excuses, this is not a dish for those who are worried about calories and fat content, as it does require the usage of quite a bit of real Irish butter, but if you don’t mind the odd decadent dish in your life, then this Indian Curry really is hard to beat.

“Some may find there to be a lot of ingredients, especially with the Butter Chicken sauce, but because there are quite a few dry spices, once you buy them then you will have them for use for quite some time.

“The Tandoori Chicken step is important as it really adds a gorgeous flavour to the dish, and it can also be used as separate recipe in itself for a Tandoori Chicken skewer starter.”

Indian Butter Chicken (MurghMakhani)

Tandoori Chicken Marinade

• 2 Chicken breasts or Thighs (cut into chunks)
• 1 tsp Garlic Puree
• 1 tsp Ginger Puree
• Pinch Turmeric
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• Pinch Chilli powder
• Juice of 1/2 a lime
• 1/2 cup of Yoghurt
• A few drops of red food colouring (optional)

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients together. Make a few slits in the chicken and place in a non-metallic bowl.
2. Cover with the marinade and rub well into chicken.
3. Cover with clingfilm and leave to marinade for up to 12 hours (giving a mix about half way)
4. When ready to use, place the chicken pieces in a grilling tray and grill until cooked.

Butter Chicken Sauce

• 1 medium onion (diced well)
• 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• 50g of real Irish butter
• 1/2 cup of Cream
• 1 cup rich Chicken stock
• 2 tbsp Tomato Puree
• 2 cups Tomato Passata
• 2 tsp Garam Masala
• 1 tsp Ginger puree
• 2 Cardamom Pods
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• Pinch Cayenne Pepper
• 1/4 tsp Cumin
• 1/4 tsp ground Coriander

Method:

1. Add 30g of the butter to a pan over a medium heat and gently sauté the onion for 4 minutes.
2. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté for a further 2 minutes then add all the dry spices.
3. Cook while stirring for 1 minute then add the bay and cinnamon, stock, tomato puree and passata.
4. Simmer for 5 minutes then add the chicken pieces.
5. Cook for a further 7 minutes until the sauce has thickened. (add cooked potatoes here if using)
6. Season with salt and pepper, and add the last 20g of butter and the cream. Melt, stir well and enjoy with Basmati rice and Garlicky Naans.