Sous vide butter chicken

This recipe is adapted from Cafe Delites website: https://cafedelites.com/butter-chicken/

Author

Sebastien Lalonde

Prep Time: 01:00

Recipe Time: 02:00

Temperature : 167F / 75C

Ingredients

• For the marinade:
• - 2 lbs boneless and skinless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces
• - 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (best if minced fresh, not pre-packaged)
• - 1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger
• - 2 1/2 teaspoons garam masala (I use SWAD brand)
• - 1 teaspoon turmeric
• - 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• - 1 1/2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (I use Rani brand)
• - 1 teaspoon of salt
• For the sauce:
• - 1/2 cup plain yogurt (not Greek)
• - 2 tablespoons olive oil
• - 2 tablespoons ghee (or 1 tbs butter + 1 tbs oil)
• - 1 large onion, sliced or chopped
• - 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic, minced (same as above – use fresh)
• - 1 tablespoon ginger, minced or finely grated
• - 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• - 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala (SWAD)
• - 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• - 14 oz (400 g) crushed tomatoes
• - 2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (adjust to your taste preference)
• - 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• - 1 cup of heavy or thickened cream
• - 1 tablespoon sugar
• - 1 teaspoon kasoori methi (or dried fenugreek leaves)
• - Fresh cilantro for garnish

Directions

1. Set your Anova Sous Vide Precision Cooker to 167ºF / 75.0ºC
2. Mix chicken and all sauce ingredients, then place into a vacuum seal bag or zip-lock. Let rest in your refrigerator for 1 hour at least
3. When at temperature, place bag into the water bath for 2 hours

Searing the chicken and making the sauce

1. After the chicken is cooked sous-vide, remove from bag and separate chicken from juices (keep juices in a small container for later!)
2. Place chicken into a large mixing bowl and add 1/2 cup plain yogurt. Mix well.
3. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet at medium-high heat. When sizzling, add the yogurt-coated chicken into the pan and fry until browned. Remember, the chicken is already cooked, so all you need is a crust. When chicken is cooked, remove from skillet at place back into the same bowl.
4. Heat ghee (or 1 tbsp butter with 1 tbsp oil) in same skillet. Fry the onions until they start to sweat (about 6 minutes) while scraping up any browned bits stuck on the bottom of the pan.
5. Add garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant, then add ground coriander, cumin and garam masala. Let cook for about 20 seconds until fragrant, while stirring occasionally.
6. 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.
7. Remove from heat, scoop mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. Add ¼ cup sous vide juices into the blender to help it mix well. Work in batches depending on the size of your blender.
8. Pour the puréed sauce back into the pan. Stir the cream, sugar and crushed kasoori methi (or fenugreek leaves) through the sauce. Add sous-vide juices until desired consistency is obtained. Add the chicken back into the pan until warmed through.
9. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with fresh Basmati rice and warm Naan