How to Make Gordon Ramsay’s Butter Chicken in 15 Minutes

Gordon Ramsay revealed his butter chicken recipe and it takes less than 15 minutes to make.

His TV show Next Level Chef is currently airing its third season and episode five is titled ‘Curry in a Hurry’.

It challenged competitors to create a delicious curry in 30 minutes.

Gordon has been sharing his own YouTube videos from the set and recently gave himself just 15 minutes to whip up a creamy and delicious butter chicken.

He said: “I actually went all the way to India to the birthplace of butter chicken to really understand what it takes to get this chicken curry absolutely right.”

The dish features many ingredients you would find in a classic butter chicken, including spices like turmeric and cloves as well as aromatics like garlic, onion and ginger.

Preparation

To marinate the chicken, cut 450 grams of boneless, skinless chicken breast in one-inch pieces.

Gordon places the chicken into a large bowl and seasons it with salt, turmeric, cumin, coriander, garam masala, black pepper and cayenne pepper.

The chef adds three “nice tablespoons” of yoghurt to bind the chicken with the seasoning. This will help tenderise the chicken.

Gordon lets the chicken marinate for a few minutes.

But if you have time, let it stand for 30 minutes or even refrigerate overnight to allow the flavours to meld even more.

Making the Sauce

To begin making the sauce, place a large skillet over medium heat.

Add around two tablespoons of grapeseed oil then add sliced red onion, cardamom, cloves, ginger, garlic and Fresno chilli.

In his tutorial, Gordon says: “Now, I’m gonna start with the sauce.

“Start caramelising those onions. 

“Add a couple of cardamom seeds, cloves, ginger, throw that in.”

While Gordon leaves the seeds in the chilli for some extra spice, you can remove them for a milder curry.

From here, Gordon adds just enough butter to prevent the onions from burning as they are caramelising.

Add garam masala, turmeric, cumin and cayenne pepper.

Where coriander is concerned, Gordon uses “stalks for the sauce and leaves for the garnish”.

He then adds sliced ginger and garlic to the pan, as well as two big knobs of butter.

Gordon adds: “Toast that now. Add another touch of butter in there.”

This is a lot of butter compared to a traditional butter chicken recipe.

If you’re monitoring your saturated fat intake, you may want to balance the rest of your week with some heart-healthier meals.

Cooking the Chicken

While the sauce base is cooking, Gordon cooks the chicken in a separate well-oiled pan.

He says: “If you want to go up to the next level, you can grill this chicken separately and then add it in.”

But the stove works fine too.

Make sure not to turn the chicken too much.

As the chicken cooks, tomato puree and heavy cream are added to the onions to create the sauce.

Gordon says:

“Now, you can see it’s a really nice, rich colour.”

He also adds a “touch of lemon juice”.

The sauce takes on a distinctive colour.

Gordon blends the sauce in a heat-safe blender and then passes it back into the pan through a sieve, making it easy to remove the whole spices.

By this point, the chicken is cooked so he adds it to the sauce along with another two big chunks of butter and some lemon zest.

He urges not to bring the mixture to a boil because you risk the butter separating from the curry. Note that this method is a departure from more traditional versions of butter chicken where you intentionally cook it until it separates.

Spoon the finished butter chicken over rice and garnish with coriander leaves for what Gordon Ramsey calls “the most amazing butter chicken, done beautifully in literally 14 minutes and 58 seconds”.

The Recipe

Ingredients

For the Chicken Marinade

• 450g boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
• ¼ cup yoghurt
• 2 tbsp grapeseed oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper

For the Curry

• 2 tbsp grapeseed oil
• 1 Red onion, sliced
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 4 Cloves
• 3 Garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
• 1-inch ginger, peeled and sliced
• 1 Fresno chilli, sliced
• 8 tbsp butter
• A bunch of coriander, stems and leaves separated
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 cup tomato puree
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 Lemon, zest and juice
• Steamed basmati rice

Method

1. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, yoghurt, oil, salt, turmeric, cumin, coriander, garam masala, black pepper and cayenne. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.
2. In a large skillet over medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon of grapeseed oil.
3. Once shimmering, add the marinated chicken and cook until charred on the outside and the internal temperature reaches 73°C.
4. In another pan over medium heat, add the grapeseed oil. Add the onion and salt and cook until the onions begin to caramelise.
5. Add the cardamom pods, cloves, garlic, ginger and chilli and continue cooking until fragrant.
6. Add half of the butter to the pan and stir to melt the butter completely.
7. Add the coriander stems, garam masala, turmeric, ground cumin and cayenne. Continue cooking until the spices are toasted and a paste begins to form at the bottom of the pan.
8. Add the tomato puree, heavy cream and lemon juice. Stir to combine.
9. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then remove from the heat and blitz in a high-powered blender until smooth. Pass the sauce through a fine mesh sieve back into the pan and place over medium-low heat.
10. Add the remaining butter to the pan and swirl until the butter melts completely.
11. Add in the lemon zest and taste to adjust for seasoning. Add the cooked chicken to the sauce and stir in the coriander leaves. Serve with steamed basmati rice.

Gordon Ramsay’s take on butter chicken is a recipe for those who do not have a lot of time to prepare and cook food.

Not only is it a dish packed with flavour but it is an easy recipe to follow.