Rookie Pan
← All recipes
Australia, Oceania · Aussie Meat Pie

Butter Chicken Pie (Indian × Australian)

Yogurt-marinated chicken thigh simmered in a tomato, butter and cream curry and baked into a pie: a fusion favourite in Australian bakeries.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time1 h 2 min
Extra waiting time+ 1 h
DifficultyMedium
About servingsChicken must be cooked right through (75 °C in the centre).

Method

  1. Cut the chicken into 2 cm pieces and mix with the yogurt, half the garam masala, half the chilli powder and half the salt. Marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.

    Add in this stepBoneless chicken thighs 280 gPlain yogurt 2 tbspGaram masala ½ tspKashmiri chilli powder (or paprika) ½ tspSalt 0.4 tsp

  2. Melt half the butter in a 24 cm pan over medium-high heat, spread out the chicken and cook for , until golden on the outside, then set it aside on a plate. It doesn't need to be cooked through yet; it finishes in the sauce.

    Add in this stepButter 13 g

    medium-high heat

  3. Lower the heat to medium heat, add the rest of the butter and the chopped onion and cook for , until light golden. Add the crushed garlic, grated ginger and the remaining garam masala and chilli and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant, without letting them burn.

    Add in this stepButter 13 gOnion 80 gGarlic cloves 2Fresh ginger 10 gGaram masala ½ tspKashmiri chilli powder (or paprika) ½ tsp

    medium heat

  4. Add the passata, sugar and remaining salt, return the chicken and simmer over medium-low heat for . Cut a piece open: it's cooked when there is no pink inside and the juices run clear.

    Add in this stepTomato passata 140 mlSugar 1 tspSalt 0.4 tsp

    medium-low heat

  5. Add the cream and the fenugreek leaves crumbled between your palms, then stir in the cornflour mixed with the cold water and cook for , stirring, until very thick. A pie filling must be much thicker than a normal curry so it doesn't leak. Spread it in a wide dish and cool completely (about 30 minutes).

    Add in this stepThickened (heavy) cream 60 mlDried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) 1 tspCornflour (cornstarch) 1 tspCold water 2 tsp

  6. Heat the oven to 220 °C with an empty tray inside. Line 2 × 12 cm greased pie tins with shortcrust circles about 15 cm wide, fill with the cold curry, brush the rims with egg, cover with puff pastry and seal with a fork. Cut a steam hole, brush with egg and sprinkle with nigella seeds.

    Add in this stepShortcrust pastry sheets 200 gPuff pastry sheets 100 gEgg (for egg wash) 1Nigella seeds (kalonji) ½ tsp

  7. Bake on the hot tray in the oven at 220 °C for , until deep golden on top and crisp underneath. Cool for 5 minutes before taking out of the tins.

    oven

Cook's tip

Chicken breast dries out easily, so thigh is best. Leftover butter chicken works too: just thicken it with cornflour and use it as the filling. For heat, add a chopped green chilli with the onion in step 3.

Cooking it at camp

Make the filling at home, cool it and carry it in a sealed tub in the cooler. At camp, bake the pies in a camp oven lined with baking paper, with gentle coals below and plenty on the lid, for 25 to 30 minutes; check often, as the bases burn easily.