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Dishoom Chicken Ruby Recipe

This Dishoom Chicken Ruby Recipe is like a cross between chicken tikka masala and butter chicken. This is the best curry I've ever had in my life! A rich and super flavorful curry, made with fresh ground spices, crushed tomatoes, cream, and butter. The flavors are complex but not super spicy - just a mild background. (You can also use less of the deggi mirch chilli powder to make it a little less spicy.)
Please note that I doubled the recipe. The original recipe calls for about 1.5 lbs of chicken, but I knew it would take a lot of time and make great leftovers, so I used 3 lbs of chicken, and doubled the rest of the ingredients as well.
It helps to use a food scale to weight the ingredients in this dish.
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Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 45 minutes
MarinatingTime 12 hours
Total Time 13 hours 45 minutes
Servings 8
Author Dishoom Restaurant

Ingredients

Chicken & Marinade

  • 3 lbs. boneless chicken thighs (1400g)
  • 20 g fresh ginger, chopped fine (4 teaspoons)
  • 40 g garlic, chopped fine (40g) (5 cloves)
  • 10 g salt (2 teaspoons)
  • 10 g deggi mirch chilli powder (2 teaspoons)
  • 15 g ground cumin (3 teaspoons)
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala (to make this authentic to the restaurant, make their garam masala recipe (below) - or to make it simpler, use store-bought garam masala)
  • 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup full fat plain Greek yogurt

Homemade Garam Masala (If you're simplifying the recipe, don't make this and use store-bought Garam Masala)

  • 1 black cardamom pod
  • 4 whole cloves
  • 5 g black peppercorns (1 teaspoon)
  • 2 large cinnamon sticks
  • 10 g coriander seeds (2 teaspoons)
  • 5 g cumin seeds (1 teaspoon)
  • 4 g fennel seeds (just under 1 teaspoon)
  • 2 g star anise (1/2 teaspoon)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 g mace blades (1/2 teaspoon)
  • 10 g poppy seeds (2 teaspoons)
  • 2 g dried rose petals dried rose petals

Makhani Sauce

  • 70 g garlic, chopped fine (14-16 cloves)
  • 175 ml vegetable oil (1½ cups)
  • 40 g fresh ginger, chopped fine (40g) (2 tablespoons)
  • 2 cans (28 oz. each) crushed tomatoes (I used Cento Brand)
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 12 green cardamom pods
  • 4 black cardamom pods
  • 4 cinnamon sticks
  • 4 teaspoons salt
  • 1 tablespoon deggi mirch chilli powder
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala (to make this authentic to the restaurant, make their garam masala recipe (below) - or to make simpler use store-bought garam masala)
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons dried fenugreek leaves
  • 1 tablespoon fresh dill fronds
  • 2 cups heavy cream

For Garnish

  • cilantro, chopped
  • pomegranate seeds
  • fresh sliced ginger matchsticks
  • serve with Basmati Rice and/or Naan and/or Dishoom House Black Daal

Instructions

Garam Masala

  • If you are making this exact to the restaurant version, and making your own garam masala, you'll want to do this first.
  • Put everything except the poppy seeds and rose petals into a cold, dry frying pan and place over a medium heat to warm, shaking the pan occasionally.
    Toast for 2 minutes, then turn off the heat.
  • Add the poppy seeds and rose petals, and let the mixture cool in the pan.
  • Transfer the cooled spice mix to a spice grinder or coffee grinder and grind to a fine powder.

Chicken & Marinade

  • For the marinade, blitz all the ingredients (in a food processor or blender) to a smooth paste, then transfer to a bowl (or large tupperware with lid). Cut the chicken into 4cm chunks, add to the marinade and turn to coat. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for 6 to 24 hours.
  • Heat the grill (or a large pan) to medium-high. Put the marinated chicken on a rack in the grill pan (or on the pre-heated pan with a little oil), brush with the melted butter and grill for eight to 10 minutes, until cooked through and nicely charred.
    (I did this on the stovetop and the chicken turned out delicious.)
  • Set the chicken aside (covered), while you make the Makhani Sauce.

Makhani Sauce & Putting the Curry Together

  • This sauce can be made just before you're about to eat this recipe, or you can make it the day before and chill it until you're ready to use.
  • Peel and finely dice 15g of the garlic (about 1/3 of all 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).
  • 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 for one minute, stirring regularly, then turn down the heat and add the garlic and ginger paste.
    Cook for five minutes, allowing the paste to brown but not burn.
  • Add the canned tomatoes, salt and chilli powder to the pan. Bring to a rapid simmer and cook until reduced by half, stirring regularly so it doesn’t burn or stick to the edges – this should take about 30 minutes.
    Add the butter and simmer for a further five minutes. Add the garam masala, sugar, honey, cumin, crisp garlic, fenugreek and dill fronds, and cook for a further 15 minutes. Add the cream and simmer gently for five minutes. The sauce is now ready to use.
  • If you are preparing the sauce ahead of time, allow it to cool, put it in an airtight container and store in the fridge until ready to use.
  • If using the sauce immediately, add in the cooked chicken to the sauce and simmer for about 15 minutes over low heat.
  • Serve over Basmati rice or with naan (and/or the Dishoom House Black Daal).
  • Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Tastes great leftover and reheated as well!