Paired with Matron Fine Beer’s Muff
With two locations in Kingston, Ontario, this cozy coffee house is known for its home-baked treats, latte art and welcoming vibes. Owners, husband-and-wife team, Mitali and Vid Banerjee founded KCH in 2017. The couple has two other restaurants behind them, including a rooftop restaurant in Indore, India. When it comes to food, they approach it from place of passion. Take one of the café’s most popular dishes—the butter chicken sandwich. Rich, spicy butter chicken, marinated in their house spice mix and cooked in a tangy tomato sauce, is sandwiched between two fresh naans. We’ve made this recipe in batch size so you can make a bunch of the filling and freeze some for later.
A light-bodied dark beer will counter the sweet, rich sauce without overwhelming it. Muff, from Matron’s Fine Beer in Prince Edward County, has lightly bitter coffee and toasty notes that contrast the tangy, sweet sauce. While its light body, fine bubbles and dry leave your tongue refreshed between bites. —Sabryna Ekstein
Ingredients
Makes approximately 10 sandwiches. Mix keeps in fridge for 3 days, or freeze up to 3 months.
Sandwiches
• 4 chicken breasts
• 2 tbsp salted butter
• 2 tsp crushed dry fenugreek
• 2-3 tsp dry “Butter Chicken Masala” spice (a combination of red chilli, coriander, cloves, nutmeg, garlic, dry ginger, and black pepper powder)—available at any Indian grocery store
• Butter Chicken Sauce (recipe below, or if you’re in a hurry, use a grocery store version)
• Mini naan rounds
• Spring onions
House Spice Mix
• 2 tsp red chili powder
• 3 tsp Tandoori Masala or Garam Masala
• Pinch of salt
• 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp oil
Butter Chicken Sauce
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 finely chopped onions
• 6 garlic cloves
• ½ inch ginger
• 1 can tomato paste
• Salt and sugar to taste
• 3 tbsp heavy cream
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Combine red chili powder, Tandoori Masala or Garam Masala, salt, lemon juice and oil to make the House Spice Mix.
2. Marinate chicken breasts in the house spice mix for 30 minutes in a refrigerator, transfer to the oven.
3. In the meantime, prepare the Butter Chicken Sauce (see recipe below)
4. Lightly grease a pan and cook the chicken pieces for 15-18 minutes, until the breasts reach a temperature of 165°F. Cool then coarsely shred with a fork for the sandwich mix.
5. Now the step where you add all the flavors! In a saucepan, melt butter, add fenugreek (our secret ingredient!)
6. Add 2-3 tsp of Butter Chicken Masala spice mix, and the shredded chicken. Cook for two minutes, then add Butter Chicken Sauce.
7. Mix the chicken and sauce well. Cook on medium heat for a few minutes to evaporate most of the water.
8. Allow to cool. Spread mix onto mini naan rounds, add spring onions and top with naan.
Butter Chicken Sauce
1. Melt butter in a medium-sized saucepan. Add chopped onions, garlic cloves and ginger, cook until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add tomato paste and mix well. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Then transfer back to the pan and add salt and sugar to taste. Stir in heavy cream and remove from heat.
