Buttered Quail
A twist on our much loved Indian classic, Butter chicken, this recipe combines classic French techniques using Quai instead.
Serves: 1
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
3 teaspoons cumin seeds
3 teaspoons coriander seeds
6 garlic cloves
1cm piece ginger
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 lemon, juiced
2 quails
250g butter
1 large or 2 small onions, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, diced
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
¼ cup thickened cream
1 tablespoon of honey
Vegetable oil, to drizzle
Bring it together:
Heat a frying pan over medium heat, add cumin and coriander seeds and heat for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Grind seeds in a mortar and pestle, or spice grinder. Meanwhile, make a paste of 4 of the garlic cloves, ginger, lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon each ground cumin and coriander in a blender.
Debone quail and separate legs from breasts. Rub 1 tablespoon of the paste onto the quail and refrigerate for 30 minutes to marinate.
Melt 125g of the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, add remaining ginger and garlic paste, and cook for about 1 minute or until fragrant. Add onion, and cook for about 5 minutes or until translucent. Add tomatoes, and cook for about 5 minutes until they start to break down. Transfer mixture to a blender with remaining ground cumin and coriander, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne, chilli powder and turmeric, and blend to a puree.
Melt 50g of the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add puree and simmer for about 5 minutes until thickened. Strain puree through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan. Place the saucepan over medium heat, slowly stir in 50g of the butter and cream, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Season to taste with salt. If sauce separates, whisk in 1-2 tablespoons water until combined.
Preheat oven at 180 deg C. Place a chargrill pan over high heat. Drizzle quail with oil. Cook for about 1-2 minutes each side until cooked to medium. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook for 3-5 minutes. Remove quail, cover loosely with foil, and set aside to rest 5 minutes.
Serve with naan! Enjoy
