Dishoom’s Ruby Chicken Curry Recipe

Watch how to make it

Ingredients and Substitutions

For the chicken

It looks like a lot of ingredients are required to make this ruby chicken curry but if you like cooking Indian curries like Butter Chicken and Chicken Tikka Masala then you have all these ingredients in your kitchen pantry.

For making Makhni Sauce

• Chicken - I have used boneless skinless chicken breasts. You can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs.
• Yogurt - I used full-fat yogurt. You can also use homemade curd. Hung the curd in a muslin cloth for 30 minutes and let the excess water drain off. You can use this thick curd for the marinade.
• Fresh lime juice - It is used in chicken marinade. Brightens up the flavors and makes the chicken tender and juicy. Substitute it with fresh lemon juice or vinegar.
• Oil - I have used sunflower oil. You can use any cooking oil with a neutral flavor and a high smoke point.
• Fresh ginger and garlic - Basics of any Indian curry. I have used fresh ginger and garlic. You can substitute it with store-bought ginger-garlic paste.
• Flavoring - Salt, ground cumin, and garam masala powder. You can look out for ground cumin and garam masala powder at any Indian grocery store nearby or purchase it online.
• Kashmiri red chili powder - The original recipe calls for Deggi mirch chili powder. It is spicier than paprika or Kashmiri red chili powder and gives a bright red color to the dish. I have substituted it with Kashmiri red chili powder as it gives bright red color to the dish and is not spicy. You can substitute Kashmiri red chili powder with paprika or any red chili powder but then add it as per your taste.
• Butter - I used unsalted butter to grill the chicken. You can substitute it with any cooking oil or use ghee.
• Whole Spices - I have used bay leaves, cinnamon, green cardamoms, and black cardamoms. You can skip black cardamoms, if you do not have them but add the other spices. Whole spices give a very nice aroma to the dish.
• Tomatoes -   I have used fresh red ripe tomatoes (plum tomatoes) for this recipe. Substitute them with tinned or canned tomatoes.
• Sugar - The acidity of tomatoes is balanced with the sweetness of sugar. Add it as per your taste.
• Kasuri Methi - Also known as dried fenugreek leaves. Slightly roast it, crush and add it to the curry. It gives a very nice flavor and aroma to this Dishoom's ruby chicken curry.
• Herbs - Dill fronds & coriander leaves. If you do not have dill fronds substitute it with coriander leaves.
• Heavy cream

For a detailed list of ingredients and their measurements, check out the recipe card below.

How to make Dishoom’s Ruby Chicken Curry Recipe

Preparations & Marinating the chicken

1) Prep the ingredients: Blend the tomatoes and keep them aside. Grate the ginger and garlic (for Makhni sauce) and keep it aside. Skip this step if you are using store-bought ginger-garlic paste. Keep all the ingredients ready to make the recipe.

2) For Chicken Marinade: In a blender jar, add all the marinade ingredients and blend to make a fine paste. In a mixing bowl, combine the chicken with the marinade. Cover and keep it in the refrigerator to marinate for an hour. Meanwhile, you can start preparing the Makhni sauce.

Making Makhni Sauce

1) Heat a heavy bottom pan over medium heat. Add ¼ cup of oil. When the oil is medium hot, add 1 tablespoon of chopped garlic. Cook it for 10 seconds. Switch off the heat. Remove pan from heat. Let the garlic cook in the residual heat.

2) When the garlic starts to brown around the edges, immediately remove the garlic from the oil with a slotted spoon and keep it in a small bowl or plate. Crispy garlic is ready. We will use it later. Do not overcook the garlic, it will taste bitter.

3) Return the pan with the oil to medium heat. Add whole spices, and sauté until aromatic. Add grated ginger and garlic, and cook until it is golden.

4) Stir in tomato puree, salt, and Kashmiri red chili powder. Let it come to a boil. Cover and cook it for 10 minutes on medium heat. Stir it in between as required. After 10 minutes, you can see oil floating on the surface means the masala is cooked well.

5) Lower the heat. Add butter, combine, and cook it for 5 minutes. Add fried garlic, garam masala, sugar, cumin powder, Kasuri Methi, and dill fronds. Cover and cook it for 10 minutes.

Grilling the Chicken

1) Heat a grill pan on medium heat. When the pan is hot enough, place the marinated chicken over it. Do not overcrowd the pan. Let the chicken cook for a minute.

2) Brush it with melted butter or oil. Let it cook for 3-4 minutes or until char marks appear.  Flip and cook on the other side for 4-5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and reaches the internal temperature of 165°F (74°C). Remove and keep it aside.

Cooking Chicken in Makhani Sauce

1) With the help of tongs, remove the bay leaf and other whole spices.

2) Add the cooked chicken and cream. Stir to combine. The sauce was too thick; I added a little water (2-3 tbsp) to adjust the consistency (optional). Do not add more water it will dilute flavors.

3) Cover and cook on low heat for 5 minutes or until it comes to a gentle boil. Switch off the heat. Chicken Ruby is ready to serve. Serve with Naan bread or steamed rice. Garnish with coriander leaves, pomegranate seeds, and ginger julienne.

Expert Tips

• Be careful while frying garlic. Heat oil, when the oil is hot, add garlic, stir and cook for 15 seconds and immediately remove the pan from heat. Let the garlic fry in the carry-over heat.
• Remove the fried garlic with a slotted spoon. Another easy way is to place a strainer over a bowl and pour the hot oil with the garlic over it. Remove the garlic to a plate. Transfer the oil back to the pan.
• Marinate the chicken for at least an hour or overnight. Cover and keep it in the refrigerator to marinate. It makes the chicken tender and flavorful.
• Do not start grilling the chicken taken out straight from the refrigerator. Let it rest on the kitchen counter until it reaches room temperature. Now start grilling the chicken.
• Tomatoes differ in tanginess. If tomatoes are sweet to taste reduce the quantity of sugar or add it as per your taste.
• While adding cream lower the temperature or switch off the heat. Add cream stirring continuously until well combined. Now cook it on low heat until it gently simmers.
• If you cook cream at high heat it curdles.

Frequently Asked Questions

Ruby Chicken Variations

• Make it vegetarian - Substitute chicken with Paneer or Tofu, Chick Peas, or mushrooms.
• Substitute chicken with mutton (lamb meat) or King prawns.

Related Recipes

You may also like these other popular chicken recipes from this website:

• Chicken Pathia
• Dahi Chicken
• Madras Chicken
• Chicken Biryani
• Chicken Chasni

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5 from 1 vote

Dishoom’s Ruby Chicken Curry Recipe

Dishoom’s Chicken Ruby Curry with step-by-step photos and a video recipe. Ruby chicken is a famous signature dish of the UK’s popular restaurant Dishoom, inspired by Indian butter chicken. Learn to make it at home with this easy recipe. Tender, char-grilled chicken cooked in a flavorful rich, tomatoey Makhni sauce bursting with sweet, savory, and tangy flavors. Serve it with Naan bread or basmati rice.

Course Main

Cuisine British-Indian

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 day day 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 6 people

Calories 630kcal

Author Preeti

Equipment

• 1 Mixing bowl
• 1 Heavy Bottom Pan or Pot with a lid.

Ingredients

• 700 g boneless skinless chicken (breast or thighs)

For Marinade

• ¼ cup full fat yogurt
• 2 teaspoon lime juice
• 2 teaspoon oil (any cooking oil with neutral flavor)
• 2 teaspoon chopped ginger
• 3 teaspoon chopped garlic substitute fresh ginger & garlic with 2 tablespoon store bought ginger-garlic paste
• Salt to taste
• 2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder add as per taste, substitute paprika
• 1.5 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon garam masala powder

To grill the chicken

• 1 teaspoon oil to grease the grill pan
• 1 tablespoon melted butter or oil for brushing on the chicken

To make Chicken Ruby Curry

• ¼ cup oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic for frying
• 2 bay leaves
• 2- inch cinnamon sticks
• 6 green cardamom pods
• 2 black cardamoms pods
• 2 tablespoon grated ginger and garlic or add 2 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
• 3 cups chopped fresh tomatoes pureed in a blender substitute it with tinned or canned tomatoes
• Salt to taste
• 2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder add as per taste
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar add as per taste check out the notes
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon Kasuri Methi slightly roast until aromatic, immediately remove and crush it to powder with your fingers
• 1 teaspoon dill fronds or 2 teaspoon coriander leaves
• ¼ cup heavy cream or double cream

Garnish

• Coriander leaves
• Ginger julienne
• Pomegranate seeds

Instructions

Prepping the ingredients

• Blend the tomatoes and keep it aside. Grate the ginger and garlic (for Makhni sauce) and keep it aside. Skip this step if you are using store-bought ginger-garlic paste. Keep all the ingredients ready to make the recipe.

For Chicken Marinade

• In a blender jar, add all the marinade ingredients and blend to make a fine paste. In a mixing bowl, combine chicken with the marinade. Cover and keep it in the refrigerator to marinate for an hour. Meanwhile, you can start preparing the Makhni sauce.

For Makhni Sauce

• Heat a heavy bottom pan over medium heat. Add ¼ cup of oil.
• When the oil is medium hot, add 1 tablespoon of chopped garlic. Cook it for 10 seconds. Switch off the heat. Remove pan from heat. Let the garlic cook in the residual heat.
• When the garlic starts to brown around the edges, immediately remove garlic from oil with a slotted spoon and keep it in a small bowl or plate. Crispy garlic is ready. We will use it later. Do not overcook the garlic, it will taste bitter.
• Return the pan with the oil to medium heat. Add whole spices, sauté until aromatic.
• Add grated ginger and garlic, and cook until it is golden.
• Stir in tomato puree, salt and Kashmiri red chili powder. Let it come to a rolling boil. Cover and cook it for 10 minutes on medium heat. Stir it in between as required. After 10 minutes, you can see oil floats on the surface means masala is cooked well.
• Lower the heat. Add butter, combine and cook it for 5 minutes.
• Add fried garlic, garam masala, sugar, cumin powder, Kasuri Methi, and dill fronds. Cover and cook it for 10 minutes.

For Grilled Chicken

• Heat a grill pan on medium heat. When the pan is hot enough, place the marinated chicken over it. Do not overcrowd the pan. Let the chicken cook for a minute.
• Brush it with melted butter or oil. Let it cook for 3-4 minutes or until char marks appear. Flip and cook on the other side for 4-5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove and keep it aside.

Cooking Chicken in Makhani Sauce

• With the help of tongs, remove the bay leaf and other whole spices.
• Add the cooked chicken and cream. Stir to combine. The sauce was too thick; I added little water (2-3 tbsp) to adjust the consistency (optional). Do not add more water it will dilute flavors.
• Cover and cook on low heat for 5 minutes or until it comes to a gentle boil. Switch off the heat. Chicken Ruby is ready to serve.
• Serve with Naan bread or steamed rice. Garnish with coriander leaves, pomegranate seeds and ginger julienne.

Video

Notes

• Be careful while frying garlic. Heat oil, when the oil is hot, add garlic, stir and cook for 15 seconds and immediately remove the pan from heat. Let the garlic fry in the carry-over heat.
• Remove the fried garlic with a slotted spoon. Another easy way is to place a strainer over a bowl and pour the hot oil with the garlic over it. Remove the garlic to a plate. Transfer the oil back to the pan.
• Marinate the chicken for at least an hour or overnight. Cover and keep it in the refrigerator to marinate. It makes the chicken tender and flavorful.
• Do not start grilling the chicken taken out straight from the refrigerator. Let it rest on the kitchen counter until it reaches room temperature. Now start grilling the chicken.
• Make sure the grill pan is hot enough that when you place the marinated chicken over it you hear a sizzling sound.
• Do not overcrowd the grill pan. There should be some space between the chicken pieces. You can grill them in 2-3 batches depending on the size of the grill pan.
• Tomatoes differ in tanginess. If tomatoes are sweet to taste reduce the quantity of sugar or add it as per your taste.
• While adding cream lower the temperature or switch off the heat. Add cream stirring continuously until well combined. Now cook it on low heat until it gently simmers.
• If you cook cream at high heat it curdles.
• The addition of water at the end to adjust the consistency is optional. The gravy was too thick for me so I added water.
• Read our full nutrition disclaimer here.
• For Meal Prep:
  • • Grill the chicken. Let it cool down to room temperature. Store it in an airtight container and refrigerate. Stays good for 2 days. For longer storage, freeze it for up to a month.
    • If you have leftover tandoori chicken use that instead of making grilled chicken.
    • Prepare the Makhni sauce up to the step where you add fried garlic, garam masala, sugar, cumin powder, Kasuri Methi, and dill fronds. Cover and cook it for 10 minutes. Let it cool down to room temperature. Transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate. Stays good for 2 days. For longer storage, freeze it for up to a month. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator.
    • Whenever you want to make the curry - Combine the Makhni sauce, chicken, and cream in a heavy bottom pan. Heat it for 10 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves, pomegranate seeds, and ginger julienne, and serve.
• Storing & Reheating:
  • • To store the leftovers: If you are planning to store this Dishooms chicken curry then store it within 2 hours of cooking. Let the curry cool down to room temperature. Transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate. It stays good for 2 days.
    • Freezing - Allow the dish to cool down to room temperature. Transfer it to a freezer-safe airtight container and refrigerate. It stays good for a month.
    • Labeling- Always label the container with the date when you stored the curry. This helps you keep track of its freshness.
    • Thawing - Thaw the frozen curry in the refrigerator overnight.
    • Reheating - You can reheat it either in the microwave or on the stovetop. Sprinkle some water over it, stir, and heat it at low heat until it starts to bubble or reaches the internal temperature of 165°F (74°C