Butter Chicken Egg Rolls

Method

Cilantro Mint Sauce:

Start with the cilantro mint sauce first so it has time to sit and let the flavors settle while you work through the rest of the recipe. Throw the lemon juice, Greek yogurt, honey, salt, cilantro, and mint into a blender and blend until it's completely smooth. Pour it into a bowl or container and set it in the fridge to rest while you move on.

Marinating the Chicken:

Combine the chicken thighs with the Greek yogurt, lemon juice, garam masala, salt, chicken bouillon, chili powder, cumin, coriander, turmeric, paprika, garlic paste, and ginger paste. Mix everything together until the chicken is fully coated. Let this marinate for as long as you can, and I mean that. The longer it sits, the more those spices actually work their way into the chicken instead of just sitting on the surface, so if you have the time, let it go a few hours or even overnight.

Cooking the Chicken:

Sear the marinated chicken thighs in a medium high heat skillet until they're fully cooked through. Remove them from the pan, let them cool slightly, then chop them up into small pieces. Set the chopped chicken aside.

Butter Chicken Sauce:

In the same pan, add a healthy scoop of ghee and go in with the chopped red onions. Stir them until they turn translucent, then add in more garlic and ginger paste. Go in with the canned whole tomatoes and gently smash them down as they cook.

Add in the rest of the seasoning, combine everything, then go in with the cashews. Transfer this whole mixture into a blender and blend until you get a smooth consistency. Blending it down like this is what gives you that silky, restaurant style butter chicken texture instead of a chunky tomato sauce, and the cashews are doing a lot of that work too since they add body and richness once they're broken down.

Pour the blended sauce back into the pan and add in the heavy cream along with a generous sprinkle of kasoori methi. Stir it together and let it come back to a gentle simmer.

Turn the heat off completely, then add in a few cold butter cubes, stirring as they melt into the sauce. Keeping the heat off here matters. If the pan is still hot, the butter can break and separate instead of melting in smoothly, and you lose that glossy, rich finish that makes butter chicken sauce so good.

Use a good amount of this sauce to coat the chopped cooked chicken from earlier, mixing it until every piece is covered. Set the rest of the sauce aside since you'll need it for serving.

Assembly:

Drop a good portion of the sauced chicken onto an egg roll wrapper. Fold the left side in, then the right side, then bring the bottom up over the filling and roll it up tight, tucking as you go. Right before you finish the roll, wet the edge of the wrapper with a little water. That's what seals it shut and keeps it from unraveling the second it hits the hot oil.

Frying:

Heat your neutral oil to 365 degrees. Make sure the oil is actually at temperature before you drop any egg rolls in, since oil that isn't hot enough will leave you with a soggy, greasy egg roll instead of a crispy one. Fry the egg rolls until they're beautiful, crispy, and golden all over.

To serve, drizzle some of that creamy cilantro mint sauce right over the top of the egg rolls. Pour the extra butter chicken sauce into a separate dish for dipping, and garnish it with a little more cream and fresh cilantro. The cilantro mint sauce works great as a dip too, so keep both sauces close by.

TIPS AND TRICKS:

-Let the chicken marinate for as long as you possibly can. A quick 20 minute marinade will still taste good, but letting it sit for a few hours or overnight lets those spices really soak into the meat instead of just coating the outside.

-Blend the butter chicken sauce until it's completely smooth. This is what gives you that classic silky texture instead of a chunky tomato base, and the cashews help thicken it up and add richness once they're broken down in the blender.

-Turn the heat off before adding the cold butter cubes at the end. Adding butter to a sauce that's still on high heat can cause it to break and separate, so pull the pan off the burner first and stir the butter in slowly as it melts.

-Wet the edge of the egg roll wrapper right before you seal it. This is the difference between an egg roll that holds together in the oil and one that falls apart the second it hits the heat.

-Make sure your oil is fully at temperature before frying. Dropping egg rolls into oil that isn't hot enough leads to a greasy, undercooked wrapper instead of that crispy golden shell you're going for.

-Make the cilantro mint sauce first and let it rest in the fridge while you work through the rest of the recipe. Giving it time to sit helps the flavors settle and blend together instead of tasting too sharp right after blending.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Can I bake or air fry these instead of deep frying?

You can, though the texture will be a little different. Deep frying gives you that classic crispy, bubbly egg roll wrapper, while baking or air frying will give you a slightly firmer, less shatter crisp texture. If you go that route, brush the wrappers with a little oil first and cook at a high temperature, checking often since air fryers vary.

Do I have to use cashews in the sauce?

Cashews help thicken the sauce and add a rich, slightly nutty depth once they're blended smooth. If you have a nut allergy or just don't have them on hand, you can leave them out, though the sauce may end up a touch thinner. A splash more heavy cream can help make up for that.

How long can I marinate the chicken?

You can marinate it for as little as 30 minutes if you're short on time, but a few hours or overnight in the fridge gives you a much deeper flavor. Just keep it covered and refrigerated the whole time it's marinating.

Can I make the sauces ahead of time?

Yes, both sauces hold up well in the fridge for a couple of days in an airtight container. The cilantro mint sauce especially benefits from sitting, since the flavors have more time to come together.

What can I use instead of kasoori methi?

Kasoori methi, or dried fenugreek leaves, has a distinct flavor that's hard to fully replace, but if you can't find it, you can leave it out and the sauce will still taste great, just slightly less traditional. It's usually available at Indian grocery stores or in the international aisle of larger grocery stores.