Butter Chicken

Butter chicken is a special dish. It's an Indian specialty, and is an immensely popular meal. With history traced back to Delhi in the 50's, butter chicken is one of the most popular specialties.

It starts out with a lengthy marinade. I abbreviated this slightly, and though I'll try the double marinade at some point, but in the interest of time, I combined the forces of both into one to create a super marinade. A minimum of 12 hours was recommended in the recipe I looked at, and I was able to let it sit for a full 24 hours.

Tandoor-cooked chicken is common in India, and makes for a really flavorful, moist meats. A tandoor is a clay oven used to cook the chicken at a high temperature. I don't have a tandoor, but I did attempt a tandoori chicken recipe last year and learned more about the impact of yogurt on chicken and cooking chicken at a high temperature.

The marinade was comprised of minced garlic, ginger, turmeric, paprika, dried fenugreek leaves, garam masala (a mix of seasonings), lemon juice, and Greek yogurt.

After the overnight marinade, I heated the oven up to just over 450 degrees and baked these for about 25 minutes. In hindsight, I would chop the chicken before marinating; the chicken gets a coat, and really does need to be sliced before being mixed in the sauce, so this would allow all sides to be lightly coated.

To make the sauce, I added a small cinnamons stick, cloves, and cardamom pods to a large skillet with some butter, then heated it to medium and let them cook for a minute or so. I then added some chopped green chilies (I used Thai chilies from the garden) and some more ginger and garlic, then continued cooking it for 2-3 minutes until the garlic was good and fragrant.

A little bit earlier, I'd soaked some cashews in warm water to soften them, just like I do with the Creamy Cashew Pasta. Those little guys and some fresh tomatoes went into the food processor and were blended until they were as smooth as possible. The cashews still were visible but small, and though some folks do say you can strain this, I decided to leave everything in.

The tomato puree went into the pan and I left it on medium heat and let it cook for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning. This allowed the liquid to steam out.

The sauce was ready for the rest of the ingredients once it had thickened significantly.

At that point I added in some water, garam masala, fenugreek leaves, and then stirred in the chicken, now chopped into smaller bits. I wanted a thick sauce so added just enough water to extend the sauce to fit all the chicken, but more can be added for a thinner sauce.

I let the chicken simmer for about 5 minutes in the sauce, then removed it from the heat. Lastly, I stirred in about 1/3 cup of heavy cream.

The end result was a lovely light brown sauce that smelled like it was worth burning my tongue off to sample ASAP.

I served it over some white basmati rice, but cauli rice or steamed vegetables are good as well (special thanks to leftovers for allowing me to try different sides).

This looked good, it tasted good, and why oh why did I wait so long to make this??

I want to be clear about something here. I love food. I really, genuinely, with all of my heart love it. But this. This dish right here. It was phe-nom-en-al! So much flavor. Smooth, rich texture. Despite not straining the tomato puree, it was a creamy sauce. I loved the thickness; it was just what I needed on a bed of rice. And the chicken was so moist and just perfect. I absolutely loved this dish and cannot wait to make it again. Highly recommend. Do not hold back. Make it!

Butter Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:

For the marinade:

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves
3/4 teaspoon garam masala
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
2 chicken breasts (1 lb)

For the sauce:

2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves
(1) 2 inch cinnamon stick
2 cardamom pods
2 Thai chilies, minced
1 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
4 tomatoes (I used standard vine-ripened tomatoes)
1/4 cup cashews, softened from hot water soak for 30 min

1 cup water

3/4 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon fenugreek leaves

2 cups cooked rice or steamed vegetables, as desired

1/3 cup heavy cream


Instructions:

Combine minced garlic, ginger, turmeric, paprika, dried fenugreek leaves, garam masala (a mix of seasonings), lemon juice, and Greek yogurt in a bowl, then coat chicken. Refrigerate for 12-24 hours. Grill chicken or bake in pre-heated oven at 455 degrees F for 20-30 minutes depending on size. In a large skillet, add butter, cloves, cinnamon stick, and cardamom pods. Cook for 1 minute over medium heat, then add chopped Thai chilies, garlic, and ginger. Saute for 3-5 minutes, until garlic is fragrant. Add soaked cashews and tomatoes to a food processor and pulse several times until mixture is thin. Pour into saucepan and heat to simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until sauce is very thick. Add water, garam masala, and fenugreek leaves. Chop chicken and stir into sauce. Simmer for about 5 more minutes. Renove from heat and stir in heavy cream. Serve over rice or vegetables.

adapted from butter chicken