Butter Chicken

In my quest to learn Indian cuisine at home, I tried this butter chicken recipe.  I had to order some of the ingredients online, so if you are like me, Amazon will be your friend for this recipe.  I was impressed at the flavor and texture in this dish....very close to the butter chicken I know at my local Indian Food restaurant.  Thank you to WhitBit's Kitchen for the recipe.


Butter Chicken

1 1/2 lb chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 2" cubes
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1" stick cinnamon
2 whole cloves
2 cardamom pods
1 large yellow onion chopped
2 Tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 fresh green chili chopped (I used an anaheim pepper, but any chili will do depending on how hot you want your dish)
2 tomatoes, chopped or 1/2 large can of tomato puree
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
5 cashews or almonds, chopped into pieces
1 Tbsp Kasoori Methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp and 1/4 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder (in a pinch you can use paprika)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp sugar (I used coconut sugar)
2 tsp tomato paste
1/4 C heavy cream
1/2 tsp garam masala
3 Tbsp olive oil
Water (1 C plus more for thinning)


Marinade:

In a bowl, add the chicken along with 3/4 tsp kashmiri red chili powder, 1 tsp ground coriander, salt, pepper, and 1 Tbsp ginger garlic paste.  Mix together thoroughly and set aside for at least 15 minutes.


Make it:

In a large skillet, add the oil and pan fry the chicken until golden, but not completely cooked.  Remove chicken from the pan leaving oil and set chicken aside.  Add oil as needed.  In the same skillet, add cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom.  Once they start to pop, add coriander seeds and cumin seeds.  When they start to crackle, add the onion and 1 Tbsp ginger garlic paste and stir.  Add the tomatoes, cashews / almonds, and green chilis, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the cooked tomato mixture to a blender and puree until smooth.  Return mixture to pan.  Keep heat at low and add butter.  Once melted, add ground coriander, ground cumin, 1/4 tsp kashmiri red chili powder, salt, sugar, and kasoori methi.  Stir and cover and cook on low for 15 minutes.

If the sauce is thick, add a little water to thin it out.  Add the chicken to the pan.  Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce heat to simmer the chicken until it is cooked, approximately 15-20 minutes.  Stir in the cream and garam masala.  Serve over basmati rice and enjoy some naan on the side.