Otherwise know as Chicken Makhani, Indian butter chicken is probably my all-time favorite way to prepare chicken. I grew up eating authentic Indian food because my sister is half Indian. We ate at a lot of excellent Indian restaurants like the Bombay Palace in Washington D.C. and I got to experience meals cooked by relatives visiting from India.
I find it shocking that Indian food is not more popular in the U.S. because the flavors are so rich and delicious. With a few unique spices, you can create this very authentic Indian butter chicken recipe yourself... If you like this, I'll have a few more Indian recipes coming your way. By the way, contrary to popular belief, curry is not used in this recipe or even used that often in other Indian dishes.
Marinade
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 lemon
4 boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
Sauce
 |
| Here's my sis and me being silly! |
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced
2 tsp garam masala1 tsp ginger powder
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin1 tsp fenugreek leaves
1 tsp fennel seed
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt to taste
1 large ziplock bag
Directions
1. In a large ziplock bag, marinate chicken in lemon juice, chili power and salt. Refrigerate for 30 mins - 1 hour. DO NOT MARINATE OVERNIGHT or the acid in the lemon will toughen the chicken.
2. Saute onion and garlic in butter and oil until onions are translucent. Stir in garam masala. When masala begins to crackle, mix in ginger, tomato paste, coriander, cumin, fennel seed and fenugreek leaves.
3. Add marinated chicken to saucepan. Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked, stirring occasionally.
4. Once chicken is thoroughly cooked, stir in heavy cream. Simmer for about 5 minutes then serve over rice.
When I make this, I serve the butter chicken over rice with sides of naan, lemon cucumbers, samosas w/ mint chutney and aloo gobi. I'll try to post those recipes soon!
Serves: 4