This recipe comes from Henry's original blog, Chop Onions, Boil Water and was one of the first that I ever copied and saved for later. Butter Chicken is one of those dishes I have long admired, but never made myself so was eager to give it a try. I must admit when planning this dish for tonight I kind of skipped over the part where it spends one hour in the oven, so it was a good thing that worked ended early today due to snow, so I could get into the kitchen and get on it.
This method is completely different from the 'just add chicken' sauces you can buy from the supermarket and the taste is completely different too. This dish doesn't have the overly creamy, super rich bellyache that is often associated with butter chicken, but it does have all of the flavour. Wil had barely even finished his first mouthful before he had told me I could make this any time, especially with the garlic naan we served it with.
If you're a fan of Indian food then I highly suggest you give this a try; I'm pretty sure Wil's going to be requesting this pretty frequently from now on!
1 inch piece of ginger, diced
3 garlic cloves, diced
1/2 cup of almonds
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
1/2 tsp of mild chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp fenugreek (yeah I had to skip this as I didn't have any and it was snowing)
4 cardamom pods
1 lb. diced fresh tomatoes (the redder, the riper, the better)
1-1/4 tsp salt
2 lbs. boneless chicken breast (cut into bite-sized pieces)
This method is completely different from the 'just add chicken' sauces you can buy from the supermarket and the taste is completely different too. This dish doesn't have the overly creamy, super rich bellyache that is often associated with butter chicken, but it does have all of the flavour. Wil had barely even finished his first mouthful before he had told me I could make this any time, especially with the garlic naan we served it with.
If you're a fan of Indian food then I highly suggest you give this a try; I'm pretty sure Wil's going to be requesting this pretty frequently from now on!
1 inch piece of ginger, diced
3 garlic cloves, diced
1/2 cup of almonds
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
1/2 tsp of mild chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp fenugreek (yeah I had to skip this as I didn't have any and it was snowing)
4 cardamom pods
1 lb. diced fresh tomatoes (the redder, the riper, the better)
1-1/4 tsp salt
2 lbs. boneless chicken breast (cut into bite-sized pieces)
5 TBS clarified butter
1 large onion (thinly sliced)
6 TBS fresh cilantro (finely chopped, Chop a little extra as a garnish)
5 TBS heavy cream
1 large onion (thinly sliced)
6 TBS fresh cilantro (finely chopped, Chop a little extra as a garnish)
5 TBS heavy cream
Blend the ginger, garlic, almonds and yogurt into a liquidy paste. Add a little water if necessary.
Put the ginger, garlic, almond and yogurt paste in a large bowl. Add the chili powder, cloves, cinnamon, garam masala, cardamom, tomatoes, salt and blend everything together well.
Add the chicken to the bowl and mix in well. Be sure all the chicken is well-coated.
Preheat your oven to 350°F (Yup, I learned this from one recipe and it makes a nice difference).
Set a large, deep, OVEN SAFE pan or dutch oven over medium heat and add the clarified butter until melted. Add the onions and sauté until beginning to brown and soften.
Add the chicken and sauce mixture and fry for a few minutes to get the mixture up to oven temp.
Add the chopped cilantro and heavy cream. Carefully mix in thoroughly.
Place in the oven uncovered and cook for about an hour. Keep an eye on it. You want it to brown a little in a few places on top, but not burn or dry out! If it seems to be starting to brown too much or looks like it is drying up, throw an oven-safe cover, or aluminum foil on it and finish cooking it like that.
When time is up, immediately remove it from the oven. (Henry sneakily adds a few spoons of ketchup in at this point but I skipped this step) Let it sit for about 5 minutes before serving.
Serve garnished with a little chopped cilantro. Add basmati rice and naan as sides and kabam! Indian food heaven!
Put the ginger, garlic, almond and yogurt paste in a large bowl. Add the chili powder, cloves, cinnamon, garam masala, cardamom, tomatoes, salt and blend everything together well.
Add the chicken to the bowl and mix in well. Be sure all the chicken is well-coated.
Preheat your oven to 350°F (Yup, I learned this from one recipe and it makes a nice difference).
Set a large, deep, OVEN SAFE pan or dutch oven over medium heat and add the clarified butter until melted. Add the onions and sauté until beginning to brown and soften.
Add the chicken and sauce mixture and fry for a few minutes to get the mixture up to oven temp.
Add the chopped cilantro and heavy cream. Carefully mix in thoroughly.
Place in the oven uncovered and cook for about an hour. Keep an eye on it. You want it to brown a little in a few places on top, but not burn or dry out! If it seems to be starting to brown too much or looks like it is drying up, throw an oven-safe cover, or aluminum foil on it and finish cooking it like that.
When time is up, immediately remove it from the oven. (Henry sneakily adds a few spoons of ketchup in at this point but I skipped this step) Let it sit for about 5 minutes before serving.
Serve garnished with a little chopped cilantro. Add basmati rice and naan as sides and kabam! Indian food heaven!
Thanks for the nod Kelly. I'm glad you enjoyed it. My wife and others do as well. It is modeled after my favorite version of all the Indian restaurants I've been to. The ketchup thing comes by way of an Indian chef who said all the restaurants do it but never admit it because they consider it a "dirty trick". Now I'm craving it.
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