Butter Chicken is one of my favourite Indian dishes, but it’s one I’ve always been afraid to try to make on my own. When I started reading about the ingredients though, I started to see that it should be fairly easy to make.
I think the best butter chicken comes from chicken cooked in a Tandoori oven (that’s my favourite way I ever had it prepared at a little diner up by TSN in Agincourt), so I added .
This is probably not the “right way” but it’s the way I prepared it tonight, and it was a big hit.
Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs boneless chicken (skin removed)
- Juice of 1 lime
- Salt to taste
- 1tsp chilli powder
- 8-10 almonds
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 1tbsp olive oil
- 2 onions chopped
- 1 tbsp garlic (pressed)
- 1/2 tbsp ginger (grated)
- 1tsp cumin
- 1tsp curry powder
- 1/2tsp cinnamon
- 1tsp cloves
- 1/2tsp tumeric
- Fresh pepper (to taste)
- 2-4 drops liquide smoke
- 2 small cans tomato paste
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 tbsp butter
Directions:
Cut chicken into 1″ cubes.
Mix chicken, lime juice, salt, and chilli powder in large non-metallic bowl or zip lock bag. Cover and marinate for 1 hour.
Crush almonds until coarsely ground, place in a small dry hot pan and toast slightly.
Mix yogurt with cumin, curry, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric and pepper, add to chicken mixture and marinate for 1 more hour.
Heat oil in large pot on medium heat. When oil is hot (but not smoking), add onions and cook until transparent.
Add garlic and ginger and cook for one minute.
Remove chicken from marinade and add to pot, stirring frequently to seal the outside of the chicken (2-3 minutes)
Add remaining marinade, tomato paste, chicken stock, and liquid smoke, stirring to combine.
Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer until chicken is tender and sauce is reduced to about half its original volume.
Add butter and stir in.
Serve with naan bread, rice, and a delicious side like chana masala.