Butter Chicken
April 26, 2021 • Meat & Poultry
Ever since I traveled through India with my daughter in 2019 I’ve been craving Butter Chicken. This is an east-west sort of dish that’s prepared differently in India, or London, or the US, but most preparations generally include at least two things: a tangy yogurt marinade and plenty of butter. I pulled my recipe from The NY Times cooking site, but made a bunch of changes to that. The Indian flavors in this are pronounced, thanks to the turmeric and garam masala, so if you’re shy about those spices, you can cut the amounts back a bit. Be sure to serve this with flavorful rice (I used basmati) to soak up all of the delicious sauce.
- 1 5-ounce container of full fat Greek yogurt
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
- 1 tablespoon ground garam masala
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- ¼ pound (1 stick) butter
- 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
- 1 medium onion, diced small
- 6 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons of minced fresh ginger
- 1 cinnamon stick, whole
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¾ up rich chicken stock
- 1 cup cream
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- Cilantro, for garnish
- Whisk the yogurt with the lemon juice, turmeric, garam masala and cumin in a medium bowl. Add the chicken, toss to coat everything well, and refrigerate for 2 hours, or up to one day.
- Heat the butter and oil over medium high heat and add the onion; cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring frequently, for another minute. Add the cinnamon stick, tomatoes, jalapeño and salt and cook until the tomatoes start to break down, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 2 minutes on each side, then add the stock, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, and cook uncovered for 20 minutes.
- Whisk the cream and tomato paste together and add to the chicken, stirring to combine. Cook uncovered for 10 more minutes.
- Serve over fragrant rice and garnish with cilantro leaves if desired.