Butter Chicken

Butter Chicken

I love Indian food.  So much.  And some of the best memories are around going out for Indian food.  The bottomless champagne (okay, it was Cook’s, whatever) Indian brunches with Jen.  Heading to Newburyport street to Karma with Chanda and Melina after a long day of law school.  Even celebrating Belghit’s citizenship with lunch at an Indian restaurant.  So much amazing food.  

But for all of that, I had never had butter chicken.  Not until I came across a food blog I love called Miss Masala, written by an amazing Indian woman living in London.  Not only did she provide an AMAZING saag paneer recipe, but also - the best ever butter chicken recipe.  However, because she uses proper names for dishes (butter chicken is actually Murthy Makhani), I always have a hard time finding it in her cookbook.  So I have ended up combing two of her recipes, and I have to say, I like it even more!

Butter Chicken

Ingredients

• 4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs
• 8 green cardamom pods
• 16 black peppercorns
• 4” cinnamon stick
• 16 cloves
• 2” ginger root, peeled
• 16 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt, divided
• 2 15oz cans tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup butter, cut into chunks
• Salt to taste

1. Cut up your chicken into large bite-sized chunks and place in a non-reactive bowl.
2. Place your whole spices in a heavy pan over medium-high heat and toast until they begin to emit a strong aroma, just about a minute once the pan comes to temperature.
3. In a blender, combine 1 cup Greek yogurt, lemon juice, ginger, garlic, salt to taste, and toasted spices.  Blend until you have a smooth paste.  Add to the chicken and stir to combine.  Cover and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 2 - 3 hours.
4. After the chicken has marinated, heat your broiler (or oven to 450 F) and cover the broil pan with foil.  Spray the foil with non-stick spray.  Space out the chicken on the sheet, spooning over extra marinade.
5. Broil for 10 - 15 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through, until the chicken is cooked through.
6. In the meantime, combine your tomato sauce, butter, sour cream, and remaining 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt in a heavy saucepan over medium heat.  Allow to simmer while the chicken finishes cooking.
7. When the chicken comes out of the oven, add the chicken and all of its juices to the sauce.  Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
8. Serve spooned over rice or scooped up with naan.
9. Enjoy!