Butter Chicken

 

This recipe was first brought to me by the lovely Kate, my cousin’s daughter. It came from the All-Recipes website. She cooked it for us while visiting and it was delicious.  I have since adapted it to this version with Chicken thighs instead of breasts as I like to cook the chicken in the sauce longer to absorb the sauce. Breasts can quickly turn tough. I also think Roma tomatoes taste better so I like use whole tomatoes and use an immersion blender to puree to a thick sauce. The original recipe used tomato sauce. As well I have added a marinade to kick start the flavour from the start. We also made a version of this on one of our Sunday Supper sessions.

For Marinade 

·       1 ½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized chunks

·       2 tbsp. lemon juice

·       2 cloves garlic minced

·       1 tsp. kosher salt

·       2 Tbsp. tandoori masala

For Sauce

·       ¼ cup vegetable oil

·       2 ½ cups chopped onion about 2 medium-large

·       4 Tbsp. butter

·       2 Tbsp. minced garlic

·       1 large can of whole Roma tomatoes

·       2 ½ cups heavy cream

·       2 tsp. salt

·       1 tsp. cayenne pepper more if you like it hot

·       2 Tbsp. garam masala

For the Marinade combine all ingredients in a bowl. Massage the marinade into the chicken. Let stand at room temperature while making the sauce or in the fridge for a longer period.

Caramelize the onions by heating oil over medium heat in a large saucepan or dutch oven. Add onions and a pinch of salt, slowly cook until golden, about 20 minutes, reducing heat if they are getting crispy or browning quickly, don’t rush this. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in garam masala, cayenne pepper and salt; cook 1 minute more. Add tomatoes; cook 2 minutes, then add cream and carefully puree using an immersion blender.

Return sauce to saucepan and bring to a simmer until it is thickened to your liking. Remove chicken from marinade and add it to the sauce (discarding remaining marinade).  Simmer over medium-low heat until cooked through, about 12 minutes (remove a couple of pieces to make sure they are no longer pink inside). If using chicken breasts, a gentle simmer is required to gently cook the breasts so they don't become tough, and you don't want to overcook them. Stir in butter, taste and add more cayenne for more heat if desired, but taste it first. I like to add greens, maybe spinach at the end. Naan bread will also help soak up some of this delicious sauce. This recipe usually makes too much sauce for me, the extra freezes well.

Adapted from AllRecipes.com