After having put all of our possessions in storage, I realized that I did not transfer my recipe file from our PC tower to my external hard drive. As a result I have been forced to recreate certain recipes that were once tried and true.
A Painful realization, but in some cases this has been a blessing, as I believe in this case I have improved on my Butter Chicken recipe.
If you look online you will see that almost ALL recipes call for you to marinate your chicken in a yogurt/spice concoction. This is not a proper method, and I feel reaps an inferior product.
Butter chicken is a Punjabi dish which was devised as a way to utilize left over Tandoori chicken, and as such you should ultimately marinate your chicken in a tandoori masala. In Canada/US you can find Tandoori Barbecue spice in your ethnic Aisle in the supermarket, or head to India Town and pick some up at a grocer. It is a powder form and should be rubbed into scored chicken along with some fresh lemon juice, and salt and possibly garlic powder if you wish. ** I will be working on a fresh tandoori Masala recipe to be posted later**
If you do not have Tandoori masala, fear not. Dice your chicken, and season with salt and juice from 1 lemon (Or a Tbsp of white vinegar/rice vinegar would do fine as well) If you use this alternate marinating method, only Marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hr.
While that is marinating you will want to start your sauce.
You will need:
4-6 TBSP Butter
1 Medium Onion Finely chopped
8-12 Roma Tomatoes Diced
1 Bay Leaf
6 or so Cloves
1 inch Cinnamon stick
4 - 6 Green Cardamon Pods
4-6 Cloves of Garlic finely chopped
2 inches of fresh Ginger either Julienned or grated (about 2 TBSP)
1 tsp Kashmiri Chili Powder
1 tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Ground Almonds
1/2 - 1 cup Yogurt
3/4 Cup Heavy Cream (Devon cream)
Fresh Chopped Cilantro or Garnish
Nobody ever said Butter chicken was great for a diet, but it is one of my family's favorites.
The amounts on the ingredient list are 'approximate' meaning, I don't really follow the recipe to the T every time, and you can tweak to suit your taste as well.
Method:
Use approx. 2 TBSP of Butter. Heat in saucepan and add the finely chopped Onion, bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon, cardamon (Hit them with the side of your knife to break them open then add).
** Note: to get a really finely chopped onion, leave the end on the onion so that it holds together while you slice then dice. When you leave the end on (the end with the roots) you can slice it really finely and then dice it to get a consistently sized dice from end to end.
fry onions until they begin to become golden, then add the Garlic, Ginger, fry for 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes. Stew the tomatoes over medium/high heat until they resemble a well cooked stew and gain some vibrant red color.
Remove from heat, Pour into your blender, and puree. **at this point you can strain your mixture if you see tomato skin bits that haven't broken down, but it is usually not a necessary step (and is quite messy).
Using the same pan, melt approximately 2-3 tbsps of butter on Medium high heat. Add your chicken pieces. If there is marinade juice do not add to the pan - drain chicken and discard marinade.
**I use a large sized butterfly chicken breast cubed to serve 4. Add more if you want leftovers or have more guests. (you may also want to increase the tomatoes in the sauce base accordingly) You can also use boneless thigh, or a tandoori chicken cut into pieces for that matter**
After your chicken is cooked add the Almonds, chili and salt. This will soak up all the butter and toast the almonds slightly. Then Pour in the Tomato puree. Heat through, then add the Yogurt, cream. Heat through, garnish with Cilantro, and serve. Do not continue to simmer for a long period after the cream is added as the sauce may separate.
You can serve with Basmati rice or Chapati/Nan.
Balance off your meal with a Kuchumber salad:
1 seeded and diced Cucumber
1 Diced onion
4-5 Diced Roma Tomato
2-3 TBSP Chopped fresh cilantro
Juice from 4-6 Lemons Juice
Salt to taste
Chili Powder to taste
Chat Masala to taste (Approx 1-2 tsp)
RICE NOTE: Remember if you are cooking Basmati rice that you need to rinse it thoroughly before cooking or it will be sticky, not fluffy. My Mother-in-law say to rinse it 6 times, and I have always heeded her advice.
Pictures to come at a later date!
Enjoy!
Sherri
A Painful realization, but in some cases this has been a blessing, as I believe in this case I have improved on my Butter Chicken recipe.
If you look online you will see that almost ALL recipes call for you to marinate your chicken in a yogurt/spice concoction. This is not a proper method, and I feel reaps an inferior product.
Butter chicken is a Punjabi dish which was devised as a way to utilize left over Tandoori chicken, and as such you should ultimately marinate your chicken in a tandoori masala. In Canada/US you can find Tandoori Barbecue spice in your ethnic Aisle in the supermarket, or head to India Town and pick some up at a grocer. It is a powder form and should be rubbed into scored chicken along with some fresh lemon juice, and salt and possibly garlic powder if you wish. ** I will be working on a fresh tandoori Masala recipe to be posted later**
If you do not have Tandoori masala, fear not. Dice your chicken, and season with salt and juice from 1 lemon (Or a Tbsp of white vinegar/rice vinegar would do fine as well) If you use this alternate marinating method, only Marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hr.
While that is marinating you will want to start your sauce.
You will need:
4-6 TBSP Butter
1 Medium Onion Finely chopped
8-12 Roma Tomatoes Diced
1 Bay Leaf
6 or so Cloves
1 inch Cinnamon stick
4 - 6 Green Cardamon Pods
4-6 Cloves of Garlic finely chopped
2 inches of fresh Ginger either Julienned or grated (about 2 TBSP)
1 tsp Kashmiri Chili Powder
1 tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Ground Almonds
1/2 - 1 cup Yogurt
3/4 Cup Heavy Cream (Devon cream)
Fresh Chopped Cilantro or Garnish
Nobody ever said Butter chicken was great for a diet, but it is one of my family's favorites.
The amounts on the ingredient list are 'approximate' meaning, I don't really follow the recipe to the T every time, and you can tweak to suit your taste as well.
Method:
Use approx. 2 TBSP of Butter. Heat in saucepan and add the finely chopped Onion, bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon, cardamon (Hit them with the side of your knife to break them open then add).
** Note: to get a really finely chopped onion, leave the end on the onion so that it holds together while you slice then dice. When you leave the end on (the end with the roots) you can slice it really finely and then dice it to get a consistently sized dice from end to end.
fry onions until they begin to become golden, then add the Garlic, Ginger, fry for 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes. Stew the tomatoes over medium/high heat until they resemble a well cooked stew and gain some vibrant red color.
Remove from heat, Pour into your blender, and puree. **at this point you can strain your mixture if you see tomato skin bits that haven't broken down, but it is usually not a necessary step (and is quite messy).
Using the same pan, melt approximately 2-3 tbsps of butter on Medium high heat. Add your chicken pieces. If there is marinade juice do not add to the pan - drain chicken and discard marinade.
**I use a large sized butterfly chicken breast cubed to serve 4. Add more if you want leftovers or have more guests. (you may also want to increase the tomatoes in the sauce base accordingly) You can also use boneless thigh, or a tandoori chicken cut into pieces for that matter**
After your chicken is cooked add the Almonds, chili and salt. This will soak up all the butter and toast the almonds slightly. Then Pour in the Tomato puree. Heat through, then add the Yogurt, cream. Heat through, garnish with Cilantro, and serve. Do not continue to simmer for a long period after the cream is added as the sauce may separate.
You can serve with Basmati rice or Chapati/Nan.
Balance off your meal with a Kuchumber salad:
1 seeded and diced Cucumber
1 Diced onion
4-5 Diced Roma Tomato
2-3 TBSP Chopped fresh cilantro
Juice from 4-6 Lemons Juice
Salt to taste
Chili Powder to taste
Chat Masala to taste (Approx 1-2 tsp)
RICE NOTE: Remember if you are cooking Basmati rice that you need to rinse it thoroughly before cooking or it will be sticky, not fluffy. My Mother-in-law say to rinse it 6 times, and I have always heeded her advice.
Pictures to come at a later date!
Enjoy!
Sherri
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