Butter Chicken

My lovely friend Anumeet sent me her mom’s Butter Chicken recipe because she know how much I love Indian food (and have a mild obsession with Bollywood movies).  I couldn’t wait to stop by my local Asian store to grab some ingredients and try it out.

Yes, this variety of ingredients can look intimidating, but the recipe is not difficult, and the ingredients aren’t that expensive (and they should last you a long while).

Ingredients:

• 3 boneless chicken breast or boneless skinless chicken thighs.
• 3 tbsp Ghee (clarified butter), you can use any other oil, like vegetable oil, but it should be able to stand heat.
• 1 tsp Garam masala
•  2 tsp Coriander powder
• 1 tsp Red chilli powder
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1.5 in of ginger and 3 garlic cloves chopped
• 3 medium sized tomatoes chopped
• 5 cashews grinded into a paste with little water
• 1 green chili (I forgot to add this, but it didn’t change the delicious final taste)
• salt to taste

Directions:

1. In a Pan put the ghee, garlic, ginger, green chili and cumin seeds and let it cook until the all ingredients turn dark brown. This brings  the flavor out of spices.
2. Add turmeric, chilli powder, salt, coriander powder, and onions. Once the onions are transparent then add tomatoes.
3. Once tomatoes are soft add the cashew paste and stir it in for a minute. The whole mixture is then transferred to a blender and churned into a paste. The curry should be a deep creamy orange color, then put it back on the pan and add the chicken and garam masala.
4. Let it cook on medium low heat until chicken is cooked fully. If you’re making it with Paneer (aka Indian cottage cheese) then put in the fried cubes and peas and cook for 10 mins.
5. Pop on a good Bollywood movie and enjoy!