This Indian Butter Chicken was so darn good. I combined the cooking method from my standby Chicken Tikka with the ingredients in For the Love of Cooking's Butter Chicken. I ended up doubling the sauce because (1) we love extra sauce and (2) I didn't see the point in saving less than half a can of coconut milk. Dump it all in!
My family absolutely loved this, which is saying a lot because they're big fans of my chicken tikka and kind of hate when I insist on trying new recipes. What can I say, I like variety.
Indian Butter Chicken
Combo of Hunt, Cook, Eat and For the Love of Cooking
Marinade:
3/4 cup full fat plain Greek yogurt
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
1 teaspoon kosher salt
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
Sauce
4 tablespoons butter
2 15oz cans diced tomatoes, pureed with a blender (DON'T use tomato sauce)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 can full fat coconut milk
salt, to taste
Fresh cilantro
Basmati rice
Naan bread
Whisk the yogurt, lemon juice, fresh ginger, minced garlic, garam masala, turmeric, cumin, coriander, and cayenne pepper together in a large bowl. Add the chicken and stir to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350. Spread the chicken and marinade in a single layer on a baking sheet and cook for 30 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking, melt the butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the pureed tomatoes and sugar. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the coconut milk and cooked chicken with all the accumulated juices (don't omit that!) to the sauce and let simmer for another 10 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Taste and season with salt, if needed.
Serve over basmati rice with naan for soaking up the sauce.