Make-Ahead Butter Chicken
Source of Recipe
MARILYN BENTZ-CROWLEY in LCBO Magazine
Recipe Introduction
CooksKorner.com had a Butter Chicken group cook and this recipe is the one that Marlene recommended. Since I am woefully ignorant of Indian food and haven't ever really cared for any Indian food I've ever eaten, I thought I'd give it a try for this project. Dianne at CK said that this one was less 'Indian tasting' than other recipes and that you could cut back on the heat of the dish. Mike liked it a lot. I thought it was ok. I wouldn’t ever choose to make it or order it for myself, but I ate a whole portion and didn’t actually dislike it. I’m not really sure what it was – obviously one of the spices. I like Mexican-American food, so I doubt that it’s the cumin (though even there, it’s really easy to overdue cumin). Maybe the garam masala? Whenever I’ve eaten Indian food, I taste what I can only describe as a dusty/dark taste…almost, but not quite bitter. I’m hopeless at describing flavors. This was less that way. Since I am so sensitive to heat, I used an Anaheim pepper instead of a jalapeno and the heat was just fine for me. I served it with roasted cauliflower and basmati rice. See the directions at the end to make this ahead of time.
List of Ingredients
12 skinless boneless chicken thighs, about 2 lbs (1 kg)
4 tbsp (60 mL) butter
4 large cloves of garlic
3 tbsp (45 mL) coarsely chopped fresh ginger
2 green chilies or jalapeños, seeded
1 can (796 mL) plum tomatoes
1 tbsp (15 mL) ground cumin
2 to 3 tsp (10 to 15 mL) garam masala
1 tsp (5 mL) sweet paprika
1 tsp (5 mL) ground cardamom (optional)
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1 cup (250 mL) whipping cream
2 cups (500 mL) long-grain rice
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) chopped cilantro
Recipe
Trim the excess fat from the chicken thighs. Cut them into 3-4 large pieces. Melt 2 T. butter in a large saute pan over medium-low heat. Cook about a third of the chicken pieces until lightly browned. Remove to a bowl, add 1 T. butter and brown another third of the pieces. Repeat with another 1 T. butter and the rest of the chicken.
While chicken is browning, coarsely chop the garlic, ginger and seeded chilies. Place in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Drain the tomatoes and add 2 or 3 of them to the processor. Process until the mixture is puréed. Add the rest of the tomatoes and pulse until the tomatoes are chopped up, but not completely puréed. Put all of the spices and salt into a small bowl.
Pour all of the juices that have accumulated in the chicken bowl back into the pan. Increase heat to medium. When it bubbles, add the spices and salt. Stir constantly to scrape up the fond from the bottom of the pan for about 2 minutes. Pour in the tomato mixture and stir. When it comes to a boil, lower heat to allow the sauce to gently simmer, uncovered until thickened - about 10-15 minutes. Stir often. When thickened, add cream and continue to cook until thickened, about 10 minutes.
Stir in the chicken and partially cover. Cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, keeping it at a simmer and stirring often.
If making ahead: Cool, cover and refrigerate for up to a day. Reheat over medium-low heat, stirring gently and frequently. Before serving taste and adjust seasonings and stir in 1 cup of the chopped cilantro.
If serving immediately: Turn off the heat and leave the pan on the burner. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes. Before serving taste and adjust seasonings and stir in 1 cup of the chopped cilantro.
Serve over rice and sprinkle with the remaining cilantro.
Serves 6
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