Indian Butter Chicken

If you know me and Steve, you know we love Indian food. Before I met Steve I THOUGHT that I loved "ethnic" foods, but he has shown me a whole new world. He showed me how to branch out and try new things... REALLY new things. And now I'm trying new things and home, and its fun. My sister lead me to this recipe on Pinterest and I decided to try it out the other night.

What you'll need
A large skillet - I used the pan on the bottom left. I'd recommend something like that with a little depth to it

Blender

1 1/2 lbs chicken breast, (cut into about 1" cubes)- I tried to go cheap and get thighs. It was okay, but after I trimmed the "hand trimmed" package, I probably only had 1 lb of chicken. Do yourself a favor and spend the extra $1.50 on the breast.

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely chopped - I used my zester/fine grater and it worked great

2 cloves garlic, finely minced - I keep bottled minced garlic on hand

1 jalapeño, seeded, and finely chopped - I would probably reduce this to 1/2 a jalepeno, it was too strong for me and Steve

1 tablespoon olive or canola oil

2 teaspoons garam masala - I found garam masala in the spices section at Wal-Mart, you can also find a recipe for this spice mix here, or order this online for fairly cheap. 

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cardamom

1/2 teaspoon coriander - I left this out

1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup fat free half-and-half - Steve and I debated substituting coconut milk for this next time for a little more flavor

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter

Hot cooked rice for serving.- I recommend Batsmati or Jasmine as they tend to be less sticky. If you have a Winco nearby, BULK BINS!

Chopped fresh cilantro for extra garnish - I really liked the cilantro in mine, Steve didn't even try it.

Ok, I know I usually leave tips for the instruction section, but I figured it would be easier in the list. So to get started, chop (I didn't take the time to dice) the onion, grate the ginger, prep your jalapeno, and garlic. Heat the oil in your skillet and add the onion, ginger and jalepeno. Cook about 4 minutes until the onion is translucent. (PS Your kitchen will start to smell amazing right about now). Add the garlic and spices; garam masala, chili powder, cardamom, and coriander (I left this out). Stir well and cook in the skillet for another minute or so. (The smell is getting better!)

I let this cool for a minute before I threw this in my blendtec with the chicken broth and tomato paste. Blend until smooth. Pour the sauce back into the skillet and bring to a low simmer, slowly stir in the 1/2 and 1/2. You don't have to use the fat free, and can even use heavy cream, but I was looking to save calories. Add the chicken pieces, salt and pepper, cover, and let sit to cook for about 10-15 minutes. Make sure your chicken is cooked through! 

Meanwhile... start your rice. I also bought a package of naan from Wal-mart. I think I'd rather make my own, but I didn't have the time and the store bought was decent.

Before taking off of the heat, cut your butter into chunks and add to the sauce. Stir until the butter is completely melted. 

TA DA! Serve over warm rice and with a piece (or two) of warm naan.

Really I was surprised with how easy this was. It wasn't the BEST Indian food I've ever had, and obviously we though about some tweaks to this recipe, but definitely will be making this again. I would definitely recommend this, and label this experiment a SUCCESS!

ENJOY!

PS: I talked with my Indian friend the other day after making this and she said that if you're looking for a REALLY good, even faster recipe... find an Indian market. They sell packaged curry mixes with directions. If anyone knows of one in Salt Lake please share!