We all love to order butter chicken when we go to an Indian restaurant, then when we finish devouring that velvety savory butter chicken you think, okay just how much butter did I just eat? And you start to feel guilty. Well I finally came up with a recipe that is just as good as the restaurant and not as fat as you think a butter chicken dish should be. I have tried many recipes using butter, and I never use as much butter than the recipe calls for but for some reason I always felt like something was missing. There was a distinct taste that I could not achieve and I refused to believe that it was more butter. I saw some recipes that asked for 1 cup of butter! that’s just a heart attack plus on top of that there was 35% cream.
This recipe uses “ghee,” which is clarified butter that originated from India. If you don’t know what clarified butter is, basically it is butter that has been simmered and the residue removed. Although ghee is a form of clarified butter, its not exactly the same. You can not replace ghee by making clarified butter instead. Clarified butter, is achieved when the water is evaporated and the fat is separated from the milk solids. Ghee, on the other hand is obtained by simmering the butter along with the milk solids, this makes it caramelize and that gives a rich nutty flavor.
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 chicken breast
- 2 chicken thighs
- 1/2 tsp Garam masala
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Butter Chicken Sauce
- 2 Tbsp Ghee
- 1 1/2 cup onions
- 1 Tbsp garlic
- 1 1/2 Tbsp ginger
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 3/4 tsp turmeric
- 3/4 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp fenugreek
- 5 cashews
- 1 red chilies with seeds
- 2 cups tomato
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Sour cream
For Garnish
- 1 Tbsp Cilantro fresh
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken for as long as you can with the ingredients for the chicken seasoning.
- In a wok, or non stick pan with high sides. Put 1 tsp of ghee and fry off the chicken until almost cooked and a bit golden brown, remove and set aside in a bowl.
- In the same pan start the sauce. Add the other 2 TBSP of ghee and add the onions and garlic, fry on low-medium heat until the onions start to be translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Add all of your spices ( ginger, chili, rumeric, coriander, cinnamon, cumin, fenugreek) and the cashews, and red chili. Fry for another 2 minutes.
- Turn the heat up to medium-high, and add the tomatoes, chicken stock, sugar, salt and pepper. Cover the pan and simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the tomatoes and the onions are soft. Add the sour cream.
- Pour the sauce into a blender, or use a hand blender pulse until a smooth sauce. On a low-medium heat let sauce come to a gentle boil and add the chicken pieces along with the juices back into the sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked. Garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve with naan bread and basmati rice.