Butter Chicken

Recipe from Jocelyn

Ingredients

• 6 Tbsp ghee, vegetable oil, coconut oil, -OR- clarified butter

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped

• 7 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 Tbs fresh ginger, grated

• ½ jalapeño or serrano pepper, stemmed, seeded, and minced

• 1 ½ Tbs garam masala

• 1 ½ tsp ground coriander

• ¾ tsp ground cumin

• ¾ tsp black pepper

• 2 ¼ cups water

• ¾ cup tomato paste

• 1 ½ Tbs sugar

• 2 ½ tsp table salt, divided

• 1 ½ cup heavy cream

• 2 Ibs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I use tenderloins because they cook faster)

• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt

• 3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (to top)

For serving: naan and jamsine rice

Directions

Melt 3 Tbsp butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger, and jalapeño/serrano. Stir frequently and cook until mixture is softened and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add garam masala, coriander, cumin, and pepper, and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add water and tomato paste and whisk until smooth.

Add sugar and 1 ½ tsp salt and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in cream.

Using an immersion blender (or a regular blender, but in batches), process until smooth. Return sauce to heat and whisk in remaining 3 tbsp of butter. Remove sauce from heat.

Adjust oven rack to 6 inches from broiler, and turn on broiler. Toss chicken with yogurt and 1 tsp salt in a bowl until chicken is well-coated. Transfer chicken to baking sheet lined with foil. Broil until chicken has a nice brown char on both sides and internal temp is 175°, about 16 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through cooking.

Return the sauce to heat over medium-low while chicken rests for 5 minutes. Cut chicken into chunks (about 3/4 inch) and stir into sauce. If desired, add 2 tbsp fresh cilantro and season sauce with salt to taste. Serve with rice (traditionally basmati, but we also like brown) and naan, and garnish with remaining cilantro.

Note

Sauce can be made multiple days in advance and reheated on the stove when you're ready to add the chicken to it.

Marinate the chicken overnight. The longer the chicken can sit in the marinade, the better the flavor. While an hour is the minimum and still results in a great flavor, 12-24 hrs is ideal.

Butter Chicken vs Chicken Tikka Masala. Both are chicken curry dishes that look and taste very similar. However, there are a few differences. While butter chicken is cooked in butter, tikka masala is primarily cooked in oil. Tikka masala is a bit spicier and contains onion in the tomato base.

If you don’t have ghee. Use vegetable oil or coconut oil. I do not suggest regular butter as the milk solids will burn at high heat. Ghee is clarified butter; you can try making your own.