Quick(er) Butter Chicken

Ingredients
For Chicken
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
1 tablespoon garam masala
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 cup plain yogurt, whole or low-fat
Juice of 2 limes, divided
2 teaspoons salt
5-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

For Butter Cream Sauce
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1-inch stick cinnamon
2 bay leaves
2 black cardamom pods, crushed lightly to break the pod (If not available, use extra green cardamom pods)
5 to 7 green cardamom pods, crushed lightly to break the pod
10 whole cloves
3-4 cloves fresh garlic, coarsely chopped
6-8 quarter-size slices peeled fresh ginger
1-3 fresh green chili peppers, such as Serrano or jalapeño, coarsely chopped
5 large tomatoes (about 2 ¹⁄₂ pounds), coarsely chopped OR 2 15-ounce cans of tomato sauce
1 teaspoon ground paprika
¹⁄₂ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 ¹⁄₂-3 cups water
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 cup half and half

For Assembly
1 1-inch piece peeled fresh ginger, cut into thin matchsticks
2-4 fresh green chili peppers, such as Serrano or jalapeño, split into eights
1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions
To cook chicken:
1. Heat oil in small skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add garam masala, cumin, and chili powder; continue to cook until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds longer. Transfer half of garlic-spice mixture to medium bowl; stir in yogurt, juice of 1 lime, and set aside.

2. In large bowl, combine remaining garlic-spice mixture, juice from remaining lime, and salt. Using sharp knife, lightly score the smoother side of each piece of chicken, making 2 or 3 shallow cuts; transfer to bowl. Using hands, gently massage salt-spice mixture into chicken until all pieces are evenly coated; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

3. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325*F. Pour yogurt mixture over chicken and toss until chicken is evenly coated with thick layer. Arrange chicken pieces, scored-side down, on wire rack set in foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet or broiler pan. Discard excess yogurt mixture. Bake chicken until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 125*F, 15 to 25 minutes. (Smaller pieces may cook faster than larger pieces. Transfer chicken pieces to plate as they reach correct temperature.)

4. After removing chicken from oven, turn oven to broil and heat 10 minutes. Once broiler is heated, flip chicken pieces over and broil until chicken is lightly charred in spots and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 165*F, 8 to 15 minutes. Transfer chicken to large plate, tent loosely with foil, and rest 5 minutes. 

To cook cream sauce:
1. Heat the butter in a large nonstick wok, skillet or saucepan over medium heat and cook the cinnamon, bay leaves, black and green cardamom pods, cloves, garlic, ginger, and green chili peppers, stirring, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes (or tomato sauce), paprika, nutmeg, and water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are very soft and the volume reduces by about half, 20 to 25 minutes.

3. Let cool and pass through a food mill or fine-mesh strainer and discard the fibers. (Add an additional ¹⁄₂ cup water to extract maximum pulp.) Return to the pan, add the salt, and cook, stirring as needed, over medium-high heat about 10 minutes. If there is too much spluttering, cover the pan, reduce the heat, and cook an extra 5 to 7 minutes.

4. Add the half-and-half and simmer over low heat another 5 minutes to blend the flavors.

To assemble Butter Chicken Curry:
1. Cut or shred chicken into bite size pieces. 

2. Add chicken to the butter cream sauce and stir to coat.  Cover the pan and simmer about 10 minutes to blend the flavors.  Transfer to a serving dish. 

3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and cook the ginger and green chili peppers, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes. Transfer to the chicken and swirl lightly to mix. Serve hot.

Comments
This recipe is a combination of two (recipes – my favorite butter chicken recipe and a newer recipe for tandoori chicken that I tried out earlier in the year.  While I love my standard butter chicken recipe the idea of being able to make butter chicken all in the same day was an appealing one. 

The combination turned out very well!  It is worth noting that this chicken turns out a tidge saltier than the chicken for the original recipe, so be careful with the salt in the sauce.  If I ever need butter chicken without the overnight wait, this is the way I’ll do it.

Person - Gwen