At first glance at my blog, you would think I bake a lot more than I cook. But that's actually not true. I do an equal amount of both, but I experiment a lot more with desserts than I do main dishes because well, if my family doesn't end up liking what I make for lunch/dinner, I will have to hear it from them. And I don't particularly enjoy that. So I stick to cooking dishes that they are familiar with, you know, to keep my lovely picky eaters happy.
To be completely honest though, my mom has never had a problem with me experimenting with new dishes. Her mentality is that I might as well be getting all the practice in the kitchen at my house now, rather than when I'm married. I agree. I'd rather accidentally blow up this kitchen than my own, duh.
But anyways, I owe it to my blog readers to even things out, so today I took a break from the baking and cooked up butter chicken.
"Is it just chicken with mad butter?" (That was my brother's first question.)
No, it's not just chicken with mad butter.
Butter chicken is a popular Indian dish with a great fusion of flavor, taste, texture, and aroma. It involves a wide range of ingredients but it's actually very easy to prepare. However, eating it knowing that you just put a pint of heavy cream in it...eh, not so easy...well, for me at least. But I got over it.
Now, this isn't your standard spicy Indian dish. The 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper barely had any effect. The chicken wasn't the least bit spicy. And according to my older brother who orders this chicken every time he goes to an Indian restaurant, it's not supposed to be. However, he did say that that the sauce should be thicker. Other than that, it tastes just like the one he eats at the restaurant.
Score.
I think the difference in the sauce has to do with the fact that this is sort of a westernized version of authentic butter chicken. I compared this recipe to original butter chicken recipes online and the spices are different (it's missing garam masala, cloves, fenugreek to name a few), as well as the cooking process. But I'm not hatin'. I value taste over authenticity any day and this dish is absolutely divine. I would only suggest cutting the chicken into bite sized pieces and also straining the liquid from the diced tomatoes or not using all the heavy cream so the sauce won't be too liquidy.
Butter Chicken
Ingredients:
4 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts5 cloves garlic, minced1 teaspoon salt½ teaspoons black pepper½ teaspoons cayenne pepper¼ teaspoons ground coriander¼ teaspoons cumin¼ teaspoons cardamom1 whole lime, juiced1 whole onion, diced1/4 cup butter1 can (14.5 oz.) tomato sauce1 can (14.5 oz.) petite diced tomatoes1 pint whipping cream1 bunch chopped cilantro, to taste2 cups basmati rice (or however much you want) (I used Uncle Ben's)Directions:
Combine first 9 ingredients and marinate overnight. Saute the onion in the butter until soft. Add marinated chicken and cook about 10 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Cook for 30 minutes over medium-low heat with the lid on. Add the whipping cream and cilantro just before serving over Basmati rice.Recipe from Tasty Kitchen
Lush descriptions, mouthwatering recipes, and a wonderful attention to detail. God bless your finger-licking-good posts!
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