Garam masala give this Indian Butter Chicken its full-bodied flavor.Notes: If you can't find garam masala, use these seasonings: 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, 1/4 teaspoon cracked dried bay leaves, and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves. Sprinkle chopped fresh cilantro onto individual portions of butter chicken, if you like.
I have been making this recipe for 15 years, and I daresay, it beats what you find in Indian restaurants. It's so simple, tasty, and easy to multiply to feed a crowd. It's also a great recipe for those not used to the heat typical of Indian food. You can also lower the fat easily by cutting the cream and using yogurt as a mix-in at the end. I use a mix of chicken breasts and boneless thighs, because the dark meat holds a little more flavor.
Wonderful recipe - the nice masala flavor is the best part of it. I tried this recipe last night and it came out very good. One additional thing I did was to marinate the chicken (in 2 tbsp lemon jouce and 1 tbsp red chilli powder) for 1 hr. Also, I didn't have tomato puree, so I used regular tomato ketchup. I made the curry with Indian roti and my family loved it. I am going to archive this recipe for future use.
This recipe was very good and very quick. I used 12 boneless thighs and doubled the recipe for the sauce. I strongly recommend grilling the chicken, using the Tandoori Chicken Thighs recipe from CL May 2012. Grilling the chicken is more authentic according to my Mumbai-born husband, who, by the way, totally scarfed this down. Grilled shrimp or griddle-fried paneer (Indian-style cheese and, no, totally *not* light!) can be substituted successfully and authentically for chicken. The two reasons it didn't merit a fifth star: the jalapeno peppers give the "wrong" pepper flavor. Substitute serranos for a more authentic flavor. Also, up the spices a little, including some ground red chili for depth of flavor.
My family LOVES this dish. I make over 150 recipes a year, and this is my son's favorite dinner, and he is hard to impress. He had 3 servings, I don't think he has ever had more than one, and also asked if he could have it for lunch the next day. My kids had never had Indian food before, so I wasn't too sure, but it was a complete success. I think the basmati rice is a must. I agree with the previous reviewer that said it is restaraunt quality. Also, for those of you who care, the calorie info is for 6 servings, and a servings of the butter chicken is about 1 cup.
This was so good - it actually tasted like it came from an Indian restaurant. I was impressed - considering how relatively easy it was to make. I substituted boneless, skinless chicken breasts for the boned skin-on chicken that was suggested - it turned out great.
I marinated the chicken in greek yogurt mixed with tumeric, garam masala, allspice, cinnamon, and garlic. The basmati rice at the local store was very pricey so I used some arborio because it is what I had on hand. I also served with buttered naan.
