I adore Italy and it’s beautiful cuisine but after several days of eating Italian, I’m ready for a change of cuisine. That’s the American in me, spoiled by the abundance of foreign foods available. But we Americans aren’t alone, our Australian cousins and British parents also love ethnic foods. We all tend to agree that Mexican, Thai, Chinese and Indian are among our favorites.
Here in Italy I have acquired some vegetarian and wheat-intolerant friends, so the one food we all can agree on is Indian! We get as excited facing a steaming bowl of rice as the Italians do facing a bowl of pasta!
We have some guests arriving tomorrow and we will be busy all day until their arrival at 7:00 pm. We will be hosting a dinner party of 10 when they arrive, what can I make that will be ready in an instant and please everyone? I decided on Indian food! I can make all of the dishes in advance and only have to steam a big pot of rice before everyone sits down at the table.
I already have my “go to” Indian dish of Pumpkin Chickpea Coconut Lentils that I will make, but I needed a little more to put on my table. So I made this batch of Butter Chicken. We all love Butter Chicken, it’s the “number one” choice in Indian Restaurants around the world. It’s creamy, fragrant and bold. For a vegetable dish to go with it, I will make Spinach Saag with Feta, a spin on Traditional Saag with Paneer. Of course there will be a big bowl of steamed basmati rice! My Vindaloo Beef would also be a great addition to this “All Star Bollywood Line Up” menu if you are feeling adventurous!
All of the recipes for Butter Chicken that I researched call for a yogurt curry marinade for the chicken which I am sure is delicious and I will included it in this recipe, but honestly, what I like about Butter Chicken is that you can use chicken leftovers or even a rotisserie chicken instead. It’s the sauce we all love! So, this recipe can be a big production with marinades and grilling or it can be a quick sauce used to reheat your leftover chicken! It’s your choice.
In fact, that is how Butter Chicken was born, out of the need to use up leftovers! It was invented by the popular Tandoori Chicken Restuarant in Delhi, India named Moti Maha. They would toss the leftover tandoori chicken with red curry and butter and it was a hit!
One thing that can be intimidating about cooking Indian food is the spices. There is much confusion about “curry” spice and things like “gram marsala” can sound exotic and hard to get. The truth is, these are British -made spice mixes that create the flavor of Indian food but in an easier way for us to handle.
So a “curry” spice mix is usually just tumeric, cumin, black pepper, red hot pepper and coriander. Gram Marsala contains these spices plus cinnamon, cloves, mace (the outer part of nutmeg), cardamom, bay leaf, and fenugreek. So you can buy a “curry” spice mix at the grocery store or you can make your own with spices you probably already have in your pantry.
The only spices you may have trouble finding are cardamom and fenugreek, although these are delicious, if you don’t have them you can leave them out and work with what you have. What really makes a curry pop is starting with plenty of ginger and garlic and make sure to have cumin, coriander and tumeric.
If you can find a Indian Market near you it’s a great resource for cheap spices! Only a fraction of the cost for the same spices at the grocery store. Besides, it’s so much fun to go into the store and explore another countries cuisine! Here in Italy I can find coconut milk much cheaper at the Indian store and all of the fabulous spices not found in any other grocery store like Cumin, Coriander, Chili powder, Fenugreek, cardamom and tumeric. Not to mention basmati rice, lentils, black beans, plantains…..yep, all of the good stuff is there. But if you are fresh out of Indian Markets you can also try Winco they have it all super cheap!
It should also be noted that the spice ratio is to your taste, some like things mild and some like a more explosive taste. We always end up adding more spices at the end, we just start dumping in more Gram Marsala, more tumeric and more hot pepper but that’s because we like it explosive! Did you know that Tumeric is an “anti-inflammatory”? So feel free to dump it in, it’s good for you!
By the way, this is also Ketogenic and low carb friendly! Just replace the rice with “riced cauliflower”.
Indian Butter Chicken
Sauce:
Ingredients:
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion
- 3 garlic cloves (1 1/2 tablespoons minced)
- 1 Tablespoon minced ginger (about 1 inch section)
- 2 Tablespoons tumeric
- 3 Tablespoons Gram Marsala (spice mix available at Indian markets or see recipe below)
- 1/2 teaspoon hot red chili powder (cayenne or pepperoni)
- 14 ounce can crushed or diced tomatoes (400 gram)
- 1 cup cream
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- a few tablespoons water may be needed to thin the sauce out
- 2 Tablespoons of butter added at the end. If you made the butter chicken ahead of time, you can start heating the pan with the butter, once it’s melted you can add the butter chicken you made ahead and reheat it this way.
If you need to make your own Gram Marsala:
- 1 Tablespoon each Cumin and Coriander
- 1 teaspoon each cinnamon, ground nutmeg and ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon each cardamom and fenugreek if you can find it
Instructions:
- Saute the diced onion in the olive oil, add the ginger and garlic, continue to sauté until fragrant
- add the dry spices and continue to cook for a few minutes
- add the tomatoes and cook for 10 more minutes or until the water has evaporated and the tomatoes are a darker brown color. Allow to cool
- blend until smooth
- add cream and sugar and chicken, allow to cook a few minutes and the flavors to mingle (Add a little water if necessary to thin the sauce)
- serve over basmati or white rice
Chicken Marinade:
If you want the full recipe, including marinading the chicken, here it is!
28 ounces chicken (800 grams) I used one whole chicken and a package of two legs and thighs connected. I chopped them up with the bones intact into smaller pieces. You can also use all thighs or any combination you like.
Marinade:
- 1/3 cup plain yogurt
- 2 Tablespoons minced garlic and minced ginger
- 2 teaspoons Gram Marsala (Spice Mix available at Indian markets)
- 1 teaspoon each tumeric, cumin, red chili powder, salt
Instructions:
- Mix together the spices and yogurt
- Massage the yogurt mixture into the chicken and allow to marinate for at least 2 hours or over night
- Heat 1 Tablespoon of oil in a large skillet and brown the chicken on both sides. Continue to cook on low heat, covered on the stove or in a 350 degree F oven until pieces are cooked through. Or you can grill the chicken, true tandoori chicken is cooked in a clay oven.
