Indian Butter Chicken

 

This was as good or better than any restaurant butter chicken I've had. The flavor was so yummy.

Indian Butter Chicken

from Mels Kitchen Cafe 

Ingredients

• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 jalapeño, seeded, and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• ½ teaspoon coriander
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 2 cups chicken broth
• ½ cup fat free or regular half-and-half
• 1 ½ pounds about 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons butter
• Hot cooked rice for serving
• Chopped fresh cilantro for extra garnish

Instructions 

• In a large 12-inch skillet, heat the oil over medium heat until hot. Add the onion, ginger and jalapeno. Stir often while cooking until the onion is translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in garlic, garam masala, chili powder, cardamom, and coriander. Cook stirring, constantly for another minute.
• Scrape the mixture into a blender or food processor and add tomato paste and chicken broth. Blend until the mixture is smooth. Pour the sauce back into the skillet and add the half and half.
• Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat and add the chicken pieces and the salt and pepper. Stir. Keep the sauce at a simmer, stirring occasionally, and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has slightly thickened.
• Cut remaining 3 tablespoons butter into chunks and stir into the sauce until melted. Serve the chicken and sauce over hot rice. Garnish with fresh, chopped cilantro, if desired.

Curry Stand Chicken Tikka Masala

I've tried a LOT of different tikka masala recipes over the last few months because its one of my favorite dishes.  This is by far my favorite.  Macros for 200g are C10 F8 P49.  Everyone gobbled it up- only wishing I had made more!!

Curry Stand Chicken Tikka Masala

adapted from allrecipes.com

1 onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbs. ground cumin

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp curry powder

1-14 oz can tomato sauce

1 cup heavy whipping cream 

2 tsp paprika

1 Tbs. white sugar

4 chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Cook onion until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Stir in garlic; cook and stir just until fragrant.  Stir cumin, salt, ginger, cayenne, curry, cinnamon and turmeric into onion mixture.  Fry until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  

Stir tomato sauce into onion mixture, bring to a boil and reduce heat to low.  Simmer for 10 minutes, then mix in cream, paprika and sugar.  Bring sauce back to simmer, stirring often until sauce is thickened, 10-15 minutes.  In a separate pan, coated with cooking spray, sear chicken until lightly browned, but still pink inside- about 3 minutes.  Transfer chicken and any juices into sauce. Simmer in sauce until no longer pink, about 30 minutes.  Adjust salt and sugar to taste.  I always serve Indian food with MKC's coconut rice . Sometimes, I even go nuts and get some of Trader Joe's frozen garlic naan- which my kids love- and serve that as well.