Butter chicken

 My Version

When I ask my non-Indian friends, as to how familiar they are to Indian food, they list out a few names, "Tandoori chicken, Naan, butter chicken, Hyderabadi biriyani.." Yes, Butter chicken is one among those renowned Indian dishes savoured by people from around the globe. Liked equally by young and old, Indians and non-Indians, it is chicken in spicy, sweet, buttery, creamy and rich gravy. I guess the original butter chicken is prepared with tandoori chicken and might have slight variations from this recipe. When I first tried making butter chicken, I followed a recipe from the net. But unfortunately, was never successful in coming up with a satisfactory one. Kept trying with couple of innovations, until I came up with this version. Trust me, this butter chicken is sure going to be unlike any you would have tried so far.. Come, follow me..

Ingredients :
Chicken (boneless/diced)	-		800g
Oil	-		4 tablespoons
Onion, thinly sliced	-		1 large
Ginger	-		3 inch piece
Garlic	-		8 large cloves
Green chilli	-		1 no.
Dried red chillies (seeded)	-		8-9 nos.
Coriander seeds	-		2 tablespoons
Cumin seeds	-		1 tablespoon
Chilli Powder	-		3/4 teaspoon
Coriander powder	-		1 and 1/2 teaspoons
Cashew nuts	-		8-10 nos.
Kasoori methi	-		1 teaspoon
Tomatoes	-		2 medium
Sugar	-		1 tablespoon
Tomato sauce	-		1 and 1/2 tablespoons
Butter	-		2 tablespoons
Cream	-		3-4 tablespoons
Garam masala	-		1/2 teaspoon
Water	-		1 cups
Salt	-		To taste.

Preparation Method :

Rinse the chicken pieces and dice them into small pieces. Blend half the garlic, ginger, dried red chillies and coriander seeds into a paste as fine as possible. Marinate the chicken pieces with this paste. Also add salt. In a skillet, pour in the oil. Fry the chicken pieces in the oil, until the water completely evaporates and the chicken pieces brown slightly. Remove the chicken. Into the same skillet and into the remaining oil, throw in crushed cumin seeds. Throw in the onion, rest of the garlic and ginger and green chili. When the onions begin to brown, add the cashew nuts. Then add the rest of the dried red chilli, coriander seeds and the kasoori methi. Add the chilli powder and coriander powder and salt to taste and sauté well. Throw in the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes soften. Grind this masala mixture into a fine paste. In the same skillet, melt the butter. Pour in the ground paste. Add the sugar, tomato sauce, cream, garam masala and some kasoori methi and bring to a boil.  Add the fried chicken pieces, stir well and bring to a boil.

Serve with roties or even rice.

Try it and you will love it! Don't forget to share your experience! :)