Butter Chicken Recipe

I know you just want to get straight to the recipe, so suffice to say that this butter chicken is SPECTACULAR... without further ado, I present to you the recipe:

Butter Chicken

Ingredients:

- 6 Tbsp butter, divided

- 3 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken, cut into relatively small chunks

- 1 medium onion, diced

- 3 garlic cloves, crushed

- 2 Tbsp garam masala

- 2 Tbsp fresh ginger

- 2 Tbsp brown sugar

- 2 tsp cumin

- 1 tsp cayenne (adjust to your heat preferences - I usually use 2 tsp)

- 1 tsp chili powder

- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

- 1 tsp salt

- 2 cups tomato sauce

- 2 cups heavy cream

- cilantro and green onions (garnish)

- rice and naan

Directions:

1. Melt 2 Tbsp of butter in a large pan and lightly brown the chicken on medium-high heat. Don't cook fully, because you'll add the chicken to the sauce later and it'll finish by simmering in the sauce. Set the chicken in a bowl.

2. Melt 2 Tbsp of butter and fry the onion until it is nice and soft (approximately 3 minutes). Then add the spices and sugar, stirring and frying until well combined. After a couple of minutes, add tomato sauce.

3. Around this stage, you can start getting your rice ready - basmati rice cooks quickly. I used 2 cups of basmati with 4 cups of water. Boil the rice and water together for about 10 minutes, then reduce heat and cover. The remaining water will soak into the rice.

4. Simmer sauce for five minutes, then add the cream. Continue to heat the sauce (it should be bubbling ferociously and fragrantly by this point). Add the chicken and simmer for 10-15 more minutes on a low heat, because you don't want the sauce to stick to the bottom of the pan.

5. After 10-15 minutes, add the final 2 Tbsp of butter. Serve hot over rice, with cilantro and green onion sprinkled on top, and naan bread on the side.

This butter chicken is soooo good, and as a bonus, it comes together very quickly. It has long been a family favourite, and is certainly classifiable as a comfort food. I would recommend serving this with fresh, homemade naan bread (recipe coming soon)!