Butter Chicken (by Nikhil Mahen)

Butter Chicken (Nikhil Mahen Style)

Shopping list (for two persons)

3 chicken breasts
butter
1 big onion
2 cloves of garlic
15 ounces of tomato puree (4-5 dl)
3 ounces of fresh cream (1 dl)
salt
black pepper
red chili powder
Garam masala (Indian spice mixture*)
oil
Tandoori masala (Indian spice mixture*)
4 pieces of Nan (Indian bread*)

1. Chop and marinate the chicken with Tandoori Chicken Masala (A powder containing Kashmiri Chilli, ginger powder, dry mango powder, dry Mehendi, black and white pepper powder, red chilly powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and Jeera powder) and some black pepper and salt. Marinate the chicken for as long as possible (up to 3 hours) in the fridge.

Nikhil chopping the chicken

2. Sauté the onions and the garlic in some butter and olive oil, freshly cut ginger and cumin. Some people add a little bit of cinnamon.

3. Boil Tomato Purée with a spoonful of butter and add the cream after it started boiling. Add red chilli and Garam Masala and some salt. The translation of Garam is hot, Masala is the word for mixture of spices. Ingredients of Garam Masala are Cumin, Black pepper, Coriander seeds, Cardamon Amomum seeds, Cloves, Nutmeg, Cassia, Ginger, and Mace. You'll find Garam Masala in every Indian store.

4. Indians usually roast the marinated chicken in a clay oven. As we don't have a clay oven in Nikhil's apartment, we use the regular oven. Set the oven temperature to 375 - 400 degrees Fahrenheit (around 200 degrees Celsius). It will take around 15 minutes.

5. Once the chicken is done, put everything together and boil it for another 20-25 minutes on a low flame.

How to eat

Indian food is supposed to be eaten by hand: Tear a piece of the nan bread apart and try to pick a piece of chicken with the nan. Only the fingertips are supposed to be dirty, but it takes a while to learn that. As Butter Chicken is a fairly heavy meal, it is best served with a cold beer.

Me trying to grab the chicken.

Enjoy!

* You can find the Masalas and the Nan in every Indian store. If you have an Indian restaurant close to you, send someone to pick up fresh nan.