Indian Butter Chicken

I am obsessed with Indian food. I could eat it every day, if I wasn't worried about ballooning up to a gazillion pounds. My husband is not a huge fan of it, but he gamely puts up with me and goes with me every now and then to our local Indian place.

I was perusing for an Indian recipe that I would be able to make at home without a ton of stress involved, and I came across this dish! And would you believe I actually remembered to take pictures?! Here we go!

The Cast of Characters:

Now, we're going to add all the spices and lime juice to our chicken pieces and marinate it overnight.

Chicken:

Garlic:

 

Salt: 

 

 Pepper:

Cayenne

Coriander:

Cumin:

I guess I forgot to take a picture of the Cardamom added, but it's there, promise!

Lime juice:

Now, throw it all in:

And shake it all up!
Let it sit in the fridge overnight. The spices will develop and make your dish so full of flavor!

Note: I was in a rush and didn't marinate overnight.
I just threw everything together and let it sit for about an hour.

Here is what it will look like when you pull it out:

When you're ready the second day to get this bad boy rolling, here's the next half of the process!

Melt some butter:

Chop some onions:

Add the onion to the butter:

Cook this until the onions are soft and starting to look transparent.

Now add the marinated chicken:

Cook this about 10 minutes. It doesn't have to be completely cooked through, because it's not done cooking.

Add the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce:

Stir it, cover it, and let it simmer for 30 minutes or more.

While you're simmering the chicken, soak your basmati rice:

Then just cook it the way the package describes.

I added some salt and lime zest to mine. It was yummy!

After you've simmered, you're going to have a beautiful and delicious smelling red sauce:

And now, add the cream:

Try not to stick a straw in and drink this stuff. I'm serious.

Let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes, allowing it to thicken a bit.

Stir, stir, stir ... you don't want it to skorch.

When it's reached a thickness you can live with, plate it up!

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Indian Butter Chicken! This stuff was SO good. I ate it, my son ate it, my dogs drooled over it, and my husband ate cereal. What can I say? You can't please everyone all the time. He did say it tasted good, he just wasn't in the mood for a rice dish. He's weird like that.

Here's the recipe:

INDIAN BUTTER CHICKEN

•4 pieces Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (cut Into Bite Sized Pieces)
•5 cloves Garlic, Minced
•1 teaspoon Salt
•½ teaspoons Black Pepper
•½ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
•¼ teaspoons Ground Coriander
•¼ teaspoons Cumin
•¼ teaspoons Cardamom
•1 whole Lime, Juiced
•1 whole Onion, Diced
•¼ cups Butter
•1 can (14.5 Oz. Can) Tomato Sauce
•1 can (14.5 Oz. Can) Petite Diced Tomatoes
•1 pint Whipping Cream or half and half

Preparation Instructions
Combine first 9 ingredients and marinate overnight.

Saute the onion in the butter until soft. Add marinated chicken and cook about 10 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Cook for 30 minutes over medium-low heat with the lid on. Add the whipping cream (I have used light cream or half-and-half also) and cilantro just before serving.

Enjoy!