Butter Chicken

Directions

1. 1
   The first step is to marinate the chicken.
2. 2
   This can be done overnight to allow the chicken to really become incredibly tender, or in as few as 30 minutes.
3. 3
   Take the chicken and dice into 1-inch cubes.
4. 4
   Whisk the Greek yogurt and 1 tablespoon garam masala, 1 tablespoon ginger/garlic paste, 1 teaspoon cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon salt together.
5. 5
   Place the chicken into the yogurt marinade and allow to sit in the fridge from 30 minutes to 24 hours.
6. 6
   Take the marinated chicken pieces and place on a baking sheet (discarding excess yogurt) lined with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until cooked through completely.
7. 7
   There will be excess water on the sheet pan; just discard before adding to the tomato mixture.
8. 8
   Next, make the sauce for the chicken.
9. 9
   Dice up the onion.
10. 10
    You want these to be relatively small.
11. 11
    It is ok to use a food processor to dice these up, just make sure the onions dont turn to mush!
12. 12
    Place 1 tablespoon canola oil (or other light oil) into a large skillet and allow it to get warmed up.
13. 13
    Once the oil has heated up, add the diced onions to the oil and allow the onions to become soft.
14. 14
    You dont want the onions to burn and fry in the pan, so keep the heat in the medium range.
15. 15
    Once the onions begin to separate from the oil and are soft, you should add the remaining spices to the pan: 1 tablespoon garam masala, 1 tablespoon ginger/garlic paste, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.
16. 16
    (I always salt each layer while cooking!)
17. 17
    Allow the spices to cook with the onions for a minute or two until they become very fragrant.
18. 18
    Add in the diced tomatoes and turn the heat up slightly higher and let the diced tomatoes cook for 5 minutes until they start to break down slightly.
19. 19
    Sometimes I take a fork and will slightly crush the diced tomatoes to help this step along.
20. 20
    Add in the tomato sauce and allow sauce to simmer for 5 more minutes.
21. 21
    Add in the cooked chicken from the oven and stir the entire dish together.
22. 22
    At this point, I like to add 1/4 cup of heavy cream to the dish and 1 tablespoon of butter to make the dish really creamy and delicious.
23. 23
    Serve with basmati rice and naan.
24. 24
    Note: I tend to use a lot more garam masala.
25. 25
    Just go by taste to see what you like.