Butter Chicken

Hi lovelies, I know just how hard it can be to get a home cooked meal on the table each and every night, which is why all month long I'm sharing some of my favorite quick and easy weeknight dinner ideas that are truly delicious but are meant to make your lives in the kitchen a whole lot simpler. And today we are going to be whipping up a big batch of this delicious butter chicken. So guys, there are so many wonderful versions of butter chicken out there. Some are a little more complicated, some a little less. Today I want to show you my favorite because it's so super simple to prepare. Now to get started we are going to mix up a simple marinade for our chicken and that all starts with some plain yogurt in our bowl. So yogurt is great for marinating because it helps to tenderize your chicken plus it's got a good amount of tang. Then I'm going to add just a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. So I've got half a lemon here and I'm going to get that right into my bowl. Again, even more great tang, a bit of tartness, great flavor. Next I want to hit this with some classic Indian spices. So first I've got some garam masala, which is actually a blend of spices that's very, very traditional in Indian cooking. You can buy garam masala premixed at most supermarkets now in the spice aisle. I'm also going to be adding some ground cumin to this. I'm going to hit this with a little bit of salt and a little bit of pepper and then give it a good stir until it's well combined. Next it's time to add my chicken. Now for this recipe I'm using some boneless, skinless chicken thighs that I've just cut into one inch cubes. You could also do this with boneless, skinless chicken breasts if you wanted to. Once I've got my chicken in my bowl I just want to give it a few tosses until it's really well coated. Then I can cover my bowl with some plastic wrap and get it into the refrigerator for at least 20 to 30 minutes, but of course overnight is ideal. Once your chicken has been amply marinated it is time to bring it all together. And to do that I'm going to start with a nice, big, heavy skillet on the stove. Something like this works great. If you have a Dutch oven that's also a great option. And to that I am going to add some butter. Of course this is butter chicken after all. In fact, in traditional Indian cooking they use ghee instead of butter. Ghee is basically clarified butter or butter that's had its milk solids removed. I usually have some ghee on hand. You can find it in most supermarkets, but today I was actually out of ghee. So I'm using traditional butter instead and it will definitely work in a pinch. As soon as that butter is nice and melted I'm going to go ahead and transfer my chicken into the skillet. And you want to try to get your chicken as much as you can into a single layer in your pan. At this point you can discard any leftover marinade that you have. You won't need it anymore. So after between say five and seven minutes your chicken will be cooked through. Most of the liquid in your pan is going to have evaporated. That's a great sign. And that means it is time to get some flavor happening in here. Or even more flavor I should say. First up I am going to be adding some onion to this, which is really, really classic in any Indian cooking. A combination of onion, some minced garlic, and some grated ginger as well. And we want to let that cook up for another three minutes or so, just until that onion has had a chance to soften up and that ginger and garlic is super fragrant and beautiful. You just know that this is going to be packed with amazing flavor. Alright guys, that onion, garlic, and ginger are so aromatic and beautiful. That means it's time to get our spices into the pan, starting with some garam masala. I have got some more ground cumin, so we're matching the spices that we added in our marinade. I've also got some turmeric added in here, obviously great for your health. It's got great anti-inflammatory properties and antioxidant properties. And then for just a touch of heat I'm also adding some cayenne pepper. You can skip the cayenne in this recipe, but if you add just a little bit you'll get a nice little kick. We're going to let our spices cook up, stirring them constantly, for another minute or so just to help them reach their maximum flavor potential. And then we can go ahead and add our liquids to the pan. So first up I have got some crushed tomatoes here. You can usually find these canned in your supermarket. And I'm also going to be adding some heavy cream to this. That's going to give this dish a really rich and wonderful texture. And then the final step is going to be adding just a little bit of sugar. So we're not adding a lot, maybe a tablespoon, even less. What I love about adding sugar here is it cuts through the acidity of the tomatoes a little bit. And it also just adds a hint, really really subtle hint, of sweetness to your butter chicken, which is my personal favorite. At this point I just want to reduce my heat to low and let this simmer away for between 10 and 15 minutes. It doesn't take long for that sauce to start to reduce and become really thick and delicious. You'll see it turns this beautiful orange color. And that's how you know it is time to be enjoyed. Now I like serving this up over some basmati rice with some naan to help sop up all of that amazing sauce. Guys, you won't believe how easy this dish is to make at home. So I really hope you will give it a try for yourselves. And if you do, as always, don't forget to tweet me, Instagram me, or Facebook me a photo. Because you know how much I love seeing your kitchen creations. Remember, this recipe, like all of our recipes, is linked in the description box below and available on our amazing meal planning site HealthyMealPlans.com. 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