Butter Chicken
I was lucky enough to attend a cooking class taught by my friend Maggie, who is from India. She was running a small catering business at the time while she and her husband were in school. We ordered dinner from her a couple of times, and it was so delicious I knew I wanted to learn to cook her dishes myself. Especially since I knew they would be returning to India one day.
Let me just say we love Indian food at our house. In fact, I could serve it up for dinner every night and my daughter and husband would be quite happy.
Maggie taught us to make butter chicken, ___, and naan bread. She explained to us that in India, butter chicken is a very special dish, and is prepared for important occassions such a weddings. The women spend two entire days preparing the dish, beginning with killing the chickens early the first morning.
I begin preparing this recipe the evening before and letting the chicken marinate overnight in yogurt and spices. I have a habit of turning all recipes into slow cooker recipes, and no different for this one. In the morning, brown the marinated chicken and place it on high in the slow cooker.
For a bit more crunch, I added celery and then an extra tomatoes because what I love most about this dish is the sauce.
Maggie uses this Rasoi Magic spice packet which she purchases at a local Indian store. It's available also on Amazon.
Cook on high all morning, then turn the slow cooker to medium when you return home, adding the cream or half and half at the same time. Delicious aroma will coat your kitchen and home.
Butter Chicken
Author: then came September | prep time: 15 minutes | cook time: 6 hours total time: 6.5 hours | yield: 4 servings category: entree | cuisine: Indian
Description:
Slow cooker Indian Butter Chicken. Medium spice, creamy, and delicious!
Ingredients:
- 2 chicken breasts cut into small cubes
- 1 packet Butter Chicken spice mix
- 4 tomatoes chopped into large wedges (or one 8 oz can of tomatoes)
- 1 red onion chopped into large wedges
- 8-10 strings cilantro
- 8 oz whipping cream
- vegetable oil
Marinade:
- 5 Tbsp plain yogurt
- 1 Tbsp grated ginger
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Salt to taste
- 1 tsp turmeric
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Marinade: In bowl add chicken pieces, ginger and garlic, salt and tumeric. Mix together. Add plain yogurt and mix well. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
- Sauce: Heat pan to medium heat and add 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil. Fry onion pieces until soft. Add chopped tomatoes and stir until softened. Add cilantro and salt. Cook with sauce for 5 minutes. Let sauce cool to room temperature then blend to a paste. Add to slow cooker.
- Heat pan with 1/2 cup oil and fry the marinated chicken. Cook well, browning outsides then add to slow cooker. Add packet of spices to slow cooker and stir well. Cook on high for 2-3 hours then turn down to low. Before serving add cream and salt if needed, and mix well.
- Serve with rice, naan, or roti.
Notes:
Leftovers: this recipe freezes well.
You can easily add more chicken to this recipe for larger crowds.
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