Butter Chicken

If you don't have much experience with Indian dishes, this is the perfect one to start with as it has some of the same ingredients often used in more familiar Mexican food dishes.  I have made this recipe several times.  I actually made it for dinner tonight.  It is so good and makes your house smell divine.  The original recipe can be found here.  

I lightened it up slightly and made a few adjustments to the spices.  To cut back on some of the fat, I used fat-free half and half in place of the whipping cream.  I have also made this with margarine, rather than butter.  But for this post, I used butter.  I didn't think it would sound as appetizing, if I labeled it margarine chicken.

To keep it from being too spicy for the little mouths at my house, I cut the cayenne pepper in half .  I also left out the cardamom simply because it costs $15 for a small bottle at my local grocery store.  I may add this ingredient back in, if I can find it at a better price!  Then, I increased the garlic and cumin a little and used seasoned salt rather than plain salt.

Butter Chicken

Adapted from Butter Chicken by lillieknits from September 12, 2009 on the Tasty Kitchen website.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into bite sized pieces)

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 t seasoned salt

½ t freshly ground black pepper

¼ t cayenne pepper

¼ t ground coriander

½ t cumin

1 whole lime, juiced

1 whole onion, diced

¼ c butter or margarine

1 14.5 oz can tomato sauce

1 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes

1 pint fat-free half and half

1 bunch chopped fresh cilantro, to taste

Basmati Rice

Combine the first 9 ingredients and marinate overnight.  I have made this without marinating it at all.  It is still really good.  So, if you forget to marinate, cook it up anyway.  I do think the marinating helps but not enough to miss out on a delicious dinner.  The marinating also gets some of the prep work out of the way, which is helpful with getting dinner on the table.

 

Sauté the onion in the butter until soft.  Add marinated chicken and cook until chicken is no longer pink.  Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes.  Simmer for about 30 minutes over medium-low heat with the lid on.  Just before serving, add the half and half and cilantro.  Serve over Basmati Rice.

Serves 6-8