Butter Chicken

Ingredients:

Step 1

• 2 lbs. boneless chicken skin removed

• Juice of 1 lime

• Salt to taste

• 2 teaspoons coriander powder

• 1 teaspoon cumin powder

• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

• 1/8 teaspoon red chili powder (adjust to suit your taste)

        Step 2

• 6 cloves

• 8-10 peppercorns

• 1" stick of cinnamon

• 2 bay leaves

• 8-10 almonds

• Seeds from 3-4 pods of cardamom

Step 3

• • 1 cup fresh yoghurt (must not be sour)

Step 4

• 3 tbsps. vegetable/canola/sunflower cooking oil

• 2 onions chopped

• 2 teaspoons garlic paste

• 1 teaspoon ginger paste

Step 6

• 400g/ 14 oz. of chopped tomatoes, ground into a smooth paste in a food processor

• 1 tablespoon chicken paste

• 2 teaspoons kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

• 3 tbsps. butter

Additional

• Salt to taste

• Coriander leaves to garnish

Preparation:

1. Mix the chicken, lime juice, salt and red chili powder, cumin, coriander, turmeric, in a large, non-metallic bowl. Cover and allow to marinate for 10 minutes.

2. Heat a flat pan or griddle on medium heat and gently roast (stirring frequently) the cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, bay leaves and almonds till they darken slightly. Cool and add the cardamom seeds. Now grind into a coarse powder in a clean, dry coffee grinder.

3. Mix the yoghurt, above whole spice powder (from previous step) and add them to the chicken. Allow to marinate while cutting the onions.

4. Heat the oil in a deep pan on medium heat. When hot, add the onions. Fry till a pale golden brown in color and then add the ginger and garlic pastes. Fry for a minute.

5. Add only the chicken from the chicken-spice mix and fry till sealed (chicken will turn opaque and the flesh will go from pink to whitish in color).

6. Now add the chopped tomato as paste, chicken stock, fenugreek leaves and remaining part of the yogurt-spice mix, and butter to the chicken.

7. Cook till the chicken is tender and the gravy is reduced to half its original volume.