Indian-Style Butter Chicken & Rice

The first time I had butter chicken I was with a friend who loved Indian food. I had never really had it, so she said she'd find something for me I'd like. 

She ordered the butter chicken for me and I was hooked. Man, I can still remember how good it was and how amazing the spicy, creamy sauce was. 

I've tried many-a- butter chicken recipes. Some good, some not so good. It's always BEST, to me, when I get it in a restaurant. 

This was a good recipe. It'd be hard to duplicate if you didn't cook a lot. The package came with a lot of small, pre-measured packets - which could make it more difficult. I tried to put in the ingredient list what I thought I'd use if I remade this. Good luck. 

The one thing I did not like was the mozzarella on the naan. For lunch tomorrow I'll just warm it up as is and eat it that way. Dipping it in the sauce is enough for me. 

Indian-Style Butter Chicken & Rice

Recipe from Hello Fresh

Serves 4

• 1.5 cup Jasmine Rice
• ¼ ounce Cilantro
• 2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 20 ounce Diced Skinless Dark Meat Chicken [JW note: I used breast meat.]
• 2 teaspoon Garam Masala
• 1 tablespoon Curry Powder
• 2 unit Tomato Paste [JW Note: This seemed like 3-4 Tablespoons]
• 2 unit Veggie Stock Concentrate [JW Note: This is about 1 tsp.]
• 1 ounce Vidalia Onion Paste [JW Note: I'd just chop up an onion and use that]
• 2 unit Chicken Stock Concentrate [JW Note: This is about 1 tsp
• 4 ounce Cream Sauce Base [JW Note: I'd just use heavy cream]
• 2 unit Naan Bread
• ½ cup Mozzarella Cheese
• 4 tablespoon Yogurt

Make rice.

While rice cooks, place 2 TBSP butter in a small microwave-safe bowl; cover with plastic wrap. Microwave until melted, 30 seconds. Add half the garlic powder - approx 1 tsp (you’ll use the rest later) and stir to combine. Set aside. 

Roughly chop cilantro.

Heat a large drizzle of oil in a large, preferably high-sided, pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken in a single layer and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 6-8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium.

Add garam masala, curry powder, and remaining garlic powder to pan with chicken. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds. 

Add tomato paste, Vidalia onion paste, veggie stock concentrates, and chicken stock concentrates. Cook, stirring, until chicken is evenly coated, 30 seconds.

Add cream sauce base and 3⁄4 cup water (I used about a cup). Stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. 

Add 3 TBSP butter and 1⁄2 tsp sugar; stir until butter has melted. Cover to keep warm.

 Adjust rack to top position and heat broiler to high. Place naan on a baking sheet. Spoon garlic butter over tops and sprinkle with mozzarella. 

Broil cheesy garlic naan until cheese melts and naan are toasted, 3-4 minutes. TIP: The broiler is a powerful tool! Keep an eye on the naan to prevent them from burning.

Quarter cheesy garlic naan. Fluff rice with a fork. Divide rice between bowls and top with butter chicken. Drizzle with yogurt. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with cheesy garlic naan on the side.

Chicken Tikka Masala

I am not a huge fan of Indian food. But I do have my favorites. Chicken Tikka Masala is one of them. It's my go to whenever I find myself at an Indian restaurant. 

This recipe is spot on. The flavor was so perfect to me. I may have needed a little more heavy cream (I used less than what it called for), but otherwise, this is a keeper. 

I ended up not needing any sugar either, but I can't express enough how much a little sugar in a tomato based sauce really does a good job balancing it out. It seems counter intuitive to me, but it works. 

Chicken Tikka Masala

Recipe from Carlsbad Cravings

Serves 6

CHICKEN AND SAUCE

• 2 pounds boneless chicken thighs, cut into large bite-sized pieces (about 1 1/2-inches)
• 1 cup plain or Greek yogurt, fullfat is best
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger, divided
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic, divided
• neutral, high smoking point oil such as canola or coconut, see notes (do NOT use olive oil for chicken)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 28 oz. can FIRE ROASTED crushed tomatoes (see notes)

SPICE BLEND

• 1 TBS EACH garam masala, chili powder, paprika (not smoked)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tsp EACH turmeric, ground cumin, ground coriander
• 1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon (optional if you have it)
• ADD LATER
• 1 1/3 cups heavy cream (use evaporated milk for lower calories)
• 1 teaspoon sugar, optional, as needed

Mix spices: Whisk together all of the Spice Blend spices in a small bowl; set aside.

Marinate chicken: Remove 2 ½ tablespoons Spice Blend to a large bowl or freezer bag (whatever you are going to marinate the chicken in). Add the yogurt, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon grated ginger and 1 tablespoon minced garlic. Whisk to combine. Add the chopped chicken and stir to evenly coat. Marinate for 30-45 minutes at room temperature, but BEST if refrigerated overnight.

Sauté aromatics for sauce: Heat 1 ½ tablespoons oil in a large braiser or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté until softened, 5-7 minutes. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon ginger, 1 tablespoon garlic and the remaining Spice Blend and sauté for 1 minute.

Make sauce: Stir in the crushed tomatoes. Bring to a boil then reduce to gentle simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often and scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. (You can cook the chicken while the sauce simmers, see Step 6).

Blend sauce (optional but recommended): After simmering, transfer the tomato mixture to a high-powered blender and purée until smooth, leaving a corner of the lid open and covered with a paper towel so steam can escape and it doesn’t explode. Alternatively, transfer to a bowl and use an immersion blender to blend, then return back to the pan. Season to taste. Depending on the tomatoes you used, you may need 1-2 teaspoons sugar to balance the acidity.

Cook chicken: Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large cast iron skillet over high heat until smoking. Working in batches, add the chicken in a single layer and cook until charred on each side, about 2 minutes per side (it will not be cooked through). Transfer chicken to a bowl; set aside. Scrape out the skillet in between batches and add more oil to cook the next batch.

Combine: Stir the heavy cream into the blended sauce followed by the chicken. Cover and gently simmer for a few minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Season to taste with additional salt, sugar and/or cayenne pepper.

Serve: Serve over basmati rice with optional cilantro.

Beef Curry Slow Cooker

I'll just start by saying, this house smells amazing. I love the smell of curry. And thank god because I'll probably be smelling it all week in the house. It tends to linger. 

So...I kinda forgot to get the slow cooker going on time today. Not deterred I just cooked this in the oven instead. I put it in at 350F for about 2.5 hours. Turned out fantastic.

It's not spicy, but very flavorful. If you don't like curry, you won't like this. 

I really wouldn't change a thing with this recipe. I mean remembering to put this in the slow cooker would be good. 

Beef Curry Slow Cooker

Recipe from The Food Charlatan

Serves 6

• salt and pepper
• 2-3 tablespoons oil
• 2-3 pounds chopped stew beef or chuck roast*, chopped into chunks
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-2 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon Beef Base
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 & 1/2 tablespoons yellow curry powder
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• cilantro, to garnish
• red onion, chopped, to garnish

Heat a large, high-sided skillet (or a wide-bottomed pot), over medium high heat.

Salt and pepper the beef chunks.

Add about a tablespoon of oil to the pan and swirl. It should start to shimmer if the pan is hot enough.

Add 1/3 of the seasoned meat to the pan. Place the pieces of meat so that they are not touching each other (You don’t want them to steam–see photos). Turn the pieces with tongs to brown all sides. Remove the beef to the slow cooker and repeat 2 more batches, adding more oil as necessary.

Once all of the beef is browned and in the slow cooker, turn the heat on the pan down to medium. Add the water, tomato sauce, garlic powder, salt, beef bouillon, black pepper, curry powder , and garam masala .

Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is bubbly and the bouillon has dissolved. It should thicken up a bit.

Pour the mixture over the beef in the slow cooker.

Add the chopped onion and stir it all together. Cook on low heat for 6-7 hours, until the beef is fork tender

Garnish with chopped cilantro and hot rice!

I love to serve this curry with lots of cilantro, Coconut Jasmine Rice and Homemade Naan! It's the best combo! You could even throw in a Strawberry Lassi to sip with it, if you wanted to get really fancy!

Indian Butter Chicken

I do not make much Indian food. And, honestly, I don't eat it out very often either. But back in the day when I worked at CM, there was an Indian buffet up the street we'd frequent for lunch once a month, give or take. They had the VAT of butter chicken and I was hooked. That's the ONLY reason I'd go to lunch there.

And because it was a buffet, I'd waddle away afterwards in need of a serious nap.

It very much reminds me of Tikka Masala chicken too. Though Tikka Masala has a few different spices and Greek yogurt. Still, it ends up be a creamy sauce that just BEGS to have Naan dipped in it. I didn't have Naan, so I ate it over rice. 

This is a solid recipe. It's spicy, but not too spicy, flavorful and full of very Indian flavors to me. I'd make it again for sure. 

Indian Butter Chicken

Recipe from Insanely Good Recipes

Serves 4

• 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 teaspoon ginger, minced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 cup heavy cream [JW note: I used half and half instead of heavy cream. It turned out fine.]

Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until lightly golden, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in ginger and garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

Add the chicken, tomato paste, garam masala, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook for 5-6 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

Pour in the heavy cream and simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened.

Serve the butter chicken over basmati rice or with naan bread. Enjoy!

Tandoori Chicken (59 of 150)

Tandoori chicken is one of my favorite meals to order at Indian restaurants. The vibrant flavor is one that feels comforting to me. Tandoori chicken is usually baked in a "tandoor" oven. A clay oven that's popular in Indian cooking. I've never actually seen one or have witnessed chicken being baked in it, but it feels like something I need to check out. 

The spices in tandoori chicken are warm and savory. The garam masala gives it the unique Indian flavor that's familiar to me and one of my favorites. 

This was an easy recipe and pulling the air fryer out was a treat. It's been awhile. You don't need the air fryer to make this. You could easily grill or bake this chicken as well. 

Tandoori Chicken

Recipe from The Air Fryer Cook Book

Serves 4

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T grated fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/2 c plain whole yogurt
• 4 tsp lime juice
• 4 5 oz bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed

Combine garlic, ginger, garam masala, cumin, chili power, oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl and microwave until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Set aside to cool. Then stir in 1/4 c yogurt and 1 T lime juice. 

Pat chicken dry. Poke skin side of chicken 10-15 times. Add to bowl with yogurt and toss to coat. Let marinate for 10 minutes. While chicken marinades, combine remaining yogurt and remaining 1 tsp lime juice in a clean bowl; season with salt and pepper. 

Remove chicken from marinade, letting excess drip off, arrange chicken skin side up in air fryer basket. Place basket in air fryer and set temp to 400F. Cook until chicken is well browned and crispy  and registers 195F, 20-30 minutes, rotating halfway through. 

Transfer chicken to serving platter and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve with reserved yogurt / lime mixture.

Grilled Tandoori Chicken (14 of 150)

Photo from Sweet C Designs

Just the smell of this marinade is enough to make my mouth water. If you've not had tandoori chicken, this is your chance.

Tandoori chicken is traditionally marinated in yogurt and spices and cooked in a clay oven. I don't have a clay oven, so the grill is what we did. 

The spices in this marinade make up a beautiful red-orange color - oh and it stains. Just FYI. 

Tandoori chicken is one of my favorites. This recipe is simple to throw together too. I used chicken breasts cut into cubes and marinaded for about 2 hours. Then grilled it to perfection. 

I also forgot the salt and pepper in the marinade. It was missed, but there was still a ton of flavor from all the other spices. 

Grilled Tandoori Chicken

Recipe from Sweet C Designs

Serves 4

• Chicken (thighs and drumsticks)
• 1 ¼ c Greek yogurt
• 2 T Ginger, sliced
• 6 cloves of Garlic
• 1 T Lemon Juice
• 1 T Salt
• 2 T Chili Powder
• 1 tsp of Turmeric
• 3 T Annatto powder of Kashmiri Chili powder
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Coriander
• 1 tsp Garam Masala
• 1 T Black Pepper

Wash your chicken and then trim off the fat and skin.

Once the skin is removed, take your knife and score the chicken in a cross-hatch pattern. This helps get the marinade on more surface area and will improve the browning of the chicken when you cook it.

In a glass container large enough to accommodate all of the chicken, plus the yogurt, lemon juice, and all the spices.

Peel your ginger with a spoon and grind it with your garlic cloves in a mortar and pestle. Add the ginger and garlic paste to your marinade.

Combine all the ingredients thoroughly. If you think your marinade is a little thick, add a bit more lemon juice or water.

Add the chicken to the marinade and make sure it is completely coated on all sides. I keep the chicken in the same container I mixed the marinade in. Marinade the chicken for at least 30-45 minutes, but if you have time marinate it overnight.

Light your grill, and bring it to temperature.

I like to cook chicken between 400-450o degrees. The high heat in our Kamado-style grill really mimics the traditional Tandoor oven really well. Turn regularly to get dark grill marks on all sides of your chicken. Cook your chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 165o.

Once the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165o, remove it from the grill and let rest for 5-7 minutes before cutting or serving.

Enjoy it while it’s hot, or cold from a picnic basket.

Chicken Tikka Masala (Recipe 86 of 150)

Back in the day at MP we used to have lunch brought in for us. We'd all put in our orders by a certain time and voila lunch would come to our little lunch room. I miss those days. 

One of the placed we'd order from was an Indian restaurant. I cannot remember the name of it to save my soul. Every time I'd order either the butter chicken or chicken tikka masala (they are almost the same thing). Their tikka masala was what dreams are made of. Spice, cream, full of that glorious garam masala flavor. I'm drooling just thinking of it. 

Well, after tonight's recipe I need not drool for that dish because I found a replacement. Cafe Delites Chicken Tikka Masala is so fantastic that I swear I almost licked my plate (but good manners made me not do it).

This dish seems like it has a lot of ingredients but most of them are spices and seasonings. This was an easy to put together recipe and cooked well within 30 minutes. I marinated the chicken for about 45 minutes and it was fine. I made it pretty spicy too...and it was perfect.

Pro tip though, have everything measured and ready. Once you start cooking it tends to go fast and you need to be ready. 

Chicken Tikka Masala

Recipe from Cafe Delites

Serves 6

For the chicken marinade:

• 28 oz (800g) boneless and skinless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 c plain yogurt
• 1 1/2 T minced garlic
• 1 T ginger
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chili (or 1/2 teaspoon ground red chili powder)
• 1 tsp of salt

For the sauce:

• 2 T of vegetable/canola oil
• 2 T butter
• 2 small onions (or 1 large onion) finely diced
• 1 1/2 T garlic finely grated
• 1 T ginger finely grated
• 1 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 14 oz tomato puree (tomato sauce/Passata)
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chili (optional for color and flavor)
• 1 tsp ground red chili powder (adjust to your taste preference)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 c heavy or thickened cream
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1/4 c water if needed
• 4 T Fresh cilantro or coriander to garnish

In a bowl, combine chicken with all of the ingredients for the chicken marinade; let marinate for 10 minutes to an hour (or overnight if time allows).

Heat oil in a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat. When sizzling, add chicken pieces in batches of two or three, making sure not to crowd the pan. Fry until browned for only 3 minutes on each side. Set aside and keep warm. (You will finish cooking the chicken in the sauce.)

Melt the butter in the same pan. Fry the onions until soft (about 3 minutes) while scraping up any browned bits stuck on the bottom of the pan.

Add garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant, then add garam masala, cumin, turmeric and coriander. Fry for about 20 seconds until fragrant, while stirring occasionally.

Pour in the tomato puree, chili powders and salt. Let simmer for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until sauce thickens and becomes a deep brown red colour.

Stir the cream and sugar through the sauce. Add the chicken and its juices back into the pan and cook for an additional 8-10 minutes until chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick and bubbling. Pour in the water to thin out the sauce, if needed.

Garnish with cilantro (coriander) and serve with hot garlic butter rice and fresh homemade Naan bread!

Air Fryer Tandoori Chicken

Tandoori is one of my favorite ways to cook chicken. The flavor combination hits all the happy spots for my taste buds. This recipe is simple and delicious. The air fryer adds a nice touch of crispy to the outside of the chicken. Or maybe it's just my chicken because I cook it too long. 

Air Fryer Tandoori Chicken
Recipe from Every Day Easy Airfryer Cookbook
Serves 4

• 1 lb chicken tenders, halved crosswise
• 1/4 c plain Greek Yogurt
• 1 T minced fresh ginger
• 1 T minced garlic
• 1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 to 1 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp ground tumeric
• 1 tsp Garam Masala
• 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
• 1 T vegetable oil
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 T chopped fresh cilantro

In a large glass bowl, toss together chicken, yogurt, ginger, garlic, cilantro, salt, cayenne, turmeric, garam masala and paprika to coat. Marinate at room temp for 30 minutes.

Place chicken in single layer in air fryer basket. Spray chicken with oil. Set air fryer to 350F for 15 minutes. Halfway through, spray chicken with more oil spray and toss to gently coat. Cook for 5 minutes more. 

Transfer the chicken to serving platter. Sprinkle with lemon juice and toss to coat. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Tandoori-Style Chicken with Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce

So book club #2 girls are coming to dinner tonight. I wanted to make kebabs and I wanted some yogurt marinade.

Weight Watchers Ultimate Chicken cookbook came through with this recipe. Simple recipe, but you should allow for longer than an hour to marinade.

According to the cookbook a serving  is 1 chicken thigh and about 2 T sauce to be 213 calories. I didn't use thighs so with chicken breast maybe it's a bit less.

Tandoori-Style Chicken with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

Photo borrowed from My Fiance likes it So it must be good blog. 

Recipe from Weight Watchers Ultimate Chicken Cookbook

1 1/2 c plain fat-free yogurt
2 T lemon juice
1 T paprika
1 T minced peeled fresh ginger
1 T pickled jalapeno pepper, minced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 skinless boneless chicken thighs
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and grated
1/2 tsp salt

Combine 1 c yogurt, lemon juice, paprika, ginger, jalapeno, garlic, curry, cumin and cinnamon in a bowl. Add chicken and sauce to a zip loc bag and refrigerate for an hour or more.

Meanwhile, mix the remaining yogurt and cucumber in a bowl with salt. (JW note: I added some lemon juice to this too).

Preheat the oven to 450F. Line a large shallow baking pan with foil. Place a wire rack in the pan; spray with nonstick spray. Cook chicken and discard marinade. Bake until chicken is cooked through 25-30 minutes. Serve with yogurt sauce.

JW note: I grilled the chicken on kebab skewers. With the yogurt marinade you need to do one of two things. Either wipe off a good portion of the yogurt marinade that clings to the chicken (not my favorite thing to do). Or be sure there's enough space between the pieces of chicken on the skewers so the heat can get to the yogurt marinade. If you don't, you get this weird pasty substance between the pieces of chicken. It not only looks weird, but has a weird texture.

Or it could just be me.