Butter Chicken

This version of Indian butter chicken was lusciously creamy and subtly spicy. My entire house smelled like butter while it cooked- wonderful! According to the article, butter chicken was created in the early 20th century as a way to soften leftover tandoori chicken with tomatoes, butter, and cream. Genius.

I served it over brown Basmati rice along with warm naan on the side to soak up all of the sauce. We also had roasted asparagus.

The recipe was adapted from Bon Appétit, contributed by Rick Martinez. I marinated the meat for 3 hours, reduced the number of cardamom pods, and used the fenugreek leaves but omitted the fenugreek seeds.

For the Marinade:

• ½ cup whole-milk Greek yogurt
• 4 garlic cloves, grated
• 1 tablespoon fenugreek leaves, optional
• 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

For the Sauce and Assembly:

• ½ cup (1 stick) cultured or unsalted butter, divided
• 1 3-inch cinnamon stick
• 3 to 5 green cardamom pods
• 1 whole clove
• 2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds, optional
• 2 medium onions, sliced
• 2 serrano chiles, split lengthwise (seeded, if desired)
• Kosher salt
• 4 garlic cloves, grated
• 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon fenugreek leaves, optional
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes
• ½ cup heavy cream
• chopped cilantro, Brown basmati rice, and naan, for serving

To Make the Marinade:

1. Whisk yogurt, garlic, fenugreek leaves, if using, ginger, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Add chicken and toss to coat.
3. Cover and chill at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours.

For the Sauce and to Serve:

1. Melt 4 T butter in a large wide pot over medium heat.
2. Cook cinnamon, cardamom pods, clove, and fenugreek seeds, if using, stirring, until slightly darker and fragrant, 1–2 minutes.
3. Add onion and chiles, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is golden and beginning to caramelize, 8–10 minutes.
4. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until very fragrant and ginger starts to turn golden and sticks to bottom of pot, 2–3 minutes.
5. Add fenugreek leaves, if using, garam masala, paprika, and turmeric and cook, stirring, until very fragrant, about 1 minute.
6. Add tomatoes, breaking up into pieces with a spoon, and cook until brick red and most of the liquid is evaporated, about 1 minute.
7. Using a potato masher or large spoon, smash tomatoes and continue to simmer, uncovered, until sauce is the consistency of a thick ragù, 40–50 minutes.
8. Discard cinnamon stick (leave other whole spices).
9. Transfer mixture to a blender and purée until smooth. (I used a Vitamix.)
10. Cut remaining 4 T butter into pieces. Add butter and cream to blender and purée until creamy; season with salt.
11. Return sauce to pot and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, preheat broiler.
12. Arrange chicken in a single layer on a wire rack set inside a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet.
13. Broil until chicken starts to brown in spots (it will not be cooked through), 7–8 minutes per side.
14. When cool enough to handle, cut into ¾” pieces.
15. Add chicken to simmering sauce, cover, and cook until chicken is cooked through, 8–10 minutes.
16. Top chicken and sauce with cilantro. Serve with rice and naan alongside.

Note: Butter chicken can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool; cover and chill.

Lalla Mussa Dal

This dish was so creamy and delicious I could barely stand it. The spicy kick made it absolute perfection.

This recipe was adapted from The Yellow Chilli Cookbook by Indian celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor, via The New York Times. This creamy lentil stew is his signature dish. I reduced the butter (by HALF), doubled the recipe, increased the garlic, used jalapeños, and used a pressure cooker to expedite the cooking process.

I served it over brown Basmati rice with sautéed spinach with garlic and cumin on the side. Wonderful!

• 1 cup whole black gram lentils (sabut urad)
• 1/4 cup whole green gram lentils (split mung beans or abut moong)
• 2 green chiles (such as Indian harimirch or serrano), cut into thin strips (I used jalapeños, cut into rounds)
• 1 2-inch piece ginger, cut into thin strips
• ½ cup melted unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups tomato purée
• 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder, or cayenne
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)
• 16 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream
• coarse salt, to taste
• 1-inch piece ginger, cut into thin strips, for garnish, as desired
• brown Basmati rice, for serving

1. Mix together both types of lentils and rinse thoroughly in salted water. Drain. If using a pressure cooker, cover with 2-inches of water; cook on low for 10 minutes. (Alternatively, add 1 cup water and soak for 1 hour.)
2. Drain lentils again, add to a small pot with 1 cup water and bring to a boil. Skim the scum and dirt off the top and discard.
3. Strain the lentils and return them to the pot. Add 1 cup water, the green chiles and ginger and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
4. Add 1/4 cup of the butter and simmer on low heat, uncovered, for 45 minutes, stirring often and mashing with the back of a big spoon as the lentils soften.
5. After about 35 minutes, melt the remaining 1/4 cup butter in a deep nonstick pan; add the tomato purée and sauté on low heat until fat rises to the surface. (I used a 4-quart enameled cast iron pot.)
6. Add the red chili powder (or cayenne), ground coriander, fenugreek leaves and garlic to the tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to dry out and stick to the pan.
7. Add the lentils and mix well. Add the cream and mix well. Add 1 to 2 cups water (for desired texture) and salt to taste, and bring to a boil.
8. Serve hot, over rice and garnished with ginger strips, as desired.

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