Butter Chicken

Ingredients

For the Marinade:

• 5-6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces (or 1 pound paneer/mixed vegetables for vegetarian)
• 1 cup plain full-fat yogurt
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1½-inch piece fresh ginger, minced
• 2 green chilies, minced
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Curry:

• 3 tablespoons ghee
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 star anise
• 5-6 fresh curry leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 6 whole cloves
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons red chili powder
• 1½ teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
• 1 cup heavy cream

For Garnish:

• Fresh cilantro, chopped
• Heavy cream, for drizzling

Instructions

1. Marinate the Chicken In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, minced garlic, lemon juice, minced ginger, minced green chilies, garam masala, turmeric, ground cumin, red chili powder, and salt. Mix everything together until well combined. Add the bite-sized chicken pieces and toss until every piece is completely coated in the marinade. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or transfer everything to a zip-top bag and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. For the best flavor and most tender chicken, marinate for 2-4 hours or even overnight if you have time.
2. Roast the Chicken When you're ready to cook, preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Place a wire rack on top of a rimmed baking sheet (this allows the liquid to drip off and helps the chicken char better). Arrange the marinated chicken pieces on the wire rack in a single layer, spacing them out so they're not touching. Roast in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Then switch your oven to broil and broil for the last 4-5 minutes, watching carefully, until you get some nice charred spots on the chicken. Remove from the oven and set aside.
3. Bloom the Whole Spices While the chicken is roasting, start on your sauce. Heat the ghee in a large, deep pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Once the ghee is shimmering, add the cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, whole cloves, curry leaves, and star anise. Let them sizzle and pop for about 30 seconds to 1 minute until they're super aromatic and fragrant. This blooming process releases all the essential oils in the spices.
4. Cook the Aromatics Add the sliced onions to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes until they're softened and starting to turn golden brown. Add the minced ginger, minced garlic, ground cumin, garam masala, ground coriander, and tomato paste. Stir everything together and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until the raw smell disappears and you can see the ghee starting to separate from the mixture around the edges. This step builds incredible depth of flavor.
5. Simmer the Tomato Base Pour in the can of diced tomatoes with all their juices, the red chili powder, and salt. Stir everything together, then reduce the heat to low. Let the mixture simmer gently, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want it to reduce and thicken up considerably. The tomatoes should break down and the sauce should be thick and rich, not watery.
6. Blend the Sauce After the sauce has simmered and thickened, carefully fish out and discard the cinnamon stick and star anise (they've done their job). Using an immersion blender, blend the sauce right in the pan until it's completely smooth and silky. If you don't have an immersion blender, carefully transfer the hot sauce in batches to a regular blender, blend until smooth (be careful with hot liquids, they expand!), then return the sauce to the pan.
7. Finish the Curry Add the charred chicken pieces and the heavy cream to the blended sauce. Stir everything together gently. Let it simmer over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes so the chicken can absorb the flavors and the sauce can thicken up a bit more. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt, garam masala, or chili powder if needed.
8. Garnish and Serve Transfer the butter chicken to a serving bowl or serve it straight from the pan. Garnish generously with chopped fresh cilantro and a beautiful drizzle of heavy cream on top. Serve hot with fluffy basmati rice and warm naan bread for the ultimate experience!