Butter Chicken with Gently Spiced Jasmine Rice

These are very hot little firecrackers from the orient. They can be used to add spice to almost any oriental dish. They dry very easily and can be stored and used this way for a long time.

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Ingredients

Chicken Marinade
1 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 Thai Chile, seeded and diced
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cumin

Butter Chicken
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ginger, minced
2 shallots, minced
1/2 cup onion, minced
1 can tomato paste (6 oz)
1/4 cup water
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Jasmine Rice
1 1/2 cups jasmine rice
1 table spoon butter
2 1/4 cups water
1 star anise
2 cardamom pods
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

Cut the chicken breast into 1″x1″ cubes. Combine the yogurt with the marinade ingredients and put the yogurt and the chicken in an airtight container, making sure the chicken is covered with the yogurt. Refrigerate for 4-6 hours before you start cooking (longer is fine — you can throw this in the fridge in the morning and have it ready to go when you get home from work).

Melt the butter for the butter chicken over medium heat in a deep skillet and add the onions, garlic, ginger and shallots. Cook while stirring for a couple of minutes and add the tomato paste and water. When the tomato paste is well combined with the butter and water, add the cream and spices. Stir until combined and add the chicken, throwing out the leftover yogurt marinade. Bring to a strong simmer and reduce the heat until it is just bubbling. Cook for about 45 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through, stirring often.

Melt the butter for the rice in a skillet over medium heat. Add the rice and saute it in the butter for 2-3 minutes. Add the water and stir through the salt and pepper. Place the star anise and cardamom pods on top of the rice. Bring the water to a simmer and reduce the heat as low as possible while maintaining a slight simmer. Cook until all of the water is absorbed, or about 10-15 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the rice to rest for 5 minutes. Remove the spices from the top of the rice and fluff gently with a fork.

Slightly adapted from a recipe from followtherivernorth.com