Butter Chicken

I don't know what comes first - the dinner plans or the recipe. For this dinner, it was the plans that came first. I had no plans whatsoever to cook Indian food but five minutes on Bonappétit.com and the next thing you know, BAM! I'm buying fenugreek seeds (what's that?) and garam masala at the store and skipping on over to Erik and Kiana's. Lucky for us, Erik was enlightened by the "Air" episode of Cooked and is somewhat of a bread/yeast whisperer and offered to make Naan. He was very excited by the opportunity to try to make Naan, which he did, and quite successfully. Can't take the credit for that one, but damn. That Naan is beautiful.

It is always so fun to go to their house because I know we'll put on good tunes, pop some wine open and play a board game. Right now the board game of the hour is Settlers of Catan. I am a new proud owner and basically play any chance I get. It's a sick obsession that's easy to binge on the same way people binge on their favorite tv show on Netflix. The last time I played with a group of friends we played for SIX. HOURS. Listen, I am not saying that I'm the first person to discover this game because apparently it has been around since 1995. But you can call me the Bobby Fisher of Catan.

What I realized when I was thinking about this post is that cooking isn't just about the act of cooking for me. Of course I enjoy it thoroughly and am happy to cook alone, but cooking with and for friends is just so much more fun. Cooking a good meal with friends is like going to church - it brings me love and a sense of calmness. I recently watched the first episode of Chef's Table, Season 3, called Jeong Kwan. It is about a Zen Buddhist nun who cooks vegan food for a temple in South Korea, and she talks about cooking as a meditation. Word! I totally get that. I don't know how to articulate that feeling... but thinking of it as a meditation resonates with me.

She doesn't cook with onion, chives, garlic, leeks, or scallions - Kwan says they are spices of spiritual energy and too much of that energy prevents a monk's spirit from a state of calmness. I can't say I can get on board with that, though - those five ingredients are like my lifeline! Half of those ingredients are in this recipe!

For a recipe to literally have the word "butter" in it, I was surprised by the fact that I used but 1 stick, less than what I'd use in mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving. It has so much flavor and the smells burned in my nose for hours following. Other than needing a food processor of some sort, the ingredients and the recipe are both surprisingly easy and the food does a lot of the cooking for itself.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup whole milk Greek yogurt
4 garlic cloves, grated
1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Sauce:

1 stick unsalted butter
1 cinnamon stick
5 green cardamom pods
1 whole clove
2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds
2 medium sized onion, sliced
2 hot chiles, split lengthwise
Kosher salt
4 garlic cloves, grated
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 28 ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes
1/2 cup heavy cream
Chopped cilantro, steamed basmati rice

Directions:

1. Whisk yogurt, garlic, fenugreek seeds, ginger and salt in a medium bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour or up to 3.

2. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a large wide pot over medium heat. Cook cinnamon, cardamom pods, clove, and fenugreek seeds, stirring, until slightly darker and fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add onion and chiles, season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is golden and beginning to caramelize, 8-10 minutes.

3. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 2-3 minutes. Add fenugreek seeds, garam masala, paprika, and turmeric and cook, stirring for about a minute.  Add tomatoes, breaking up in to pieces with a spoon, and cook until brick red and most of the liquid is evaporated, about 1 minute.

4. Using a potato masher or a wooden spoon, smash tomatoes and continue to simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Discard cinnamon stick.

5. Transfer mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Cut remaining 4 tablespoons of butter into pieces. Add butter and cream to blender and puree until creamy; season with salt. Return sauce to pot and bring to a simmer.

6. Meanwhile, preheat broiler. Arrange chicken in a single layer on a wire rack set inside a foil-rimmed baking sheet. Broil until chicken starts to brown in spots (it will not be cooked through), 7-8 minutes per side.

When cool enough to handle, cut into 3/4 inch pieces. Add chicken to simmering sauce, cover, and cook until chicken is cooked through, 8-10 minutes.

7. Top chicken and sauce with cilantro. Serve with rice and naan!

Masterchef Erik