Indian Butter Chicken with Jasmine Rice and Naan Bread from scratch by Carolina Abiassaf

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

For the chicken marinade:
• 1 whole boneless and skinless chicken breasts per person cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger (or finely grated)
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon of salt

For the sauce:
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, sliced or chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon ginger, minced or finely grated
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 400 g crushed tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder (adjust to your taste preference)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
• 1 cup of heavy or thickened cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek dried leaves (optional)
method

METHOD
– In a bowl, combine chicken with all of the ingredients for the chicken marinade; let marinate for 30 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.)
Heat the butter in the same pan. fry the onions until they start to sweat (about 6 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 ground coriander, cumin, and garam masala. let cook for about 20 seconds until fragrant, while stirring occasionally.
– Add crushed tomatoes, chili powder, and salt. let simmer for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until sauce thickens and becomes a deep brown-red color.
– Remove from heat, scoop mixture into a blender and blend until smooth (this step is optional). you may need to add a couple of tablespoons of water to help it blend (up to 1/4 cup). work in batches depending on the size of your blender.
– Pour the puréed sauce back into the pan. stir the cream, sugar and fenugreek leaves through the sauce. add the chicken with 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.
– Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with fresh, hot basmati rice.

NAAN BREAD ingredients (makes 5 pieces of bread)

• 350 g all-purpose flour
• 105 g water
• 12 g dry active yeast
• 7 g salt
• 14 g milk powder
• 18 g olive oil
• 123 g natural yogurt
• 21 g honey

METHOD
– In a bowl combine the flour, yeast, milk powder (all the dry ingredients except salt).
– In another bowl mix the water, olive oil, and honey.
– Mix the liquids with the dry ingredients.
– Add the yogurt.
– Start kneading until you get a smooth and homogeneous dough (for about 10 minutes.
– Sprinkle the salt on the counter and continue kneading until the dough absorbs completely the salt (about 5 more minutes).
– Let the dough rest in a bowl covered with a clean towel for 1 hour.
– After an hour, take the dough to the counter and divide it into 5 round pieces.
– Cover again with the clean towel and let it rest 10 minutes.
– After 10 minutes with a rolling pin, roll out the dough and take it to a greased baking sheet and let it rest for 15 more minutes.
– Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until lightly browned, flip the bread over to brown the other side (approx. 2 minutes each side).
– Remove the bread from the oven and while it is still hot, spread melted garlic butter over it.