Poulet Aur Beurre

 Poulet Aur Beurre

Photo Credit: passionateaboutbaking.com

Since I came to Canada, I have been hearing about Butter Chicken. Coming from a South Indian ancestry, my curries are spicy. There is no room for cream or other ingredients that could reduce the spice level. But, still, I was just tired of eating a crappy version of the dish in all of Winnipeg. Surprisingly, every Indian restaurants in Winnipeg try to cut so many corners and produce a rather tasteless product to the rest of teh ethnicities, especially the Canadian Caucasians.

 So, in order to avoid being taken advantage by the restauranteurs, I have typed out a proper recipe below. Have fun cooking.

Cut 1 Kg of boneless, skinless chicken thigh in to bite size pieces.

Rinse them in regular white Vinegar and rinse off the Vinegar with warm water.

Drain the water from chicken as much as you can.

Add 500 ml of plain white yogurt and a 3 table spoons of Tandoori powder (buy from a proper Indian store, not Safeway). Add 1 tea spoon of ground nutmeg. Mix it well and let it marinade overnight. You can add five pinches of salt if you want.

 Blend a hand full of fresh ginger, half a bulb of garlic and a whole red onion (all peeled and chopped to fit in to the blender of course) add some oil and water to lubricate the blending but not too much or else, it will be watery.

 Heat a pot (medium to big size). Keep the heat in medium to medium-high. When the pot is hot, throw in 4 table spoons of Ghee. Once the Ghee is hot, throw in your dry spices (4 Black Cardamoms, 2 Sticks of Cinnamon [break it in half if the sticks are too long], 4 Star Anise, 6 Cloves).

Saute them until the dry spices expand and release the flavours but not too long or else they will burn. A quick tip is to bring the heat down medium-low. Now, add in the Ginger, Garlic and Onion paste and sauté until you see it turning golden brown.  

 Now, add 1 can of small Tomato paste and 2 tables spoons of Garam Masala. Saute and close the pot and let it cook in medium for 8 minutes. Keep checking to make sure it is not burning. If it is, bring the heat down a little and add Ghee, 1 tea spoon at a time until you see it not sticking anymore.

 Now, add the Marinated Chicken and stir it very well. Remember, not giving a good stir will result in underspiced or  overspiced chicken pieces. Let it cook for 10 minutes.

 Now add 500 ml of 35% Whipped cream and mix it well. Close the pot and let it cook for 10 minutes.

 Now add a Tablespoon of Hot Chilli Powder and a Tablespoon of Tumeric Powder. Mix it well. Close the pot and let it cook for another 10 minutes.

 Now add a table spoon of Freshly Ground Cashews and a table spoon of Freshly Ground Almonds, though these 2 are optional.

 But, you HAVE to add 3 table spoons of Dried Black Poppy Seed and let it cook for another 5 minutes.

 Finally, turn of the heat, and let the food sit for about 20 minutes at least. This is crucial, it is a process called reduction. As the food reduces, its flavours intensify. You have to slowly keep stirring for every 5 minutes in those 20 – 30 minutes of reduction.