Quick Indian Butter Chicken

One of our favorite meals is butter chicken, we eat it fairly regularly.  I use the store-bought Asian Home Gourmet Indian Butter Chicken from Sobey's here and it works out well.  We've tried different sauces and pastes but we like this one the best.  I hope one day to make a better version from scratch but I'm not there yet.

I made a large batch last night.  A quadruple batch in fact.  A normal meal for us would normally be a double batch (2x packets and double the ingredients) with some naan bread but this summer I started making meals in advance and freezing them so the plan was to make 2 future Butter Chicken suppers.  The plan changed to 1 future meal and 1 meal right then but that's okay.

My large batch of Butter Chicken used the following:

• 4 packets of AHG Butter Chicken
• 4 lbs boneless skinless chicken thigh
• 1 28 oz can tomatoes, pureed
• 1 litre plain yogurt
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 1/4 cup butter
• No Water

My recipe is slightly different than the one listed on the packets; more chicken and no water added.

I heat the butter up in my large wok-like pan.   Saute the onions until very soft, about 5 minutes, add in the paste and bring to a strong simmer.  I like to really cook the paste, butter and onions for a good minute or two.  Then add the tomato puree and the yogurt.  Stir thoroughly and bring back to simmer.  Add your chicken which should be cut into bite-sized pieces.

Return to a simmer and cook uncovered until the chicken is cooked, about 20 minutes.  Continue cooking until it is to the consistency you prefer.  I do give it a good stir to keep it well mixed.

My choice of ingredients are part of what makes our meals what they are:

1.  I use local, free-run chicken.  This particular batch was made from chicken from a new butcher I finally found.  I am not sure what farm her chicken comes from, I need to ask.
2.  I prefer fresh, ripe tomatoes, ideally ones low in juice, like a beefsteak.  This batch used canned tomatoes as a test.  The canned (low salt) are better for budget, the fresh are better for taste and nutrients.
3. I use a Balkan-style plain yogurt, I need to try a Greek-style sometime to see if it makes for an even creamier finished product.
4. I try to dice my onions up fairly small so they're almost liquified by the time the cooking is finished.
5. I use real butter, we are phasing out margarine in an effort to reduce the unpronounceable chemicals in our diet.

The total ingredient cost for this batch was about $50 and it provides 12 healthy servings for the four of us (2 suppers and leftovers for work/school lunches the next day).  That's $4.25 per meal per person.  Not the cheapest meal I make for the family, but it is far cheaper than eating out.

!Foodie