Indian Butter Chicken (Chicken Makhani)

When people talk about Indian food there are 2 dishes I hear about often, Chicken Tikka Masala and Chicken Makhani, or Butter Chicken. I have a recipe that I really like for the Chicken Tikka Masala so I thought I would try a Butter Chicken recipe. It turned out delicious! I modified the orignal recipe I found on allrecipes according to the review comments and I doubled the recipe because I wanted leftovers. The recipe below is not doubled.

Butter Chicken
1 Tbsp. Peanut oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1/4 medium onion, finely chopped
4 Tbsp. Butter
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp . Garlic ginger paste (or substitute with 3 cloves, pressed, and 1/2 Tbsp. fresh grated ginger)
1 tsp. garam masala
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 bay leaves
1/4 c. Plain yogurt
1 c. Heavy cream
1 c. Tomato purée (or tomato sauce)
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
1/4 c. Cashews, ground (place in blender and blend into a fine powder)
2-3 Tbsp. Cilantro, chopped

1 Tbsp. Peanut oil
1 lb. chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 tsp. garam masala
Pinch of cayenne pepper

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté shallot and onion until soft and translucent. Stir in butter, lemon juice, ginger-garlic paste, 1 teaspoon garam masala, chili powder, cumin and bay leaf. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add tomato sauce, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in cream and yogurt. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Season with salt pepper. Remove from heat and set aside. (at this time I used my immersion blender to purée the sauce until smooth. You could also use a blender.) 

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat, and season with 1 teaspoon garam masala and cayenne. Stir in a few spoonfuls of sauce, and simmer until liquid has reduced, and chicken is no longer pink. Stir cooked chicken into sauce.

Add cashew powder, then stir into the sauce. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, or until thickened. Garnish with cilantro.

Serve with rice and naan.