Garam Masala Butter Chicken
Put this on your meal prep list to make this coming weekend! When you have some time to put together the spices, marinade the chicken and let it cook on the stove top. You won’t be disappointed!
The chicken is tender (hello, chicken thighs) all coated with tons of ginger, cumin, garlic, turmeric and garam masala flavors.
Serve with rice and naan – because dipping and soaking up all that sauce is important.
That's a long list of ingredients.
Don’t let the ingredient list scare you. Do one at a time and move along. It will take you 5 minutes to pull everything together.
AND on that note – I highly recommend all of these ingredients to become pantry stables for you. The spices are key to lots of different dishes, fresh ginger and garlic are must haves…and fresh herbs, canned tomatoes and canned coconut milk you can use for lots of different things. I don’t believe in buying spices to use in just one recipe – use what you have.
Takeout v. Making Takeout at home.
I love recreating our favorite takeout meals – trust me, we love getting takeout. It just makes SO much sense sometimes…especially when you find a restaurant that you love and trust – oh, and that their food is delicious. We found one close by to our new house and have picked up about 6 times in the place 4 months – late soccer practices or whatever it may be – when in doubt get take out.
BUT on the other hand – make your favorite takeout at home. The bonus of making it yourself, is that you know all the ingredients that you put into it. That is HUGE for me and my gut and my families guts 🙂 Soy v. no soy. Gluten v. gluten free. white sugar v. nada. You get my drift.
Did you make this recipe? Take a picture and tag me @whitesparrowfoodco or #whitesparrowfoodco I’d love to hear what you thought of the recipe!
Garam Masala Butter Chicken with Bay Leaf Jasmine Rice Pilaf
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
Marinade
- 6–8 boneless chicken thighs
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
To marinade the chicken, combine all ingredients in a bowl. Toss to combine, cover and put in refrigerator. Marinade for at least 1 hour or at most 24 hours.
- 2 tablespoons butter (use coconut oil or ghee for complete dairy free)
- 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
- 3–4 carrots, sliced
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 heaping tablespoon fresh ginger, chopped
- 2 tablespoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika (chili powder works too)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 14 oz. can fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
- 1–2 limes, cut in quarters
- 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
- hot sauce, to taste
Bay Leaf Jasmine Rice Pilaf
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 pinch salt
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped small
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup jasmine rice
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Remove chicken bowl from refrigerator. Heat a large heavy duty pan or wok (with lid) over medium high heat with butter or cooking oil. Add chicken (dripping the marinade off slightly before adding to pan and only adding a few thighs at a time – don’t crowd the pan) to pan and cook until it is somewhat browned on the first side (3-4 minutes) then flip over.
- Cook for another 2 minutes and remove. Do this for all the chicken. Remove and set aside on a plate.
- Turn heat to medium and add onions and carrots. Cook until the onions are softened – around 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the cinnamon sticks, garlic, fresh ginger, garam masala, turmeric, cumin, smoked paprika and salt. Toss with the onions and carrots. Sauté for only 2 minutes then add the tomato paste. Stirring for 1 minutes to combine and cook the raw flavor out of the paste.
- Add the can of tomatoes and coconut milk. Scrape the bottom of the pan – bring to a simmer and turn the heat down low. Place a lid on the pan and let simmer for 6-8 minutes.
- Add the chicken and all drippings into the pan. Using tongs or a wooden spoon “nestle” the chicken thighs into the sauce. Return the lid to the pan and let cook for another 4 minutes or until the chicken is just cooked through.
- Test the sauce for salt – may need more depending on how you like it. Serve with Rice and garnish with lime wedges and cilantro.
To make the rice
- In a medium/small pot, heat over medium/low heat. Melt the butter, salt, onions and bay leaves together. Sauté for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Be careful not to brown the onions – turn down the heat if needed.
- Add the rice to the pot and stir to combine and coat the rice with the butter mixture. Add the water and turn heat to low.
- Put a lid on the pot and let it do it’s thing for 13 minutes. Turn heat off and let rest for 3-4 minutes before removing the lid. Serve hot.
- Prep Time: 60
- Cook Time: 35
- Category: Chicken
- Method: stove-top
- Cuisine: Take Out
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