Butter Chicken

After discovering "Pioneer Woman's" blog and website the other day, I really wanted to give one of her recipes a try.  On the Tasty Kitchen blog, Ree- the Pioneer Woman herself- occasionally highlights recipes that users post on the website. She goes through and photographs the recipe step-by-step and by the time I finished reading through the post for this Butter Chicken recipe, I was practically drooling!  I was intrigued to try the recipe because of the combination of spices and tomatoes.  Butter chicken is an Indian dish also known as Chicken Makhani.

Here is the recipe (originally from user lilliekits on Pioneer Woman):

Butter Chicken
Prep time: 12 hours
Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 pieces Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 5 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• ½ teaspoons Black Pepper
• ½ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
• ¼ teaspoons Ground Coriander
• ¼ teaspoons Cumin
• ¼ teaspoons Cardamom
• 1 whole Lime, Juiced
• 1 whole Onion, Diced
• ¼ cups Butter
• 1 can (14.5 Oz. Can) Tomato Sauce
• 1 can (14.5 Oz. Can) Petite Diced Tomatoes
• 1 pint Whipping Cream
• 1 bunch Chopped Cilantro, to taste
• 2 cups Basmati Rice (or However Much You Want)

Directions

Combine first 9 ingredients and marinate overnight.
Saute the onion in the butter until soft. Add marinated chicken and cook about 10 minutes.

Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Cook for 30 minutes over medium-low heat with the lid on.


Add the whipping cream (I have used light cream or half-and-half also) and cilantro just before serving over Basmati rice. 

Note: this is a little spicy, but you can cut back on the cayenne if you want.

Kim made brussel sprouts with butter and honey to go with the chicken. The brussel sprouts were simple and delicious!

Kelsey's Verdict:  I loved this chicken. It smelled so amazing while it was cooking, the scents really evolved during cooking and the combination of the spices, lime, tomatoes, and cream was unexpectedly delicious. I would definitely make this again, although it was a bit more time consuming than other dishes.  The piece of chicken I had wasn't as spicy as I thought it would be, given the disclaimer in the recipe, but it still packed a little spiciness! YUM! The one downfall, and probably why this tastes so good, is the pint of whipping cream... not exactly a healthy option!


Kim's Verdict:
I was very surprised that I liked this dish at all as I am not a fan of Indian food.  I felt the chicken would be better if it was pounded first before it is marinated as I feel the marinate would give it more flavor if thinner..  The sauce was good but there is one spice that kept me from absolutely loving it.  If you are a fan of Indian spices, you should try this dish.