Butter chicken (murgh makhani)

When people tell you they love Indian food they really just mean butter chicken. I’ve lived with a lot of people from India while I was going to school and they weren’t eating much butter chicken. Real Indian food is lentils. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, lentils, lentils, lentils. Who loves lentils? NOT ME!

But I do love butter chicken and so does my family. My husband wasn’t always a fan of Indian food, he used to be afraid of it. Back when we were dating I tricked him into liking it by cooking it for him and giving it non-Indian sounding names like ‘tomato chicken’ and ‘spicy stir fry’. After about a year I told him that I had been feeding him Indian food that entire time and he wanted me to keep making it. After that I called everything by the proper name.

My daughter is one of those weird babies that loves food that most people can’t stand until they are at least Thirty. Curry is right at the top of the list.

Single Use (to make sure you like it first)

½ teaspoon cardamom powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon cayenne
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 teaspoons garam masala

Big Batch (Makes enough for 6 uses)

3 teaspoons cardamom powder
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
3 teaspoons ginger
3 teaspoons cayenne
4 tablespoons curry powder
4 tablespoons garam masala

What else you need

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast diced in cubes
1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 14 oz can of coconut milk
4 tablespoons of butter

In a round slow cooker mix 2 ½ tablespoons of powder with tomatoes, coconut milk and butter. Add chicken and stir well. Cook on low for 6 hours. It can also be mixed in a glass baking dish and baked uncovered at 350 Fahrenheit for 45 minutes. Serve with basmati rice.

How it was:

It was delicious, and tasted just as good as any Indian restaurant, but without a hefty bill at the end. It’s not as neon colored as most butter chicken has red food coloring in it. The taste is the same even if it’s not as bright. The green stuff on the side is steamed okra. Yes my toddler actually eats it. So does my husband.