By reserving time to orchestrate a few sub-processes in the latest butter chicken recipe that I found, I was rewarded with a creamy and delicious sauce that accompanied the chicken, both of which were quickly devoured with rice. Yummy!
Below are some links to more details, including photos:
My Story
After I made the mistake of cooking butter chicken in one pot and burning some of the ingredients last time, I searched for a different recipe that could potentially give me better results.
Inspiring Recipe
During my research, I spotted Easy Indian Butter Chicken from Allrecipes’ website. It didn’t require browning chicken in batches, yet the meat would be flavored. Also, it called for five fewer ingredients than the last recipe!
First Try
All the ingredients were easy to find at the stores that I usually shopped at, except for tandoori masala. Luckily, I was able to order this spice online without paying a shipping charge!
Ingredients to Use
Starting with 1 1/3 pounds of chicken breast, I adjusted the amounts for the remaining items as follows:
- 1 3/4 tablespoons of butter (for the onion and garlic)
- 12 1/4 tablespoons of butter (for the sauce)
- 1 onion
- 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
- 12 ounces of tomato sauce
- 2 2/3 cups of heavy cream
- 1/2 tablespoon and 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon of garam masala
- 1 3/4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 1 3/4 tablespoons of tandoori masala
All the portions above were as planned with the exception of the tomato sauce. I wanted to include 13 1/3 ounces, but the can had less than expected, so I had to use what was available.
Steps to Prepare
After mincing and cutting some of the ingredients in the recipe, I followed the six steps as noted in the directions. However, I didn’t foresee that the sauce would overflow while simmering it. 😒
Time to Eat
I was excited to taste this dish after transferring everything to a bowl:
Recipe Rating
Below were the results from the recipe after the first dive into it:
| # of Ingredients | Effort | $ / Serving | Try Again? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 |  | | |
Also, the butter, cream, cayenne pepper, and sweetness in the sauce came through nicely.
In addition, one of our kids asked whether an Indian restaurant that we used to eat at was still open. My husband responded that we didn’t need it when I could cook this dish. 🙂
Lastly, the same kid said that it was awhile since I cooked something good and packed some of the leftovers for lunch the next day!
Second Try
Because we enjoyed the butter chicken during the first attempt, I just wanted to re-create the dish. In addition, I planned on watching the sauce while it simmered, hoping to keep it from spilling over the saucepan like it did before.
Ingredients to Use
In regards to the ingredients, I had 2.19 pounds of chicken, so I increased the measurement of everything else as follows:
- 3 tablespoons of butter (for the onion and garlic)
- 20 1/2 tablespoons of butter (for the sauce)
- 1 1/2 onions
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of minced garlic
- 22 ounces of tomato sauce
- 4 1/3 cups of heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of garam masala
- 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons of tandoori masala
Steps to Prepare
For the process, I repeated what I did during the first try, in addition to keeping an eye on the sauce while it simmered. However, while it was doing fine at the beginning, the sauce suddenly bubbled over when I took my eyes away for a few seconds. 😦
Time to Eat
After completing the instructions, I was eager to taste the result.
Recipe Rating
Here’s the outcome from the second try:
| # of Ingredients | Effort | $ / Serving | Try Again? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | | |  |
Even though the chicken was a little drier than the last time, the sauce more than made up for it as the entire family had more than one serving each!
If I’m going to include this butter chicken recipe as part of my rotation, I will need to figure out how to stop the sauce from flowing over the saucepan. Next time, I’ll do the following to see if it’ll work:
Continuous Improvement
- Change the heat level from medium-low to low while simmering the sauce.
Just seeing the sauce overflow reminds me that the following can be shared with my younger self:
Lesson for Dumber Self
- Under the right conditions, even what appears to be a gentle situation can become uncontrollable, so try to be ready to respond.
What will you do now?
Next Step for You
- Try the Easy Indian Butter Chicken recipe from Allrecipes’ website to see if you love it as well?
- Share a guaranteed way to keep liquid from spilling out of a saucepan?
- Read another post on this site? (Go to the menu at the top of the page.)
Leave a Reply