Indian Butter Chicken

The name makes this wonderfully aromatic tomato cream sauce sounds scarily fatty, but fear not. I cut back on butter and used yogurt (yogurt idea stolen from Life's Ambrosia) instead of cream, and I believe the dish was all the better for it. When you've got ginger and garam marsala and cardamom and garlic and chili powder, why do you need extra butter and cream?

I'm pretty sure the recipes I based it off of had to be somewhat Americanized because my not-always-adventurous fellow eaters were called it "delicious" and "different." Generously adding the right spices kept it from being bland like my one other attempt at Indian cuisine, hopefully getting the final product somewhere closer to authenticity. It was also pretty quick prep for weeknight dinner.

I just need a Trader Joe's nearby (please, Trader Joe's powers that be) next time I make it so I can grab some naan. (Naan is an Indian flat bread sort of like pita bread but better.) Or I need to stop by an Indian restaurant. Or something so I can complete the full sauce-rice-naan Indian food trifecta.

Indian Butter Chicken
1- 1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. garam marsala, divided (Sunset has substitution mixture if you don't want to buy it.)
3 Tbsp. butter
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cardamom (investment spice, might not be worth it)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can tomato sauce
1/4 cup plain yogurt
Fresh cilantro, chopped

Cut chicken into pieces and season with cayenne and 1 tsp. garam marsala. Place in a skillet over medium heat and cook until chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Saute butter and onion over medium heat in a pot until onion is tender. Add 1 tsp. garam marsala and other spices and cook one minute. Stir in tomato sauce, yogurt, and cooked chicken. Reduce to simmer and cook 10 minutes.

Serve over rice (I like brown rice best) and garnish with cilantro.