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⅔ recipe Tandoori Chicken (about 2-2 ¼ pounds cooked chicken pieces) (See notes below for substitution)

3 cups canned crushed tomato, measured with puree (or substitute 4 cups chopped fresh ripe tomatoes)

4 green chilies, seeded (or substitute ½ teaspoon red pepper, or to taste)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger root

10 tablespoons (1 ¼ sticks) sweet butter

4 teaspoons ground cumin

1 tablespoon paprika

2 teaspoons Kosher salt

1 ½ cups heavy cream

2 teaspoons garam masala

2 teaspoons ground roasted cumin seeds (optional)

¼ cup firmly packed minced fresh coriander leaves

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1. Cut the chicken pieces neatly into halves, so that you have 16 pieces of chicken.

2. Put tomatoes, green chilies, and ginger in the container of an electric blender or food processor, and blend to a fine puree.

3. Place 8 tablespoons (1 stick) of butter in large heavy-bottomed pan, preferably one with a non-stick surface, over medium heat. As the butter melts, tilt the pan in all direction to coat the bottom. When the foam begins to subside, add chicken pieces a few at a time, and brown until they are nicely seared all over (about 2-3 minutes per batch). Remove them with a slotted spoon into a reserved bowl. Continue with the rest of the chicken pieces until all are browned.

4. Add cumin and paprika to the butter in the pan, and cook, stirring rapidly, for 10-15 seconds. Add tomato puree and cook, uncovered, until the sauce is thickened (about 5-8 minutes), stirring constantly to prevent sticking and burning.

5. Add salt, cream, and chicken pieces (with any juices that may have accumulated in the bowl). Gently stir the chicken to coat the pieces evenly and thoroughly with the sauce. Be careful not to break the fragile chicken pieces. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, uncovered, until the fat begins to separate from the sauce and a thin glaze appears on the surface (about 10 minutes). Check and stir often (but only one or two stirs at a time) to ensure that the sauce is not burning. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons (¼ stick) of butter, garam masala, and roasted cumin if you are using it. Turn off heat, and let the dish stand, covered, for ½ hour before serving. When ready to serve, heat thoroughly, check for salt, and fold in chopped coriander leaves.

NOTES (My personal adjustments)

Chicken - I use boneless chicken thighs or breasts cut into chunks. Sometimes I will just toss them with Tandoori spices before cooking them in the butter. Sometimes I will do a full Tandoori marinade and cook them whole in the oven first and then use them in the recipe as directed. Bottom line, you don't have to use actual leftover Tandoori chicken and just make due with whatever you have. When I first made it, I didn't even toss the boneless chicken in any spices and it was great.

Tomatoes/Chilies/Ginger - I have only ever used canned crushed tomatoes. I have also only used crushed red pepper, rather than the chilies. Sometimes I will use jarred ginger paste instead of fresh ginger, depending on what I have. If you don't have a food processor, you can finely mince all the stuff and mix it up in the crushed tomato puree.

Roasted Cumin Seeds - I usually do use these. I just roast the seeds in a hot, dry pan and keep a spice jar of them for future use. I do think this helps deepen the flavors.

If possible, make it ahead of time and reheat to serve. With most Indian dishes, I find they taste much better the next day.

Extras - I have looked at other Butter Chicken recipes that use stuff like garlic, onions, cashews and other stuff. You can certainly check out other recipes and play around. But this is a super simple recipe and I've found it to be really good.