“I can make it trust me” I argued, when the husband raised suspicions over my culinary skills with north Indian food. His suspicion, in fact, had more to do with the level of effort expected of me, knowing I can beat Calvin and Hobbes at laziness (and I say that proudly). Anyhow, sloth notwithstanding, I knew what I was doing when I said that. Moreover it was a weekday, so yes, jugaad it had to be. Also, authenticity noone would bother with at my place as long as the result was close to the real deal. So, with immense performance pressure, I tackled it as per my plan thus –
Ingredients:
- Chicken – 6-8 pieces, medium cut
- Onion – 1 large or 2 medium, finely chopped
- Ginger-garlic paste – 1 tbsp
- Tomato – 1 large, chopped
- Garam masala – 2 tsp, whole spices or ground
- Chilly powder/ green chillies – as per taste
- Cream – 2-3 tbsp (I used regular Amul)
- Oil – 2 tbsp (I used rice bran oil)
- salt
- Sugar (as per taste)
- Water- 1.5 cups
For garnish:
- Large Knob of Butter
- Chopped coriander leaves (or kasuri methi)
Method:
- Heat oil in a pan.
- Add the whole spices and onions. Fry the onions till they are light brown.
- Add ginger-garlic paste, fry for a minute.
- Add chopped tomato and seasonings. Fry till tomatoes are mushy.
- Add chicken pieces and fry for about 5-7 minutes. (Add some more oil if required)
- Add enough water to make a thick gravy. Simmer for about 12 mins or till chicken is cooked.
- Open the lid, stir in the cream, and switch off the heat.
- Add in the dollop of butter, cover and let it melt.
- Garnish with coriander leaves or kasuri methi just before serving.
I served these with methi laccha paratha. Plate was licked clean.
As for the lazy dessert idea, I just layered some fruits in two bowls, topped mine with cream, condensed milk, sprinkled some brown sugar and cashewnuts. For his bowl, I sprinkled some chaat masala and lime juice.
That’s about it. Perfect for midnight sweet cravings of the one-eyed half-sleepy.
This looks much easier and straightforward than I imagined it to be. Very tempting
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😀 I’ll tell you a little secret. You could convert most Indian chicken curry into butter chicken by stirring in some heavy cream and a dollop of butter in the end 🙂 It will taste as authentic as the real deal
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