Indian Butter Chicken

(adapted from BakedBree)

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4  -1/2  jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon garam masala*
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 (6-ounce) can tomato paste**
• 2 1⁄2 cups chicken broth***
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breast cut into pieces***
• 1/2 teaspoon grated pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• chopped cilantro
• cooked Basmati rice

Preparation:

• Cook the onions over med-low heat until golden, add the garlic, ginger and jalapeno and cook for an additional minute or until fragrant.
  Add the garam masala, chili powder, cardamom, and coriander and cook for two more minutes, stirring frequently.
  Remove the mixture from the pan, add tomato paste and chicken stock. Puree the sauce until smooth and return to pan and add the bay leaves and the cream. Bring the sauce to a simmer and let it cook for 10 minutes. Rub the chicken with salt & pepper and fry it over med-high heat until browned on all sides. Add the chicken to the sauce and simmer for an additional 15-20 minutes for all the flavors to come together.
• Add the butter and stir until melted.
• Serve over basmati rice and sprinkle with cilantro

* Most Indian recipes call  for double the amount of garam masala. I think that too much overpowers all the other flavors
** If the sauce seems too tangy (the original recipe called for a whole can of tomato paste) - add a spoon of brown sugar to the sauce
*** Tofu and vegetable stock would make a wonderful vegetarian alternative