Butter Chicken Kabsa

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Butter (two cubes or one stick as per transcript)
• 2 Onions (chopped)
• 2 Tomatoes (chopped)
• 5 Red Chili Peppers (fresh)
• 1 sprig Curry Leaves (one stick/branch)
• 0.5 cup Cashews (raw)
• 1 packet Tomato Paste (approximately 135g)
• 1 tbsp Garlic and Ginger Paste
• 1 container Yogurt (standard small tub, approx 170g)
• 1 kg Chicken (skinless, cut into small pieces)
• Pink Salt (to taste)
• 1 tsp Black Pepper
• 1 tsp Red Chili Powder
• 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
• 1 tbsp Garam Masala
• 1 tsp Food Coloring (optional, for color)
• 2 L Water (divided: 1L for chicken, 1L for rice)
• 1 cup Cooking Cream (heavy cream)
• 3 cup Basmati Rice (washed but not soaked)
• Green Onions (for garnish)

Steps

1. 1

   In a large pot, melt the butter and sauté the chopped onions, tomatoes, red chili peppers, curry leaves, and cashews together until softened and fragrant.

2. 2

   Add the tomato paste, garlic and ginger paste, and yogurt to the pot. Stir well to combine.

3. 3

   Add the chicken pieces along with the smoked paprika, black pepper, red chili powder, garam masala, pink salt, and food coloring. Sauté the chicken thoroughly with the aromatics.

4. 4

   Pour in 1 L of water. Once it reaches a boil, cover and cook for 30 minutes.

5. 5

   Remove all the chicken pieces from the pot and set them aside. Transfer the remaining liquid and aromatics to a blender and blend until completely smooth.

6. 6

   Return the blended sauce to the pot and stir in 1 cup of cooking cream. Add the chicken back into the sauce, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.

7. 7

   Remove the chicken from the sauce again. Reserve half of the sauce for serving and keep the other half in the pot for the rice.

8. 8

   To the pot with half the sauce, add 3 cups of washed (not soaked) basmati rice and 1 L of water. Adjust the salt to taste.

9. 9

   Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook for 20 minutes until the rice is tender and has absorbed the liquid.

10. 10

    Serve the rice on a large platter, topped with the chicken and the reserved sauce. Garnish with a drizzle of cream, chopped green onions, and fresh chilies.

Notes

The rice used is Canary Basmati, which is washed but specifically not soaked to maintain its texture in the heavy sauce. The spice level is quite high due to the 5 red chilies and additional chili powder.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• butter chicken
• kabsa
• fusion
• spicy
• rice dish
• chicken