Talking food one day, someone mentioned to me that they had a craving for Butter Chicken, an Indian dish that I had never tried. Instantly curious, I searched the web for a simple version of the recipe. None of them mentioned grilling, but all wanted it to be baked in a covered dish. I have to be different so instantly I was thinking of ways to make this delicious recipe on the grill. I came up with this and it was very delicious.

I was worried about finding all of the spices and the cheesecloth. No need to fret at all. If you go to a larger grocery store, one that has a fresh market and deli, you should be able to find the cheesecloth with the tea-towels. As for the spices, I found the ones I needed almost all side by side! As long as you have access to a store with a bulk section or a bulk dry goods store, you should be fine. The curry paste was in the International/Asian section. If you can’t find paste, you can substitute curry powder, and make it into a paste with water.

METHOD

1. Prepare the chicken and marinade the night before.
   
2. Line a sieve with cheesecloth and set over a bowl big enough to hold your chicken in. Pour in the balkan yogurt and leave it to drain for an hour. Discard the liquid in the bowl, rinse, dry and put the strained yogurt in the bowl. Whisk in the garam masala, lime juice, curry paste, cumin, paprika, coriander, and salt. Add the chicken to the bowl, mix well so that every piece is covered, cover and refrigerate overnight. Turn the chicken when you get up the next day.
   
3. Brush your grill with oil. Preheat to 400°F.
4. Place the ½ onion on the grill to roast while the grill is warming up. Turn it occasionally, you want it to get that grilled and smokey flavour.
5. While your onion is browning, place the chicken on the grill to cook. Start with the skin side down so that it gets nice and crispy. Unless you’re health conscious and got skinless chicken breasts. If there is extra yogurt marinade left, you can generously top the grilling chicken now. Do not add leftover marinade to the chicken after the outside flesh has turned white. There is a risk of salmonella contamination.
   
6. When the onion has some great grill marks and is nearly cooked, remove it from the grill and carefully chop it. Place the grilled onion into a deep frying pan and brown with a little butter.
   
7. Once the onion has nearly browned, add the garam masala, paprika, and curry paste, continuing to cook until the onion is done. Once the onions are done, add the tomato paste and the water. You may need extra water, or less water, so add it slowly. You want it to look like a REALLY thick tomato sauce. When your spoon or spatula can be pulled across the bottom of the pan and the gap created fills in slowly, it is done. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
   
8. When the sauce is cooled, and when you are done checking on your chicken, you can pour it into a blender. Blend this mixture until it is smooth. Pour the smooth sauce back into the pan you were using. Add the cream.
   
9. When your chicken is done and ready to serve add the butter to the sauce one cube at a time and allow to melt. Mix until JUST combined.
   
10. Pour the sauce over the chicken and garnish with fresh coriander.
11. I recommend serving this with some naan bread, or steamed rice and some vegetables including peppers, onion and tomatoes.
    

This was incredibly delicious. I was very skeptical about trying something from the realm of Indian cuisine, but the ingredients and challenge intrigued me. In the end, I was very happy with the flavours and looking forward to trying another dish. I even had people who love Indian food saying that this recipe was exactly how it should taste. This was a thrilling adventure in cooking.

What adventures have you had? Do you like to find recipes and make them your own in some way? Tell me about them! Or Submit Your Own Recipe to the blog.

Happy Grilling!