Chicken Makhani

This is a restaurant classic... ah reminds me of the little fast food place on mira mesa blvd in SD.. yum!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb skinless, boneless chicken cut into pieces
3 tbsp vegetable oil
Marinade:
3 large red chilies, deseeded and chopped (I unfortunately omitted this and used 1 tsp red chili paste because my guests are wusses)
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp dry-roasted cumin seeds, crushed
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp cilantro leaves
4 tbsp lemon juice
2/3 cup plain yogurt
Sauce:
1 can tomato pulp
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions:
1. Make the marinade by blending chilies, garlic and cumin seeds, and adding the rest of the marinade ingredients to make a paste. Coat chicken pieces and refridgerate 3 hours. I did this and then froze the chicken with the marinade so that when I actually wanted to make this recipe, I would just defrost the chicken and skip to the actual cooking.
2. Prepare the sauce by simmering the tomato pulp with no added water until it is thick and reduced. Then stir in the butter and some salt and continue to let simmer.
3. In a heavy based frying pan, remove the chicken from their marinade, reserving the marinade and fry them to seal about 5 minutes. Add the marinade and cook until chicken is cooked through.
4. Stir in the cream in the tomato sauce and pour over the chicken. Simmer for 5 more minutes and adjust seasoning.

Serve with basmati rice, chopped cilantro an chilis, and Naan if you can find it (Walmart or Trader Joes)
Needless to say, this one was a real crowd pleaser!
I made some spinach, too


**recipe from Indian Food Folklore... best Indian recipe book out there!