Butter Chicken Curry

As I have slowly evolved as a home cook over the past few years, I've noticed one big change in my habits that has recently come to my attention. Even just a year or two ago, I would rely heavily on pre-made meals and eat them at least 2-3 times per week. Every time I stocked up on groceries at Trader Joe's, I'd hit the freezer aisle hard. Into my shopping cart would go frozen burritos, tamales, pot pies, pizzas, stir fry, and Indian curry. It made me feel comfortable to have a tasty meal just the click of a microwave button away. On those days when I came home from graduate school or a late yoga class, there was no need to think about dinner. It was easy and there was nothing wrong with this method - after all, that's how most Americans keep mealtime running on a busy schedule.

But recently, I realized that as I've gotten more comfortable cooking I've relied less and less on those frozen meals. And in fact, they have become less enjoyable to me. Sure there are all the arguments that you shouldn't eat frozen or processed food because you don't know what's in them, they are unhealthy...yada yada. But the reason I personally have stopped making them is that they simply aren't as satisfying to me anymore now that I've realized how relatively easy it is to cook my own food during the week.

My new routine has become to choose one day per week in which I plan out the meals for the entire week ahead. Yes this seems a little obsessive at times, but I find it saves me both time and money (hence the name of this blog!). I'll do my best to make the ingredients for the meals overlap, so that I'm as efficient as possible at avoiding wasted or expired food. For instance if I make turkey and goat cheese burgers on Monday I know I will have leftover turkey, I'll plan to use that on Tuesday by making spaghetti with meat sauce or my favorite skillet lasagna. Planning ahead also means that I'm not randomly running to the grocery store on Wednesday night for one ingredient, or because I suddenly realized the fridge is completely empty. And to deal with those inevitable nights when I'm exhausted or out of time, I'll make sure that at least one or two of the planned meals will provide dinner for two nights, so that I can still get dinner done with the click of a microwave button - but instead of a frozen meal, it's the meal that I prepared myself the night before. Some of my favorite two-night meals include Winter Minestrone Soup and Fettuccini Primavera.

One of my favorite Trader Joe's frozen meals are their chicken curry dishes. They have great chicken tikka and butter chicken meals that Stuart and I used to eat about once every week. This copycat butter chicken curry I discovered on the blog Foodess is a great homemade substitute. All I had to buy to make this was an Indian spice called Garam Masala; the rest were basic pantry items. 


Butter Chicken Curry Ingredients:

For chicken & marinade:
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast cut in 1" - 2" pieces 

2 tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp garam masala (find in the spice section of almost any grocery store)

1 tsp kosher salt
Rice, for serving 


For sauce:
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 ½ cups chopped onion (about 2 medium onions)
2 tbsp coarsely chopped garlic
2 tbsp garam masala
2 tsp paprika
¼ tsp cinnamon
1 sprinkle of cayenne pepper (optional for more spice)
2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
2 cups diced no-salt-added canned tomatoes
¾ cup cream
2 tbsp butter
Chopped cilantro, to garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine all marinade ingredients in a zip-top bag or shallow baking dish, massaging the marinade into the chicken. Let stand at room temperature while you prepare the sauce, or marinate in the fridge overnight.
2. Begin making the sauce by heating the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan or dutch oven. Add onions and slowly cook until golden, about 20 minutes, reducing heat if they are getting crispy or browning quickly.
3. Begin cooking the rice. 

4. Add garlic to the onion pan and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in garam masala, paprika, cinnamon and salt; cook 1 minute more. Add tomatoes; cook 2 minutes, then add cream and carefully puree using an immersion blender (or standing blender, but do it in batches or the steam will blow the top off).
5. Return sauce to saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add chicken to the sauce, cover, and simmer over medium-low heat until cooked through, about 12 minutes (remove a couple of pieces to make sure they are no longer pink inside). A gentle simmer is required to gently cook the breasts so they don't become tough, and you don't want to overcook them.
6. Stir in butter, and add more salt to taste. Serve sprinkled with cilantro, if desired.