I find that Indian cuisine is the type of food that people either love or hate. Its strong combination of aromatic spices can be intimidating to those accustomed to eating milder-tasting food. But it's intoxicating to those who love to crank the volume up on taste.
Indian cuisine was born in a land where the harsh climate pushed man to come up with ingenious ways to survive. Among the age-old methods of survival was food preservation. As I've written in other articles, the advent of refrigeration is very recent. For ages people have sought ways to preserve their food in climates where ambient heat accelerates spoilage and food was not abundant. Although protein sources were scarce compared to the lush forests of Europe and North America, Indian culture developed in a prime location: right in the middle of an ancient trade route between Asia, the middle East and Africa. And some of the most readily available goods traded along the route were spices. It was quickly proven that a high concentration of spices retarded, and even prevented in some cases, bacterial growth in food. And thus was born a cuisine of strong tastes and bold spices, not for luxury or pleasure, but for function — to keep food from spoiling. However, as it is in every culture, the food artists (whether chefs, servants or homemakers) developed something functional into something wonderful and enjoyable, Indian cuisine as we know it today.
Aside from curry, butter chicken is one of the most popular Indian dishes known today by most of the world. The allure of this dish (in addition to its aromatic taste and rich texture) is that no two versions of butter chicken are ever the same. From restaurant to restaurant, and chef to chef, butter chicken always tastes slightly different. This is my rendition of butter chicken. By using Kelapo virgin coconut oil instead of butter I have achieved a lighter consistency and have added the slight aroma of coconut.
Coconut Butter Chicken
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
3 boneless chicken breasts, diced
2 cups onion, diced
2 tablespoons Kelapo virgin coconut oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
2 teaspoons garam masala
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons cashew butter (or peanut butter)
3 cups pureed tomato (about 5 fresh tomatoes; use blender or food processor)
2 teaspoons brown sugar
Sea salt, to taste
Instructions:
1. Put the coconut oil into a deep skillet and add the onion, garlic, ginger, bay leaves and spices (not the salt). Saute the onion over medium-high heat until it becomes translucent (about 15 mins.), stirring throughout.
2. Once the onion is translucent, add the chicken and saute for another 10-12 minutes. After 12 minutes, add the cashew butter and stir it really well so that it dissolves into the mixture.
3. Add the tomato, sugar and plenty of salt to taste. (When adding salt, always add a little, taste, add a little, taste, and so on.) Bring the mixture to a simmer and simmer for another 20 minutes. It should thicken more as you cook down the tomatoes and evaporate the water.
4. Serve with basmati rice, chopped cilantro and naan bread.
This article appears in Jul 21-27, 2011.