Today we travel north to Arafel in the Borderlands to dine with Alanna Mosvani and her family. They have promised to teach us the secrets to Alanna Sedai’s favorite butter chicken. She is known for her love of good food, and no wonder, when she is a master of spices in addition to the One Power. (Just don’t tease her about the salt!) Today we travel north to Arafel in the Borderlands to dine with Alanna Mosvani and her family. They have promised to teach us the secrets to Alanna Sedai’s favorite butter chicken. She is known for her love of good food, and no wonder, when she is a master of spices in addition to the One Power. (Just don’t tease her about the salt!)

Although the winds have turned cold and the scent of snow is in the air, we still have a day or two before the bitter borderland winter arrives in full force. We are greeted with warmth and smiles and served dinner family-style at the large table. There are many wonderful dishes, but the butter chicken is what we keep thinking about after reflecting on the meal. It’s hearty enough even for hungry warders taking a much-needed break from constant travel. Although the winds have turned cold and the scent of snow is in the air, we still have a day or two before the bitter borderland winter arrives in full force. We are greeted with warmth and smiles and served dinner family-style at the large table. There are many wonderful dishes, but the butter chicken is what we keep thinking about after reflecting on the meal. It’s hearty enough even for hungry warders taking a much-needed break from constant travel.

To make this at home, you will need a 5-quart Dutch Oven pot with a lid. Tomato paste is a time-saving option but the tomato sauce brings a much richer flavor if you don’t mind an extra wait. 

Alanna’s Butter Chicken

Flavorful spiced chicken in a thick tomato-based creamy sauce.

5 from 1 vote

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Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian, Wheel of Time

Servings 3 servings

Equipment

• 5-quart Dutch Oven pot with a lid

Ingredients

  

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• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil (or your favorite neutral-flavored oil)
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 large onion diced
• 2 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 5 cloves garlic crushed and roughly chopped
• 1 6-oz can tomato paste OR 1 (15-oz) can tomato sauce
• 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 2 to 3 lbs), cut into 1″ pieces
• 1 Tbsp garam masala
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp Kosher salt adjust if needed
• Freshly ground black pepper
• ¾ cup heavy cream
• Cooked Rice for serving
• Naan for serving

Instructions

 

• Gather and prep all ingredients (cut up the chicken, etc)
• Put all spices including salt into a small bowl and mix together..
• Heat dutch oven on the stovetop to medium heat.
• Once heated, add oil and butter then add onion. Cook on medium for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F.
• Stir in the ginger and garlic and cook for another minute or so.
• Add tomato paste or sauce. For paste: cook, mixing constantly until it is darkened in color, about 3 minutes. For sauce: cook, mixing frequently, until sauce reduces almost to the texture of tomato paste (about 20 minutes).
• Stir in the spices and cook for one minute. Turn off the heat.
• Add ½ cup water to pot and stir to combine.
• Add the chicken pieces to the pot. Stir carefully to combine.
• Put the lid on and bake for about 35 minutes until chicken reaches 185 F. (it is technically cooked at 165 but tastes better at 185)
• Stir in heavy cream.
• Serve with rice and naan.

Notes

Tip: Keep fresh ginger in the freezer! To use it, peel just the section you need with the edge of a spoon, and grate it using a microplane while it is still frozen. Pop the remainder back into the freezer. It lasts much longer this way and you will always have fresh ginger available for recipes. 

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!