Butter Chicken

Chicken - 1 kg
Lime juice - 1
Chilli Powder - 1 Table spoon
Garlic - 6 Cloves
Pepper corns - 8-10
Cinnamon (Karuvapatta) - 1” Stick
Bay Leaves - 2
Almonds - 8-10
Yoghurt - 1 Curd
Cooking oil - 3 Table spoon
Cardamom (Elakaya) - 3-4 pod
Onion- 2 Chopped
Tomato - 2 Chopped
Garlic Paste - 2 Table spoon
Ginger Paste - 1 Tee Spoon
Cumin (Jeeraka) Powder - 1 Tee Spoon
Turmeric Powder - ¼ Tee Spoon
Butter - 3 Table Spoon
Water
Salt
Coriander Leaves - Garnish

First mix the chicken, lime juice, salt and red chilli powder in a large, non-metallic bowl. Cover and allow to marinate for 1 hour.  

Then heat a flat pan on a medium heat and gently roast (stirring frequently) the cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, bay leaves and almonds till they darken slightly. Cool and add the cardamom seeds. Now grind into a coarse powder. Now mix the yoghurt, above whole spice powder, coriander, cumin and turmeric powders together and add them to the chicken. Allow to marinate for another hour. 

Heat the oil in a deep pan on medium heat. When hot, add the onions. Fry till a pale golden brown in color and then add the ginger and garlic pastes. Fry for a minute. Then add only the chicken from the chicken-spice mix and fry till chicken turns opaque and the flesh will go from pink to whitish in color. Now add the tomato paste, chicken stock, and remaining part of the yogurt-spice mix to the chicken.  Cook till the chicken is tender and the gravy is reduced to half its original volume.

Finally melt the butter in another small pan and then pour it over the chicken.