The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.

This is my first post after what seems to be a long while, for me anyway. Yes, I've been busy just like everyone else and have had a really difficult time making the challenges' deadlines although sometimes a recipe comes along that you know you will make regardless of your schedule and this butter chicken with cashew butter just begged to be made.

In fact, for a couple of years now I have been on a lookout for a really appealing butter chicken. The internet is full of them but wasn't keen on any particular one. When I realized this challenge provided a recipe along the lines of  butter chicken I then decided it was time to roll-up my sleeves, use the provided recipe as a foundation and make the components up as I went. Anyhow, I knew what type of flavour as I trying to achieve but without a recipe I could only wing it .

The resulting dish was completely worth the effort and I hope you enjoy this dish as much as my partner, our friend Yurie and I did last night for it was a smashing success. Yurie, prior to dinner, had insinuated that she could probably skip the meal as she was still full from lunch (her lunch time meal was a rather huge bowl of a robust bean stew plus numerous slices of sourdough bread drizzled with olive oil prepared by yours truly). Well, lovely Yurie went for seconds ... happily and on her own accord! I think this recipe will become a keeper.

How does it taste? Well, it's obviously buttery but it's also tangy from the yoghurt and the tomato paste, deeply aromatic from the spices and beautiful to eat in winter. I must, though, apologise for the photo. It seems to me that lately I have been in a hurry to eat my concoctions before I get a chance to "artfully" arrange the dish and take photographs and this time it was no exception ... the photo was taken once it was served on our individual plates ready for consumption and I'm very sorry about that. I won't promise it won't happen again. Hunger trumps art.

By the way, this recipe makes a ton of sauce which I froze for my next batch of butter chicken. Next time around I'll marinate the chicken in the spices while omitting the yoghurt, fry it in butter and then add it to the simmering sauce ... I can't wait.

Thank you Margie and Natashya for organising this event.

Butter Chicken with Cashew Nut Butter
Yield: 4 servings for hungry people

You will need a coffee grinder to grind the spice mix to a powder.

Ingredients

Spice mix:

• Cloves: 6 whole
• Black Peppercorns: 10
• Cinnamon: 1 stick about 3 cm long
• Cardamom pods: 4, seeds only
• Coriander seeds: 4 teaspoons
  
• Cumin seeds: 3 teaspoons
  
• Fenugreek: whole, 2 teaspoons
  
• Chilli flakes: 1 teaspoon or more, to taste
  

Marinade mix:

• Full-fat yoghurt: 1 cup
  
• Garam masala: 1 teaspoon
  
• Turmeric powder: 2 teaspoons
  
• Smoked paprika: 1 teaspoon
  
• Bay leaves: 3, fresh or dry
  
• Salt to taste

The rest:

• Chicken: 1 medium, cut to pieces (you can use thighs and drumsticks pieces, if you prefer)
• Coconut oil: 3 tablespoons
• Onions: 2, chopped finely
• Garlic: 6 cloves, chopped finely 
• Ginger, freshly grated or microplaned: 1 knob about 4 x 2 cm long
• Tomato paste: 4 tablespoons
• Cashew butter: 1 cup (you can use smooth peanut butter, if you prefer). This challenge required me to make my own nut butter but my food processor wasn't up for it so I had to purchase it
  
• Maldive chips: 3 teaspoons. You can substitute with good quality anchovies, about 2, chopped to a paste
  
• Chicken stock: 1 cup
• Sugar to taste
• Salt to taste
• Butter: 50 grams, cut into small cubes
  
• Coriander: 1 bunch, leaves only, chopped roughly
  

Preparation

Roast all the ingredients from the spice mix in a fry pan at medium to low heat until it becomes aromatic, about 8 minutes. Allow this to cool and then grind to a powder in a coffee blender.

In a large, non-reactive bowl, coat the chicken pieces with the spice mix and the marinade mix and leave in the fridge for a couple of hours, covered.

In medium to high heat, heat the coconut oil in a large casserole pot, add the onions and fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Then add the garlic, ginger, tomato paste, cashew butter and maldive chips (or anchovies)  and fry for another 5 minutes or until the ingredients release their aromas.

Add the chicken pieces, stir briefly, cover and lower heat to medium low and cook for about 20 minutes. Uncover, stir again, lower heat to a simmer.

Add the butter and let it melt while stirring carefully. Garnish with coriander leaves, stir again and serve with steamed rice.