We picked a few favorites from my Punjab cookbook, mostly looking at technique. Butter Chicken is one of the most complex recipes in the Punjab cookbook, but once you start it, it actually isn't. The main technique is not to overcrowd the initial fry of the chicken pieces. The wet marinade will not colour when you overcrowd the fryer. And don't be stingy with the butter/oil mix. I used a mixture of thigh and breast for this dish, ensuring the breast meat was in larger chunks so they wouldn't dry out with the 2 stage cooking of it. You only fry enough to sear the meat, giving it a charcoal look on a couple of sides. This is done easily when the heat is high and you don't overcrowd the pan. Remove and keep adding pieces. At this stage you are not looking to cook the chicken right through, in fact you are to try not to do that. At the second stage when it cooks in the sauce you only need a 10 minute simmer to finish off the meat to ensure it's tender and not dry.
To accompany was the spiced roasted cauliflower. Incredibly simple. Just toss in spices and oil and roast. Then squeeze some lemon juice over and check for seasoning. Be generous with salting.
Spiced Rice. I like to gently spice the rice, remembering to season well. All 3 recipes are in the Punjab cookbook. If you haven't got it yet, just send me a note.
