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1
Ginger/Garlic Paste: In a blender add peeled ginger and peeled garlic in equal parts and a little water and blend into a paste. You can also buy this in the Indian market, but it is much better when made fresh.
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2
Meat Prep: Cut chicken into bite sized pieces.
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3
In a bowl, mix chicken, salt, pepper, turmeric, cayenne (if using cayenne), cumin powder and coriander powder.
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4
Set Aside.
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5
Cooking: Use medium heat! Lower heat and longer cooking time gives the best results.
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6
In a deep wide pan (using medium heat) heat oil till it's hot and add Cloves, Cardamom (give a small smack on each Cardamom pod to open up the pod just a little bit) and Cinnamon stick.
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Move it it around for several minutes.
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8
At this point, I remove the clove and cardamom because I hate biting into them later.
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9
Add onions and saute until they are soft and golden.
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10
Take your time on this as this is what makes the gravy creamy, (you don't want burned onions).
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11
Add Ginger/Garlic paste and lower the heat to medium low and cook for several minutes scraping the bottom often.
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12
If you have enough oil in the pan you will not have that much of a problem. Hey! it's Indian food, so oil is necessary evil :)
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13
Add chicken mix from the bowl and cook till the chicken turns color.
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14
Add butter if desired.
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15
Keep stirring so that bottom is not sticking. This will take about 8-10 minutes or so.
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16
Add tomato and cook for another 2 minutes
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17
Then add hot water to the pan till it barely covers the chicken.
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18
Cook on medium high till you see a lot of bubbling.
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Lower the heat to medium/low and cover the pan and let it cook for about 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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20
When done, you should have smooth dark brownish gravy that is not runny and the chicken should be tender. Eat it with hot rice.
