Chef's Kitchen

Sanjay Sharma was born into a family who for many years have, and continue to own and operate, restaurants in Jalander City, located in the Punjab region of India. After time spent learning his trade within the family unit, Sanjay went to Canada in 1981, and for the next seven years worked as a chef in top Indian restaurants in Ottawa and Calgary. In 1988, he came to the U.S. and worked as a chef in several Seattle-area Indian restaurants, the Marriott Kitchens on the Microsoft Campus and at Swedish Hospital in Seattle. In 1999, he opened the original Masala India Cuisine just east of Northgate Mall. In 2013, he moved the restaurant to a new location very close by and added a bar.

Butter chicken tips, by Chef/Owner Sanjay Sharma

There may be a few unfamiliar ingredients in this recipe, but the complex flavor of the finished Tomato Butter Sauce more than makes up for the trouble in finding them. There are wonderful Indian and Asian markets dotted all around the Seattle area where these pungent spices are hiding. Individually they may be difficult to taste, but cooked together in a sauce, they will explode on the palate.

The word butter in this context means smooth.  The key to a smooth sauce is to grind all seasonings into pastes and powder.

Designate a coffee grinder to only grind the seeds and whole spices used in Indian cuisine.

To purée the tomato for this recipe, use a blender. A regular sized food processor may not get the puree smooth enough; a mini-processor will work if begun on low, and then turned on high to finish.

Always roast or sauté the chicken meat before adding to the tomato butter sauce. 

Cooked turkey leftovers are very good in this sauce.

Masala of India Cuisine
539 NE Northgate Way, Ste B
Seattle, WA 98125
206-417-1118

www.masalaofindiacuisine.com

Click here to see Sanjay's recipe