Alisa told me this was one of her favorites and that I would love it.  Oh boy was she right!  This was fantastic!

In fact, the aroma wafting through the house was so darn amazing that I simply chose not to take the time to photograph (that seems to be happening a lot these days).  The only photo I have left is of my empty bowl – licked clean!

This recipe was an adaptation of Sarah Fragoso’s Better Butter Chicken in her Everyday Paleo cookbook.  You know me, I simply am incapable of following a recipe verbatim.  And, I did not have any fenugreek on hand – which the recipe calls for – so I used fennel seeds.  The original recipe also involves chicken thighs.  I had chicken breasts thawing in the fridge, and I much prefer the breasts anyhow.

Typically I am a very neat chef – which should surprise no one.  I’m neat as a pin in pretty much every area of my life.  For some reason, this culinary experience lent itself to quite a  mess in the kitchen.  I will narrow it down to the fact that I was multi-tasking, yet again, with too many pots on the stove, veggies to be chopped, items in the oven, and cabinets and drawers ajar, begging to be closed.
Clean-up, though waited until after the meal...this time, and this time only!

Better Butter Chicken

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 yellow onion, diced
3 Tbs. coconut oil
1/4 – 1/3 c. tomato paste
7 oz. coconut milk (or 1/2 can)
1 large clove garlic, pressed
1/2 tsp. cardamom
1/2 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. smoked sea salt
4 Tbs. ghee (clarified butter)

Cut the chicken breasts into bite size pieces and set aside. In a large skillet or soup pot, heat the coconut oil over medium heat and add the diced onion and saute until translucent.  Reduce heat to low and to the onion and oil mixture, add the garlic, cardamom, coriander, fennel, and chili powder and stir well to make a paste.  Add the tomato paste to the onions and spices and stir, this mixture will be very thick.  Increase heat back up to medium and add the coconut milk and salt.  Use a whisk to blend the tomato paste spice mixture and coconut milk together into a thick sauce.  Bring the sauce to a simmer and add the chicken.  Return the sauce and chicken to a simmer, turn down to medium low, cover and cook for approximately 15 minutes or until the chicken is done all the way through – make sure you stir occasionally during the cooking process. After the chicken is cooked, add the ghee and mix into the sauce until melted.  Serve the chicken over your choice of veggies.

**I am crediting Alisa, of PaleoinPDX.com for this wonderful inspiration.  I’m also crediting Mark’s Daily Apple for this gorgeous photo – as I mentioned that I simply could not WAIT to snap a shot!