Chicken Tikka Masala

[totient]

This is the best CTM I have ever had in my life.

Mix

2t turmeric
4t garam masala
4t black pepper
1/2t ground ginger

into

2c buttermilk (or you could use yogurt plus 2T lemon juice if you don't have buttermilk). Add
2-2.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thigh, diced

and marinate in the fridge overnight. The next day:

Heat up a kettle, in case you need to add hot water to the onions to keep them from burning. In a saucepan rather than a skillet, saute

1/2 stick (4T) butter
1c diced yellow onion

for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add

2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped fine
1/2 head garlic, crushed
1.5T grated ginger

and cook for 20 minutes, on medium heat at first, gradually lowering heat and stirring more frequently as the onions cook. Add

3.5t garam masala
1t paprika
1t salt

and cook for another minute or two. Add

1 15-oz can tomato sauce

and blend with a stick blender until smooth, heaping sauce on the blender so that it doesn't splash. Add

1T dried fenugreek leaves or fresh, finely chopped fennel fronds

and simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile preheat broiler, put up a pot of rice, and put chicken on a cooling rack on foil on a baking sheet. With 15 minutes left on the rice, put chicken in broiler, not too close to the flames, and cook for 7 minutes on the first side and 6 minutes on the second side, until a few spots are browned. It's OK if it cools off during the 3 or 4 minutes it takes to flip. To the sauce, add

about 1c half-and-half (it really wants to be half and half here, not cream), until the tomato and cream flavors are balanced. Exact amounts will depend on the quality of your dairy.

and stir until the color is consistent. Add chicken and serve over rice.

Makes a little more than 2 pints.