Here’s our garam masala. I added turmeric and cumin because I am out of cumin seeds. Am I going to use all of this. Yes. Yes I am. This recipe has BIG flavor.

Take that and mix it into plain yogurt. You can use a 650gram tub or a larger one. Just make sure it’s not low fat (minimum 3.5%) and not Greek yogurt. I went with more because what doesn’t go in the chicken goes in a bowl. Garam masala yogurt should be in the stores.

Hey look, it’s one hour since the first marinating, so add in your yogurt and spice mix, stir well and leave, refrigerated for at least another hour.

And we’re back. Next step: ghee. Melt 1/2 cup butter over medium heat in something with a wide base. This is the water component foaming and evaporating. That will leave us with milk fat and milk solids. We want the fat only.

Let’s start putting this together, shall we? Here’s 1.5 large sweet onions sautéing in our butter. I let the milk solids fry a bit in the fat to give it some richness.

So far, the only salt in this is from the butter and since I’m using sodium free chicken stock and diced tomatoes, now is the time to add it.

Is that a lot of onion? You’re goddamn right. I read in Saveur once that a Breton Frenchman wakes up and fries a big pan of onions then decides what he will make that day. It’s been my guiding principle since.

When the onions are soft and getting a blush of color, add freshly microplaned garlic and ginger and cook for a few more minutes. This is two big pieces of ginger and three cloves of Russian Red garlic. Use as much or as little as you like.

Garlic and ginger added and the smell is heavenly

Add in the chicken yogurt spice mix and stir in 2 28oz cans of diced tomatoes, mostly drained, and bring to a high simmer.

Ukrainian except that’s onions and garlic