It is amazing to me how different cultures are but when you start looking at food, they are so similar.  Lets play a game.  What kind of food am I describing from the ingredients!

Tomato Puree
Onions
Garlic
Olive Oil

Guesses?

Lets add:
Chili Powder
Cilantro
Green Chilies
Lemon Juice
Chicken
Cream

Guesses?

How About:
Honey
Plain yogurt
Melted Butter

Now are you really confused?

Ok, this is a give away:
Ginger
Garam Masala
Fenugreek Leaves

To start with you may have thought Italian, just throw some oregano and basil and it would make a really tasty sauce, then it becomes something Latin, spicy, perhaps a version of Pollo ala Crema, then maybe you could think Greek with the honey and yogurt, and really it is an Indian dish!  And oh was a beautiful Indian dish it is.  We went to World Market to get Butter Chicken sauce and they didn’t have the brand of sauces they used to and the sauces they did have didn’t have Butter Chicken.  So I hopped on the internet and found this recipe as the huge Indian cookbook I have didn’t have a recipe either.

My review…amazing.  It really didn’t that much time in the kitchen, most of the time is spent marinating the chicken.  And to have everything I needed to make a yummy Indian meal, ok I left out the Fenugreek leaves, I have no idea what those are other than a spice that I didn’t have, with some pretty common ingredients.  It tasted just as good as any butter chicken I have had in an Indian restaurant and for pennies!  In fact we are having it again tonight!

It really does amaze me how very different cultures use the same ingredients in very different ways for their cuisine.  Food brings people together in ways other things can’t.  Lets eat!