Heat oil/butter/ghee in a large pot over medium heat. Once hot add in cardamom pods, whole cloves, and panch phoran. Cook until spices darken slightly and panch phoran begins to pop and sputter. It will happen quickly! oil/butter/ghee, 4 whole cardamom pods, 4 whole cloves, 1 teaspoon panch phoran
Next add in thinly sliced onions, minced garlic, minced ginger, and whole chilies. Fry for 8-10 minutes until the onions begin to brown and turn translucent. Stir occasionally to prevent burning. Add oil as needed.
1 medium onion, 3 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon ginger, 2 whole hot chilies
Next begin to water fry the onions by adding water to the onions 1-2 tablespoons at a time. Do no drown them. Once the water fries off, add some more stirring until the onions start to break down, repeat until the onions turn a deeper brown in colour and have broken down. 10-15 minutes.
1 cup water
Add the butter chicken masala (Spice mix) to the onions and continue to fry. Adding the spice will dry the onions quick to add some more oil/butter as well. Let the spices cook for around 1 minute. Once the spices have cooked, continue water frying, repeating until the onions and spices have formed a thick paste.
3 tablespoons butter chicken masala
In small bowl mix plain yogurt and ground almonds/almond flour and mix well (this prevent the yogurt from breaking while cooking).
½ cup plain yogurt, 2 tablespoon ground almonds/almond flour
Puree canned tomatoes and add to the pot along with the almond and yogurt mixture. Stir while bringing the pot to a rapid simmer, reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cover. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
14 oz canned tomatoes