My biggest batch of butter chicken + basmati rice - 30 freezer meals (recipe + notes)

Made a huge batch of butter chicken this weekend and ended up with about 30 containers in the freezer. I started with my usual butter chicken recipe and scaled it up to fit a couple big stockpots, then did the rice in the rice cooker with chicken broth and a pinch of curry powder. It saved so much time for the next few weeks.

Ingredients (scaled for ~30 portions):

• 6-8 lbs boneless chicken thighs, cut into chunks
• 4 cups plain yogurt (for marinade)
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 2 cups tomato puree
• 2-3 onions, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup butter + 2 tbsp oil
• 8-10 cloves garlic, minced
• 4"ish" worth of fresh ginger, grated (or ~1 cup paste)
• 1/2 cup garam masala
• 1/4 cup ground cumin
• 2 tbsp turmeric
• 2-3 tbsp chili powder (adjust to taste)
• 2-3 cups heavy cream or coconut milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Rice (makes about 30 small portions):

• 10 cups basmati rice, rinsed
• 20 cups chicken broth (use broth instead of water for flavor)
• 2-3 tbsp curry powder mixed into the broth

Basic method: marinate the chicken in yogurt, lemon, salt and half the spices for a few hours or overnight. Sear in batches in oil/butter until browned, set aside. Sweat onions, garlic, ginger in the same pot, add spices and tomato puree, simmer to meld flavors, return chicken and simmer until cooked through, finish with cream and butter. For the rice, dump rinsed rice, broth and curry powder into the rice cooker and let it do its thing.

Packing/freezing tips: let everything cool completely before sealing containers, label with date and reheat in microwave or on the stove (thaw overnight in fridge if possible). I portioned into single-serve containers so it's grab-and-go for lunches.

Random side note - I covered part of the grocery bill with Amazon gift cards I had earned from playing games in an app called Mistplay over a few months. Small thing but it made stocking up feel less painful. Happy prepping, ask if you want specific spice ratios or timing and I'll post the detailed measurements I used.