For the marinade

1. In a large bowl, combine all of the dried spices and herbs with the greek yogurt. Add the garlic and ginger paste, and the lemon juice and water (if using). Mix well, and add the chunks of chicken thighs. Mix to evenly combine, cover with plastic wrap and set aside on your kitchen counter for at least 1 hour on your counter, up to 2. You can also marinate this for up to 4 hours in your fridge. Do not let this marinate more than 4 hours! The lemon juice and yogurt will start to “cook” the chicken and compromise the texture. So FOUR hours MAX!!
2. Heat a large skillet (nonstick would be easier to deal with, but not entirely necessary) over medium-high heat. Add a couple tablespoons of fat (butter, ghee, or oil). When the fat is hot, add enough chicken to cover the pan, but leave about an inch of space between each piece. You don’t want to overcrowd the pan because then the chicken will steam instead of brown. And because you’re using thighs, they’ll need a bit more room to release their fat. Brown both sides of the chicken until spotty brown, some will be browner than others and that’s okay. Also, if your chicken is sticking to the pan (and you’re using a non-stick), leave it alone until it’s ready to release on its own. You may need to do this in batches, I had to do mine in 3 batches total. Which was cool, because I had a nice layer of fond (browned bits) at the bottom of the pan by the time it was over. The goal here is to just get a little color on the chicken, you don’t want to cook it all the way through because it will continue to braise in the sauce later. Set your chicken aside and let’s work on the sauce.

For the sauce

1. You should have a good amount of fat left in the pan from the chicken, but if you don’t, add a little more. Reduce the heat to medium, and add the onions, garlic paste, and ginger paste. Add some kosher salt to help the onions sweat a little faster. Cook the onions until softened — about 5 minutes, stirring and scraping up the browned bits at the bottom of the pan. Add all of the dried spices to the onions except for the granulated garlic and onion. Let these spices bloom in the fat, continue to scrape the pan if necessary. Tip: If at any point your heat is too high and things are burning, please lower it! Add a splash of water if the browned bits aren’t releasing easily enough, and don’t worry, this will evaporate.
2. Add the tomato paste. Stir the paste around and toast for about 5-7 minutes or until the paste deepens in color. Add the pureed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and water. Continue to scrape any browned bits if necessary. Bring to a simmer, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Leave uncovered or semi-covered. If it’s splashing everywhere, reduce the heat! Add the granulated garlic and onion, kosher salt and pepper to taste. Let this sauce reduce until its nice and thick, about 15-20 minutes. Add the cold butter, and stir in in to let it slowly melt and emulsify the sauce. When it’s visibly thicker in consistency, add the brown sugar and stir to combine. Give it a taste! See what it needs, add whatever you need to. You are in full control here. The measurements I give you for the seasonings specifically, are starting point measurements. You may want to add more of this and that, and feel completely free to do so!
3. When you’re happy with it, add the heavy cream. Stir that around until it’s fully incorporated. Give it another taste, because cream can mute some flavors, and you may or may not need to re-boost certain things. Now, add the rested chicken and the accumulated juices back to the sauce. Stir gently and make sure each piece of chicken is basically covered. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer gently for an additional 10-15 minutes. Give it one last taste, because this is your last chance to adjust anything.
4. Finally, you’re done. Serve this delicious stuff over rice, or alongside any kind of flatbread. We’re fans of the carb, so we ate it with both. Garnish with fresh cilantro, and serve with wedges of lime and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Whew! Get your life.