Easier version of butter chicken just as rich and creamy
Making authentic butter chicken is a time-consuming process in which chicken is marinated for hours and cooked in a tandoor, a traditional clay oven.
So we need a much simpler way.
You can create your own sauce with spices and a little help from a jar. I used Patak’s spicy butter chicken and coconut milk rather than the traditional yogurt.
And it was pretty yummy. Some of my colleagues thought so too when I heated it up for lunch one day and the aromatic smell brought them to my desk.
Key to the sauce is the ginger and spices, including hot curry powder, cumin and smoked chili powder. You can get these spices at most well-stocked grocery stores, but I received a special delivery in the mail from my daughter who recently visited Morocco.
The smoked chili powder may be harder to find. Try smoked paprika along with regular chili powder instead.
I used half the jar of sauce and coconut milk but if you add more chicken, you can use up all the sauce and milk and have enough for leftovers. I like plenty of sauce to pour over the rice.
Easy Butter Chicken with Rice
Rice
3 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
45 ml (3 tablespoons) lemon juice salt and pepper to taste
60 ml (4 tablespoons) vegetable oil 1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 ml (half a teaspoon) minced ginger
2 ml (half a teaspoon) hot curry powder
2 ml (half a teaspoon) cumin 1 ml (quarter teaspoon) smoked chili powder
125 ml (half a cup) cherry tomatoes, sliced in half half a can (400 ml ) coconut milk half a jar (400 ml) Patak’s Spicy Butter Chicken sauce slices of lime
In a bowl, place the chicken breasts and squeeze lemon juice on the chicken. Sprinkle salt and pepper and mix. Set aside.
Prepare the rice to cook and set aside when done.
In a large frying pan, heat the vegetable oil and then sauté the onions. Add the garlic and fry.
Add the minced garlic and fry for a few minutes. Add the spices: hot curry powder, cumin and smoked chili powder.
Stir until the onions are covered in the spices.
Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add the chicken to the frying pan, along with tomatoes.
Fry for a few minutes until the chicken is no longer pink. Pour in the coconut milk and the Patak’s sauce. Stir.
Let simmer for a few minutes. In a bowl, ladle rice into the bottom. Pour a spoonful of butter chicken over the rice. Squeeze fresh lime on top.