Possibly the mainstay of chilli-haters and toddlers, butter chicken might sound like tikka masala by another name. But there’s a world of rich, creamy and definitely decadent comfort to be found from a veganised recipe of this 1950s Delhi classic.
Butter chicken came back into my life recently. I had a short, intense affair with the original version in my mid-teens, involving feelings that returned ten-fold when I started planning menus for Poppadom Preach, a vegan supper club I help run in Berlin.
We needed a main course that would stand up against a painstakingly made meat dish, whilst not using anything that was too obviously fake meat and leave our non-vegan guests wondering WTF they were eating (the worst). Seitan, or wheat gluten, is an ideal meat replacement for this dish, as the texture mimics chicken pieces incredibly well, whilst being packed full of protein and calories (more than tofu or tempeh). You can make it yourself from scratch, but for a weeknight dinner I prefer to pick up a few packs from a health food shop or larger supermarkets.
We also needed a dish that did something other than spice. Obviously adding a load of coconut milk to anything will usually wash away any harsh heat, but I wanted a curry that had some depth of flavour and a different texture from the super smooth coconut milk-based curries you can find in nearly any world food restaurant. And then I remembered butter chicken. The fave with anyone a little adverse to heat, but by no-means a cop-out in the flavour stakes.
This curry takes a good hour to prepare, but thanks to the final addition of ground almonds, desiccated coconut and tomato paste, it tastes like you’ve spent all day on it. Making fresh naan bread might also sound unachievable on a weeknight, but if you start by making the dough and leaving it to rise, there’s a 30 minute gap in the curry recipe that’s perfect for frying up eight naans, meaning the whole meal shouldn’t take longer than 90 minutes. By that time you’ll be left with a simmering pot of rich and entirelyvegan butter chicken, a sparky curry topping and steaming naans.
Vegan butter chicken with pomegranate and toasted almond topping
Serves four
Ingredients
For the butter chickenFor the butter chicken
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 white onions, chopped down small
4 cloves garlic, chopped small
3 tbsp freshly grated ginger- leave the skin on, it's where all the flavour is
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp cinnamon
2 medium tomatoes, diced
2 red chillies, chopped small
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups of vegan yoghurt (soy can work here as the dish is quite sweet)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp garam masala
2 tsp ground cumin
1 cup vegetable stock
360g chicken-style seitan pieces (or allow 90g per person of equivalent meat replacement)
1 1/2 cups of vegan cream, plus a little for serving if you like
1 1/2 tsp tomato paste
3 tbsp ground almonds
3 tbsp desiccated coconut
What to do
For the curry toppingFor the curry topping
Ingredients
½ a pomegranate
100g flaked almonds
1 large handful of coriander (leaves only)
What to do
Homemade coconut-rolled naans
Naans are great (and incredibly cheap) way of making a meal into a feast. Plus, scooping up curry with homemade bread seems to have a knack of quelling a bad day like no other. Feel free to roll in different flavours - the desiccated coconut here adds a crispy, toasted texture to the naans without competing with the richness of the curry.
Makes eight hand-held naans
Ingredients
200 g self raising flour
150 ml warm water
1 tbsp vegan margarine
1 tsp salt
More vegan margarine for frying
A few tablespoons of desiccated coconut for rolling
What to do
Like this? Then you might also be interested in:
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.