If I could marry one dish I’d SO put a ring on Indian Butter Chicken. Bold flavor. Silky texture. A hint of heat and all that saucy goodness that’s oh-so-perfectly sopped up with naan. It’s perfect in the winter and I eat it all summer long too.
In fact, I’ve got a summer twist on it that’s going up on the blog. You won’t want to miss it.
Okay. So I’ve got to confess something…
I totally cheated by serving store bought (dairy free!) naan instead of making my own gluten free version. But sometimes you’ve gotta pick your battles with Time. I’ve never made coconut rice before, but I had a can of coconut milk and a lime that I needed to use and prayed that I wouldn’t give my family food poisoning.
Oh. My. Goodness.
I am adding coconut rice to my list of ALL TIME favorite things. It tasted subtly like buttered popcorn to me, and everyone woofed down the entire batch I made! I think that means it was a hit… The best part about the rice? It only took two minutes to prep and 25 mins to cook. Which means it was ready to go by the time the butter chicken was done.
I love finishing my dish off with some dill (unusual, I know..but SO good) or fresh cilantro. I still haven’t decided which is my absolute favorite, so I’ll continue showing them equal love. It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it.
One trick to getting a perfectly balanced curry–full of savory flavor–is making sure you sauté your onions until they’re golden. Not caramelized, but perfectly golden. Like this:
Once your onions look like the picture above (about 15-20 mins on a medium heat, adjusting if necessary) add your garlic and curry blend. You want the spices to release their full potential, and toasting them is a great way to infuse hours of flavor into your sauce in a short amount of time. The curry blend with the onions and garlic should look like this while you’re toasting it for a minute or two:
After your curry is toasted and is finished hanging out with its garlic and onion friends, add the coconut milk, butter, and tomato sauce, stirring until everything is evenly mixed. Turn the heat down, toss in the chicken and simmer until you’re ready to serve.
You can either dig into it right away, or, if you’re a stronger person than me, you can let it sit there stewing in all its glorious goodness while you’re waiting for your sides.
Here’s what you’ll need to make your own dairy free butter chicken:
Dairy free Indian Butter Chicken with Coconut Rice
Ingredients
For the curry blend:
- 2 Tablespoons curry
- 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon ground ginger
- 2 Tablespoons garam masala (here's my recipe for homemade garam masala, but you can use a pre-bought one)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
For the sauce:
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Curry blend from above
- 1 Tablespoon soy-free butter
- 3 Tablespoons dairy-free sour cream
For the chicken:
- 1.5 lbs. boneless/skinless tenders
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- lime juice
- salt
- cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
For the coconut rice:
- 1.5 cups rice
- 1 can coconut milk
- 2 Tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1 1/3 cup water
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients for curry blend together and set aside in a bowl.
- In a deep skillet or non-stick pan add diced onions and 1/4 cup of vegetable oil. Cook on medium for 15 - 20 minutes, until onions are nice and golden. (Not carmelized. Turn your heat source down if they’re cooking too quickly.)
- Generously cover both sides of chicken tenders with garlic powder, onion powder, cinnamon, salt, and lime juice.
- Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to another skillet and set on medium high heat. Saute chicken on both sides until cooked through. Cut into 1 inch pieces and set aside.
- In a covered medium pot mix the coconut milk, water, salt, lime juice, and oil. Bring to a boil then add rice, stir, cover, and turn heat down to low. Cook covered for 25 mins. (No lifting the lid!) Add an extra 2 mins if needed until rice is cooked.
- When the onions are golden, add minced garlic and saute for an additional minute or two. Next add the curry blend and stir around bottom of pan for a minute, letting the spices release all their aromatic goodness.
- Add Hunt’s sauce and water to onions and curry blend. Stir until well mixed. Toss chicken in and turn down to a simmer, and add the tofu sour cream and butter.
- Cover and simmer until ready to serve!