fbpx

My Best Butter Chicken Ever!

Best Ever Butter Chicken Recipe by Quirky Cooking, Gluten Free, Grain Free, Dairy Free

I’m so excited about this recipe, as you’ve probably heard! I was cheeky enough to call it the ‘best butter chicken ever’ because my 16 year old son insisted it was the best he’d ever tasted, and said that I HAD to call it ‘the best ever’, and I HAD to teach him how to make it so he could make it any time he liked!! (Don’t you love it when your teenage kids rave about a recipe you’ve made up?? It means so much more than a few likes on Facebook, as nice as that is!)

I know what you’re thinking. “It can’t be the best, it’s too simple. It just can’t taste amazing and authentic when it has so few steps and such basic ingredients.” All I can say is, TRY IT! Ok, it’s not cooked the traditional way, with chicken marinating for hours and then simmered slowly in a big pot for ages… but believe me, it tastes amazing. 

I developed this recipe for my Quirky Cooking for Gut Health online program (which will be released soon – you can register here if you want to know more) and the criteria was as follows: 

  • not too spicy so it’s suitable for kids, but FULL of flavour so that when you eat it with cauliflower ‘rice’ the flavour doesn’t get lost
  • super simple so even kids can make it
  • dairy free, gluten free, grain and starch free (suitable for GAPS and Paleo diets)
  • basic ingredients anyone will have on hand or can easily buy at the supermarket
  • quick to make, perfect for those last minute dinner decisions
  • and so delicious that you’ll want to invite some friends over to share it with you!

It worked out to be soooooo delicious I couldn’t wait for my program to be finished to share it – I had to share straight away! So I popped the recipe into my newsletter (as I often do with recipes I can’t wait to share) and it went a bit viral, so I thought I’d better just get it up on the blog! So here it is. 

Best Ever Butter Chicken Recipe by Quirky Cooking, Gluten Free, Grain Free, Dairy Free

 

P.S. If you want to see some feedback before you try it, here’s a few comments:

“Very fussy about butter chicken BUT this was sensational. Thank you”

“Amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing Jo! Recipe was super easy to follow, quick and totally delicious. Thank you, you’re a total ‘good food’ superstar. Oh and yes agreed – best recipe ever!”

“Made it tonight and it was such a delicious comfort food. It’s now in the rotating menu, big complement from our 5 and 3 year olds. You should have seen my son checking with everyone if it was now their favorite. Thanks for generously sharing Jo!”

“Jo, I think your butter chicken recipe has probably been made or will be made by nearly every Quirky fan! It looks as if it’s one of your most all time favourite recipes! The only other recipe I can think of that equals this is the macadamia lime cheesecake!”

Let me know what you think – I hope you love it too!

Note: You can find Fine sea salt, Aussie Kibble Pepper and Organic Garlic for this recipe in my online store!

Print

My Best Ever Butter Chicken

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 3 reviews

  • Author: QuirkyJo

Ingredients

Ingredients:

Cauliflower ‘Rice’

  • 800g cauliflower, (cut into small florets)

Butter Chicken

  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 3cm fresh ginger, peeled
  • 1 long red chilli, deseeded and halved
  • 1 brown onion, halved
  • 100g ghee or coconut oil
  • 3 Tbsp Quirky Cooking Butter Chicken Spice Blend, OR
    • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
    • 2 tsp ground paprika
    • 3 tsp garam masala
    • 1 tsp ground cardamom
    • 2 tsp ground coriander
    • 2 tsp ground cumin
    • 2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 500g coconut cream
  • 3 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 200g tomato paste
  • 3 tsp sea salt
  • 1 kg chicken thigh fillets, cut into 3-5cm pieces (or up to 1.3kg for TM5 or stovetop)

Instructions

Thermomix Method:

  1. Place cauliflower florets into TM bowl, and chop 10 sec/speed 5, or until ‘rice’ sized pieces. Place into Varoma dish, poking a hole in the centre to let the steam through. Set aside. Wash and dry TM bowl.
  2. Place garlic, ginger, and chilli into TM bowl and chop 3 sec/speed 7.
  3. Add onion and chop 2 sec/speed 5. Scrape down sides with spatula.
  4. Add ghee or coconut oil and Quirky Cooking Butter Chicken Spice Blend (or listed spices) and cook 5 min/100/speed soft. Loosen mixture from sides and base of bowl with spatula.
  5. Add coconut cream, lemon juice, tomato paste, salt and chicken to TM bowl. Place Varoma dish into position, and cook 25 min/Varoma/reverse/speed soft. Cauliflower rice will steam above, as butter chicken cooks below. Check cauliflower is cooked – if not, add another 5 mins/Varoma/reverse/speed soft.
  6. Place cauliflower rice into a serving dish, and butter chicken into a separate dish.
  7. Serve butter chicken and cauliflower rice with steamed vegetables or a salad.

Stovetop Method:

  1. Process cauliflower in a food processor until chopped into rice sized pieces. Set aside.
  2. Chop onion, garlic, ginger and chilli by hand, then saute in a heavy based saucepan with ghee or coconut oil, until soft.
  3. Add chicken and Quirky Cooking Butter Chicken Spice Blend (or listed spices) and saute over high heat for 5-10 mins, until chicken begins to change colour. (It will finish cooking in the sauce.)
  4. Add coconut cream, lemon juice, tomato paste and salt and reduce heat to med-low. Simmer gently over med-low heat, partially covered, for 20 mins or until chicken is cooked through and sauce is beginning to thicken. Stir now and then.
  5. Meanwhile, fry cauliflower rice in a frying pan over high heat with some ghee or coconut oil over med-high heat for 15 mins or until cooked through.
  6. Serve butter chicken and cauliflower rice with steamed vegetables or a salad.

Notes

  • Cauliflower ‘rice’ can be replaced with Basmati rice if desired, or mix half cauliflower ‘rice’ with half cooked rice if you’re working on transitioning to less grains in the diet.
  • For a vegetarian version, replace chicken with vegetables such as sweet potato, pumpkin, cauliflower and peas and cook for 20 mins in sauce, or until done. Can add chickpeas also if you like.
  • Freezes well. Store for up to 4 months in the freezer.

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag @quirkycooking on Instagram — I can't wait to see what you've made!

395 thoughts on “My Best Butter Chicken Ever!

  1. Kirsteen Bates says:

    Hi Jo,
    I love this recipe & have used it lots!
    We are on a keto diet at the moment and would love to know the calories per serving. I have ticked the nutrition option on the print mode, but no nutrition facts are there & I can’t find any?






Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star