Yoghurt and chicken should be best friends. In fact, I’m pretty sure they are already. This easy breezy butter chicken can be made in under 30 minutes. Serve it with rice, naan or paratha it is sure to be a crowd pleaser. The yoghurt has a wonderful tenderizing quality and makes the chicken melt in your mouth.

I used Fair Cape Dairies Low Fat Lactolite Yoghurt, which is suitable for those who suffer from Lactose Intolerance and not only did it hold up really well being cooked on medium heat, it didn’t upset my tummy! It made the creamiest sauce for this Butter Chicken recipe, not too thick or too thin. Try it and let me know what you think in the comments below!

Butter Chicken

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts, sliced or cubed
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 Tb ghee
• 1 Tb canola oil
• 1 level Tb ginger & garlic paste
• 1 tsp ground coriander*
• 1 tsp ground cumin*
• 1 tsp salt*
• 1 tsp garam masala*
• 1/2 chilli powder*
• 1.5 cups Fair Cape Lactolite Yoghurt or Plain Low Fat Yoghurt
• 1/4 tin tomato puree
• coriander for garnishing

*This makes a mild butter chicken, double up on all spices only if you like it hot.

Method:

1. Add all masala ingredients (spices & ginger garlic) to sliced chicken and set aside.
2. Put the ghee and canola oil in a pot and cook chopped onion until light brown.
3. Add chicken to onions, then add yoghurt and tomato puree.
4. Cook with the lid closed for 20 minutes.
5. Adjust seasoning and salt if needed and garnish with chopped coriander.
6. Serve with brown basmati, bimri rice, naan bread or paratha and katchumbar salad.

Tips:

Don’t worry if you make a mistake, e.g. if you add too much spice just top up the yoghurt. if you brown the onions too much, no problem your curry will just be darker. Top tip – Do Not Add Water! Many people add cream to their butter chicken but I feel it makes it too rich – personal preference and you can use cream if you want to. Another common thing is to marinate the chicken in all the spices and yoghurt. I think I got quite a bit of flavor out of the dish considering I made this in under 30 minutes. If you have time you can prepare ahead, but if you’re like me and only start cooking when you get home from work there is nothing wrong with doing it on the spot.

*Lactolite Yoghurt sponsored by Fair Cape Dairies.