Easy Butter Chicken

At the end of summer when I have a glut of tomatoes I make a butter chicken sauce using the excess tomatoes. During the winter I used tinned produce to make this family favourite. Lots of butter chicken recipes use double cream but I substitute it for plain yoghurt because it’s got less fat and more protein. Just be careful to add the dairy ingredients off the heat to stop it curdling. The cashew nuts swell up and add a great texture to the dish as well as adding more nutrition.

INGREDIENTS
Serves 2 Adults and 2 Kids
600g chicken (approx. 3 breasts)
2 tsp garam masala
1.5 tsp cumin
1.5 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 bulb of garlic
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger
3 tbsp veg oil
40g butter
1 medium red or white onion
1 400g tin of whole tomatoes
300ml passata
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp malt vinegar
50g salted cashews
225g plain yoghurt
small bunch of coriander

• Cut the chicken into bite-sized chunks. Peel the garlic and ginger then chop and squash until you have a fine dice. Put the chicken in a bowl and add the garlic, ginger, all the spices, salt and sugar. Massage the mixture into the chicken then leave to marinade while you prepare the onion.
• Peel and fine chop the onion then heat the oil and butter in a large skillet on a medium high heat and add the onion. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly so they don’t burn, to soften the onions.

• Pre heat the oven to 195°C (175°C Fan). Add the chicken back to the pan and cook, stirring regularly, to colour the chicken all over then add the tinned tomatoes, passata, tomato puree and vinegar and cook for a couple of minutes.
• Mix together the milk and yoghurt then turn off the heat and move the pan to a cooler spot. Add the milk and yoghurt and stir then add the cashews and stir. Pop the pan into the oven for 30 minutes.
• Take the curry out of the oven, stir and serve with rice, naan and a sprinkling of the chopped coriander.