A Butter Chicken Inspired Soup and Stew
.....Chicken Optional
I had never made butter chicken before and finally come across a recipe that inspired me. I loved it. I loved it so much that I kept thinking about how I could bring more of those flavours into foods. So this past week, I made a version with cauliflower instead of chicken AND I made a soup featuring split mung beans (mung dahl). I used the same sauce as a flavouring base for both recipes. Both were delicious. I will start with my version of the sauce that is the basis for all these recipes and then go into the variations.
The main spice in this recipe is garam masala. It’s so rich, with a great depth of flavour. And I love making it from scratch. The key spices include coriander, cumin, cardamom, clove, black pepper and cinnamon. I have found other recipes that may also add in other others including bay leaf, star anise, fennel, caraway, ginger, nutmeg and/or mace. The smell of the freshly ground spices is intoxicating. If you don’t have the whole spices for garam masala on hand, you can purchase a garam masala spice blend made up of the whole spices all combined in one bag at an ethnic market or even online. This can then be ground fresh as needed at home. Way more fun and aromatic than buying a blend that is already ground up. If you want to make your own, here is a version you can work with that includes some of the interesting optional ingredients. I am sure there are as many variations on garam masala recipes as there are grandmothers in India 💜.
As for the butter chicken recipe, this is not the traditional version but I think it does the job well and is not quite so intimidating. If you want a more traditional recipe that includes marinating the chicken check this one out.
BUTTER CHICKEN SAUCE RECIPE…. TO BE ENJOYED WITH OR WITHOUT CHICKEN
INGREDIENTS FOR THE SAUCE
3 tablespoons of ghee
1 large onion finely diced
4 large cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger root
14 ounces of tomato puree
1 cup water
2 tablespoons of garam masala
1 cinnamon stick or 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon mild chilies, or mild paprika
1 cup coconut cream or heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne - or to taste
OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS
2 teaspoons turmeric (or 1 tablespoon turmeric paste) optional
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
2 teaspoons dried fenugreek leaves (also called methi and available in the ethnic section of some grocery stores. I have seen it both fresh and dried at No Frills) Do not substitute fenugreek seed.
If your tomato sauce is not very sweet, you may like to add a few teaspoons of honey. If your tomato sauce is not very tangy/sour, you make like to add a teaspoon of lemon juice.
Sauté the onions in ghee for about 10 minutes over medium heat. Once they have softened, add the minced garlic, ginger, and turmeric, and optional fennel seeds, cumin seeds and mustard seeds and sauté a few minutes more to bring out the flavours.
Add the tomato, water, garam masala, cinnamon, chili powder or paprika, coconut cream and salt (and optional fenugreek leaf). Stir well and simmer for 10 minutes covered.
Use the sauce as a base to make butter chicken, or “butter” cauliflower or use it in a soup - see recipe options below
BUTTER CHICKEN or BUTTER CAULIFLOWER
INGREDIENTS
1 butter chicken sauce recipe from above
2 pounds chicken breast OR 1 head of cauliflower cut into bite sized pieces
2 teaspoons salt (maybe a bit less if using cauliflower)
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 tablespoons ghee
Optional: 2 cups of peas
Season the chicken or cauliflower with salt, pepper and garam masala. Heat the ghee over medium and add the chicken or cauliflower and sauté for about 5-10 minutes till golden. Add to the butter sauce above (and optional peas) and allow to simmer till the chicken and/or cauliflower (and/or peas) are cooked through.
Serve alongside rice
Next day’s leftovers are even more yummy as it has given the chicken a chance to absorb more of the sauce’s flavours. The traditional recipe actually marinates the chicken before cooking to infuse more flavour, but I opted for this simplified version and find it to be flavour packed and delicious.
BUTTER CHICKEN INSPIRED DAHL SOUP
This soup has no chicken in it - only the flavours of the butter chicken sauce. So yummy!
INGREDIENTS
1 butter chicken sauce recipe from above
2 tablespoons ghee
2 cups of chopped celery
4 cups of chopped carrots
2 cups water
2 cups garden peas
3 cups cooked split mung beans (about one cup raw, soaked and well cooked)
additional water to thin the soup to desired texture if needed
1-2 teaspoons salt or more to taste
Season to taste with 1 teaspoon of lemon and/or more cayenne
Sauté the celery and carrots in ghee for 5-10 minutes till aromatic.
Add the water and simmer till the celery and carrots are soft. Add the butter sauce and the peas and continue simmering till the pease are just done but still bright green.
Stir in the cooked mung, water and salt.
Season to taste with additional salt, lemon and/or cayenne.
Enjoy!
