The lazy girlʼs guide to delicious dinners

Butter Chicken | Makes 4-6 servings

I am Punjabi; that means my culture and ancestry share an origin with this Butter Chicken. Right off the bat, this is not an authentic Indian recipe. This is a recipe that I made to get to as close to the real stuff that takes forever to make the right way. I make it during the week for my kids, who love butter chicken, and also for people who are coming over last minute and want Indian food. This recipe for sure hits the spot. Original butter chicken actually uses tandoori chicken that was made especially for that meal or, more often than not, tandoori chicken that was left over from another meal. My hack for this flavor—you guessed it—is shredded rotisserie chicken. It has flavor and is soft and cooked in a pit like real tandoori chicken is. Trust me, this hacked butter chicken recipe can go up against any Indian takeout.

1 jalapeño

8 tbsp  butter

1 yellow onion, grated

4–5 cloves garlic

2 tsp minced ginger

28 oz tomato puree

2 tsp salt

½ tsp sugar

2 tbsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

3 tbsp curry powder

2 cups heavy cream

1 lb  shredded rotisserie chicken

½ cup chopped cilantro

Prep the jalapeño. Depending on the level of spice you can handle, you can choose to leave the seeds in if you like it with a little heat, or take them out if you’re a spice chicken like me. You can either finely chop it or cut it lengthwise so that you can remove it when the dish is finished. That way, the flavor is there but nobody has to bite down on it.

Into a skillet over medium heat, add the butter and onion and brown. Add in the garlic, ginger and jalapeño. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes.

Add in the tomato puree and season with salt, sugar, cumin, chili powder and curry powder. Mix and cook for 2 to 3 minutes to cook all the spices. Add in your heavy cream. Mix to combine and taste to adjust for salt.

Add the shredded rotisserie chicken to the sauce and mix to coat. Top with the cilantro and your kitchen is no less than an Indian takeout spot. Pour this over some basmati rice or dip in with toasted naan bread for the perfect meal.

Reprinted with permission from The Lazy Girl’s Guide to  Delicious Dinners by Sophia Kaur. Page Street Publishing Co. 2024. Photo credit: Sophia Kaur.