Funny enough before becoming a vegetarian I’d never eaten butter chicken so I can’t really say I crave butter chicken. But I’ve eaten mushrooms in butter chicken sauce! While I love the flavour I don’t like the idea of eating all the oil and butter and cream in the restaurant versions since I aim to eat like a vegan.
Since I eat a plant-based, unprocessed diet I decided to come up with a recipe that uses no oil, salt or dairy and it tastes great!
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 small cloves of crushed garlic
2 teaspoons ginger powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons sweet chili sauce
2 teaspoons ground coriander
500 mL crushed tomatoes
Finely chop the onion.
Heat a large saucepan or frying pan and add a bit of water. Add the onions and the cinnamon to the pan and water-sautee lightly.
When the onions are soft stir in the crushed garlic. Add the mushrooms and cook until they are tender.
Add the ginger, garam masala, turmeric, chili and coriander, and sauté over medium heat. The spices are “fried” first to release their flavor and this really enhances the dish. Add the tomatoes. Mix thoroughly.
Cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes (you may need to add a little water).
Puree the cashews with the rice milk and add right at the end.
That’s it. I like this over steamed broccoli or kale.
Imagine how good this would be with chick peas instead of mushrooms?