Vegan Butter Chicken Curry
Butter chicken is an all time favourite Indian curry across the whole world and for good reason. This rich, creamy and indulgent curry is very satisfying due to the array of spices paired with cream and butter. Sounds like a complete no go for a vegan right?! Wellll actually I’m here to tell you that you can have everything a butter chicken has to offer with no animal products at all.
This recipe uses tofu as the chicken replacement and dairy free cream and butter. So if you are a devout vegan or just simply someone looking to cut down on animal products- you can have your favourite take away cruelty free.
This curry is customisable so feel free to switch out the protein if you’ve got some vegan chicken you’d like to try it with. Or if you’re feeling like a lighter version you could use light coconut milk or cashew cream instead of the full fat vegan cream.
This recipe really is for everyone, so give it a go and impress your family and friends (or just yourself) and serve up this curry with some basmati or fluffy naan and enjoy!
Tofu butter chicken ingredients and substitutes-
- Tofu- I use extra firm tofu for this recipe as you want the tofu chunks to hold their shape when cooking. You could use any protein you like here if you have something else you’d like to try, the rest of the recipe can stay the same.
- Coconut yogurt- The yoghurt in this recipe is the base for the marinade I used coconut yogurt but feel free to use soy or oat. Any dairy free yoghurt will work fine.
- Garlic paste- I always keep a jar of garlic paste in the fridge as a lazy option. You may also use fresh minced garlic if you prefer.
- Ginger paste- I used ginger paste but you can use fresh ginger.
- Dairy free butter- The butter gives the curry the richness and fatty element. I use flora dairy free butter but you can use whichever you like. Alternatively you can use a neutral oil.
- Tomato passata- Tomato passata is my preferred choice for tomato based sauce as its smoother and richer than diced tinned tomatoes. You can use tinned or fresh tomatoes if you like but you may want to blend them until smooth before adding into the curry.
- Dairy free cream- I used flora dairy free cream but you can use any cream you like. For a lighter curry use light coconut milk or make a cream from cashews by soaking them in boiling water for 15 minutes and then blending with water until a cream consistency is achieved.
- Tomato paste- For another element of richness I use some tomato paste or tomato puree.
- Fenugreek- Fenugreek is my favourite spice to use in Indian cooking. I think its what makes a curry really taste like curry. This can be harder to find however its worth buying. Look in your local Indian supermarket or you can buy it online.
- White sugar- Adding a small amount of sugar to a tomato based sauce will slightly reduce the acidity, don’t worry your curry wont taste sweet!
FAQ-
- How can I make this healthier?- To make a lighter version of this curry you can use a few squirts of spray oil instead of butter and swap out the cream for a light coconut milk or cashew cream.
- How can I use the leftovers?- Curry always tastes great the next day as the flavours have time to develop more so you can reheat in the microwave or on the stove the next day. If you fancy something different you could always use your leftovers to make a vegan butter chicken pie- an Aussie favourite!
Vegan butter chicken
Tofu chunks cooked in a rich, creamy Indian spiced butter curry sauce. The perfect takeaway food but made at home.
Ingredients
- 450 g Firm tofu
For the marinade
- 200 g Coconut yogurt
- 1 tsp Garlic paste
- 1 tsp Ginger paste
- 1 tsp Turmeric
- 1 tsp Garam masala
- 1 tsp Ground cumin
- 1 tsp Ground coriander
- 1 tsp Ground fenugreek
For the sauce
- 2 tbsp Dairy free butter
- 1 Brown onion- diced
- 600-700 g Tomato passata
- 125 ml Dairy free pouring cream
- 1 tbsp Tomato paste
- 1 tsp Garlic paste
- 1 tsp Ginger paste
- 1 tsp Garam masala
- 1 tsp Ground coriander
- 1 tsp Ground cumin
- 1 tsp Fenugreek
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp White sugar
Garnish-
- Fresh coriander or parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C
- To a large mixing bowl add all of the marinade ingredients.
- Tear up the tofu into bite sized chunks and add to the bowl with the marinade.
- Stir well ensuring the tofu is fully coated in the marinade. Leave in the fridge to marinate for at least 20 minutes but the longer the better.
- Meanwhile get started on making the sauce. Add the butter to a deep frying pan and melt.
- Add the diced onion and fry on medium heat until softened.
- Add the garlic and ginger paste. Stir for a minute.
- Next add the tomato paste and spices. Stir well to coat the onions.
- Add the jar of passata and half a jar of water to wash out the jar.
- Pop the lid on and simmer for 15 minutes on low heat.
- Now line a baking tray with baking paper and add the marinated tofu pieces onto the tray. Make sure to leave a space between each piece so they don’t stick together.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- If you want to blend the sauce do this now, however this is optional.
- Once the tofu is done add it to the pan with the sauce, next add the cream and stir well. Simmer for 5 more minutes.
- Now serve up with some fresh naan or basmati rice and enjoy.
Notes
Sauce consistency- Depending on how lazy I’m feeling I often blend the sauce before adding the tofu to get that silky smooth curry. Although blending can be a messy job and dirty more dishes so if you don’t mind a chunkier sauce you don’t need to blend it.
Spice- Butter chicken is usually a fairly mild curry- it was made to adapt to the western palette so my recipe contains no chilli however if you love spice please do add some. Just add some chilli powder when adding the spices for the sauce. You could also use chilli flakes if you are going to blend the sauce.
If you love curry you can find more of The Plant Bowls curry recipes below...
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