You’ve heard about Butter Chicken. A classic Northern Indian dish that’s become a runaway fave among London ‘takeaway’ patrons. Now, there’s a newstalgic vegetarian version of the classic, lever-aging the nutritional benefits of Chick Peas…
It’s an amazing story, how an Indian classic became a runaway Brit takeout hit. Along with its cousin, Vindaloo, Butter Chicken rose to rival London’s legendary – almost sacred – Fish and Chips as a street food favourite…
A fixture of urban life
Everybody in the UK has at least heard of Butter Chicken. And it’s become such a fixture in urban life there that it’s even spawned memes and a host of popular jokes.
What better flavour tease to get folks to try plant-based cuisine than one they’re already familiar and comfortable with?
Simple concept
The concept couldn’t be simpler… Substitute Chick Peas for Chick-en in the standard Butter Sauce recipe.
The scratch recipe offered by Delish.com recipe developer By Taylor Ann Spencer isn’t exactly in-tended as a ‘quick, easy week-night supper’. But it’s an authentic rendering of a Subcontinent classic which everybody seems to love.
As an added bonus, it exposes you to a some classic Indian flavours we don’t use here in the West. Prominent among are Fenugreek and Garam Masala (a spice blend that defines a whole culinary region in the country).
You’ll find other applications for the sauce, featuring other veggies and meats, as you explore the whole Butter Chicken phenomenon more deeply.
On the other hand…
You need not set aside a couple of hours or stock-in the exotic ingredients Spencer specifies to ex-perience Butter Chick Peas. I just use a jar of prepared Butter Chicken Sauce from the supermarket.
My go-to supermarket stocks an array of Butter Chicken Sauces including VH, Patak’s, Koohinoor, KFI and Kitchens of India, as well as several house-branded varieties.
But I do add the chopped onions spencer calls for. And sometimes (according to whim) a clove or two of minced/pressed garlic. Though the latter is NOT a traditional Butter Sauce ingredient.
My take
As I’ve said before in this space… It’s no sin to use a store-bought, prepared cooking sauce. Millions of Indian home cooks do. They’re just as busy and convenience-oriented as many of us.
I hope you’ll try Butter Chick Peas. Especially if you’re already a Butter Chicken fan. You’ll see im-mediately how friendly a plant-based supper it makes, served over Jasmine or Basmati rice with fresh, warm Naan bread on the side…
~ Maggie J.