This weekend I had a cauliflower in the fridge so I was thinking of making some cauliflower fried rice, but I wanted to eat something with it. I looked at my spice pantry and realized that I had the perfect spices to make some curry. I actually didn’t have any yogurt on hand so I decided to make it paleo by using some coconut cream. I actually ended up using some cashew butter to make this Paleo Butter Chicken and honestly I think that was the secret to this recipe.
The curry was so creamy, the spices went so well together and I couldn’t taste the coconut cream at all. This was honestly the best curry that I’ve ever made. You’ll need to use a lot of spices, but it’s definitely worth it 🙂 For this recipe, I decided to only use chicken drumsticks to go inside the curry, but I also grilled a few vegetables to go on the side. I grilled some kabocha squash, okras and lotus root. If you’ve never tried lotus root, do it!! It really reminds me of potatoes and you can do anything with it since it’s a pretty versatile veggie.
In the recipe I wrote that you could marinate the chicken for 2 hours, but honestly if you don’t have the time, it’s totally fine. If you don’t marinate the chicken, this dish should take about 45 minutes to make total, so it’s perfect for a quick weeknight dinner!
Paleo Butter Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 25 g cilantro 2-3 stems (or parsley)
Chicken Marinade
- 12 pieces chicken drumsticks about 750g
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika powder
- 1 tsp fenugreek powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 2 tsp grated ginger
- 4 cloves garlic
- 60 ml coconut cream
Curry Base
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp grated ginger
- 2 tbsp ghee or butter
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 cloves
- 1/4 tsp black cardamon seeds
- 1/4 tsp fenugreek powder
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes or cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp paprika powder
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 400 ml tomato puree or diced tomato can
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1/4 cup cashew butter
- 500 ml water
Final Marinade
- 120 ml coconut cream
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/4 tsp fenugreek powder
Instructions
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Chop the cilantro.
Chicken Marinade
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With a garlic crusher, crush the garlic cloves. In a bowl, add all of the ingredients for the chicken marinade, mix everything with your hands and make sure all of the chicken drumsticks are coated with the marinade. Leave it in the fridge to marinate for 2 hours*
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Add the 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large wok or frying pan and heat. Add the chicken and cook for 5-6 minutes, making sure all sides are getting cooked. You don't have to fully cook the chicken now as they will cook later in the curry base. Cook the drumsticks on low-medium heat and make sure they don't burn, but have some nice grill marks.
Curry Base
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With a garlic crusher, crush the garlic. With a mortar and pestle, crush the cloves and cardamon seeds. Add all of the ingredients except for the cashew cream and water. Cook the base for a few minutes until it becomes a thick paste.
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Add the cashew butter and water. Mix with a whisk until well incorporated.
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Add the drumsticks to the base. Cook for 10-15 minutes while stirring the curry as it tends to stick to the bottom as the water evaporates. The curry will become quite thick after 10ish minutes.
Final Marinade
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Add the final marinade ingredients to the pan and cook for an additional 3 minutes, stirring.
Serve with some cauliflower rice, top with the chopped cilantro and some extra coconut cream if you have some.
Omg is this like the butter chicken served at Japanese curry restaurants?? Can’t wait to make this!!
Hmm, no it’s like the Indian butter chicken!
Will try this tonight!
Awesome! Hope you like it 🙂