Hey there,
my boyfriend and I found an appartment in Würzburg, Bavaria! We got up at 2 am on Monday morning to travel to Bavaria by bus - just to look at two appartements in the same house. But we fell in love with one of them and luckily we got it! We can't be more excited!
So in December we will be moving South.
But now let's talk about today's recipe. 
It's again an indin dish. I just can't get enough of indian food right now. And it's an indian dish with jackfruit once more. My boyfriend and I were so enthused about my jackfruit pakoras, so I had to get another can to do some more experiments.
Have you ever had indian Butter Chicken, also called Chicken Makhani? I pretty much always ordered it when I went out with my host family to have indian back when I was in the USA. I just couldn't resist that rich, creamy and flavorful sauce.
This vegan butter chicken has the flavor and creaminess of the original version but is much healthier. In place of butter and cream I am using cashews and coconut milk. And to not overdo on those fats you can easly make this without oil. The meat is if course replaced - by jackfruit. You can also use tofu, seitan, tempeh or even chickpeas instead. And since we are back in the indian cuisine, we can't forget those spices!
Is your mouth watering already? Ok, ok, here comes the recipe!
Recipe
Vegan Butter Chicken
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 26 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
This vegan version of butter chicken is just as good - if not better - as the original! The sauce is made with a combination of cashews and coconut milk to make it extra creamy and rich.
Ingredients
- 1 can jackfruit
- 1 onion
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 1 ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp garam masala (or more cumin)
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp turmeric (optional)
- 1 tsp coriander
- 2 tsp ginger, minced
- ¼ tsp kala namak (optional)
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- ½-1 teaspoon salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Sauce
- 3 roma tomatoes
- ¾ cup cashews (100 g)
- ½ cup coconut milk (canned)
- ⅓ cup tomato paste
- 2 tsp lemon juice, fresh
Instructions
- Pour hot water over the cashews and let sit for a few minutes.
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Rinse the jackfruit, drain and cut into smaller pieces.
- Heat some water or oil in a large pan and sautée the onion and garlic for 2-3 min. Now add the jackfruit pieces and the spices (except for salt and pepper) and cook for 1 min.
- Add the broth, bring to a boil and simmer for 4-6 min.
- In the meantime, drain the cashews and blend together with the coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato paste and lemon juice until creamy.
- Pour the sauce into the pan and sitr. Add salt and pepper and simmer for another 10-15 min to thicken. Taste and season some more if needed.
- Afterwards, serve with rice or naan bread.
Notes
Recipe adapted from "Beautifully real food" by Sam Murphy.
Maybe you've got a few friends that are not (yet) convinced of plandbased meals - I am sure you will win them over with this vegan butter chicken.
Enjoy the rest of the week!
This post is also available in de_DE.
Raksha Kamat says
Replacing jackfruit for chicken to make it vegan is a great idea. Would love to try this dish.
Melanie J says
Yes, it works great! Canned jackfruit has a very similar texture to chicken 😉 Hope you'll give it a try! If so, let me know how you liked it!
naterlee muir says
Dal makhani is yum too and easily veganized 😊 my b12 sucks despite eating lots of veg that contain it & pouring nutrional yeast on everything so I've not got round to jack fruit yet 😂
Melanie J says
It is - and so yummy! Maybe you should consider taking B12 supplements 😉
naterlee muir says
Even when I ate meat it sucked, I think I'm that type of anemic where body just can't process it. I got raised myoglobin levels which means enlarged red blood cells I duno drs don't seem awfully concerned so I'm not. I'm just a lentil, bean, pulse whatever you wanna call them addict. I got baskets and baskets of every bean I find 😆
Melanie J says
Oh wow, that doesn't sound very good. 🙁 Keep eating those lentils and beans - they're good for you! 😉
Sarah says
This is amazing! So creamy and delicious. I used chickpeas and next time I will try it using jackfruit.
Winnie says
I am so excited to try this recipe. I’ve just gone grocery shopping and bought two 400 ml cans of jackfruit. I was just wondering if 400ml is standard and enough for this recipe or if more is needed. I have never cooked with this before but I’ve heard great things as far as using it for a chicken replacement.
Melanie J says
Hi Winnie. The 400 ml can should be fine, as 400 g is pretty much the standard. I think I created this recipe using a 560g can of Jackfruit, but I've made it several times using the 400 g can. I really hope you enjoy the recipe, it's one of my favorites 🙂
Susan E Smeltzer says
Oh my goodness, I've been waiting for a recipe like this! I've had jackfruit before in a barbecue sauce and it was just like pulled pork, but I could never find the recipe. Butter chicken is even better! Thank you for posting, can't wait to try this.
Melanie J says
Hi Susan. I hope you'll give this recipe a try. I love making a big batch when I am craving indian food.