$15 Fakeaway Friday: Dished by Kate’s quick and easy butter chicken

In 2022 it seems almost impossible to save money, buy good food and treat yourself all at the same time. Enter Fakeaway Fridays, the Herald’s new series where we create fake takeaway (fakeaway) meals that not only are delicious and nutritious but also come in under $15 and serve 2-4 people.

So instead of dropping $50 for a takeaway meal this Friday night, why not try a Fakeaway! It’s easier than you may think with our simple tips and tricks and partially-made products already hiding on your supermarket shelves.

There’s something SO comforting about a bowl of creamy, fragrant butter chicken. It’s New Zealand’s favourite takeaway dish for a reason! This super easy version from Kate Phillips of Dished by Kate is incredibly tasty, quick and uses a secret, very Kiwi ingredient you might be surprised by.

I love serving this butter chicken with steamed white rice and garlic naan for a proper takeaway experience. Get everything ready for the curry while your rice is cooking, then cook the butter chicken once it’s ready - it only takes 10 minutes!

Butter Chicken

Ingredients

For the butter chicken -

500g chicken thighs, cut into 2cm pieces - about $3.42 ($6.85 per kg)

50g butter (3 tablespoons) - 50c

2 garlic cloves, crushed - roughly 4c

1 cup cream - $1.93 ($3.89 for 500ml)

6 tablespoons tomato paste - about 44c

1 tablespoon tomato sauce - about 3c

1 teaspoon nutmeg - about 24c

1 teaspoon turmeric -24c

1 teaspoon ground cumin - 24c

1 teaspoon garam masala - 5g

1/2 teaspoon salt

For the rice -

1 1/2 cups (300g) long grain, white rice - 53c ($1.79 per kg)

2 1/4 cups water (540g)

1 teaspoon salt

Store-bought garlic naan, to serve - $4.39 for four pieces

Total: $12.05

Method

For the rice:

Add 1 ½ cups of rice to a small pot along with 1 teaspoon of salt and 2 ¼ cups of water. Set the pot over a medium heat. Once the top of the water is looking a little foamy and starting to bubble, turn the heat to low and put the lid on your pot. If your pot doesn’t have a lid, use a wooden board or a plate. Leave it there with the lid on, undisturbed, for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, turn the heat off and remove the pan from the stove top. Let it sit for another 10 minutes, then fluff up the rice with a fork and get ready to serve.

For the butter chicken:

In a large bowl, toss the sliced chicken thighs with the teaspoon each of nutmeg, turmeric, cumin, garam masala and ½ teaspoon of salt so the pieces are coated evenly.

Set a large frying pan over a medium heat, then add the butter and let it melt. Add the chicken to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes on each side, until the chicken is starting to brown. Add the crushed garlic cloves. Cook, stirring through the chicken, for another minute.

At this point, add the 6 tablespoons of tomato paste and 1 tablespoon of tomato sauce, and stir them through the chicken for a few minutes to intensify the flavour.

Turn the heat to low, then add the cream, and stir it through the chicken. If you do this when the pan is too hot, the cream may split, so that’s why we’re reducing the temperature first. Bring the sauce to a simmer, then cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Give it a taste, and add more salt if you think it needs it. Remove the pan from the heat, and serve with the rice and garlic naan for a proper Indian takeaway experience!