Balti Butter Chicken

Serves 4 - 6 Ingredients 1 packet of Nice ‘n Spicy Balti Butter Chicken Spices (most greengrocers and supermarkets stock it) 1 roasted chicken (buy ready roasted chicken at your local supermarket) Knob of butter 2t cooking oil 2 onions, chopped 2/3 heaped teaspoons ready chopped garlic 2 Heaped teaspoons ready chopped ginger 1 tin chopped tomatoes 1t salt 1t sugar 1t chicken stock Black pepper to taste 175ml plain yoghurt 4t cream – optional 50g almonds or cashews, chopped – optional Brown rice, fresh coriander & fresh tomato and onion salsa for serving

Here’s how The spice packet has instructions on the back – we just simplified it like this:

1. Heat butter and oil in heavy pot. (Mmm! Just used our new cherry red Le Creuset pot – gorgeous!)
2. Lightly fry the onion until transparent, add garlic and ginger and fry for another minute.
3. Add the first three layers of the spice and sauté until fragrant – for a minute or two.
4. Add chicken stock, tin of tomatoes and fill the tomato tin with water and add to the pot.
5. Add the 4th sachet of spice.
6. Close the lid and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.
7. Taste and add salt, sugar and pepper – let it simmer for another 15 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
8. In the meantime chop the chicken off the bone into bite-sized pieces.
9. When your sauce is nice and thick and the flavours have blended, add the chopped chicken, add yoghurt and cream and let it gently heat through.
10. Add chopped nuts.
11. Serve with rice (we used Spekko Brown Rice), fresh coriander.

Tips You can also serve the chicken with rotis, naan bread or poppadums and mixed salad (chopped tomato, onion, pineapple and cucumber) Mrs Balls chutney and atchar also work well. Serve some sliced chillies on the side for those who like more bite!