This Vegan Butter "Chicken" is cheap, easy, and delicious

If you're anything like me, you appreciate the palate-engaging experience of eating Indian food. There's something about the masterful use of aromatics in Indian cuisine that keeps every bite as good as the last. You can taste each and every layer of spice and seasoning they used, building up each bite, allowing it to become something that is far greater than the sum of its parts.

This recipe keeps it simple, but it doesn't sacrifice taste for the sake of convenience. There's no need to toast spices and chilis, no need to make your curry powder or garam masala from scratch.

What we will be doing, however, is making our own raita to go along with our dish. Raita is an Indian side dish that is similar to Greek tzatziki in appearance and use, but is made up of different ingredients. The raita recipe I will be sharing will be made with dairy, however, please feel free to substitute for a non-dairy alternative to keep this meal vegan if you wish to.

Ingredients:

For the vegan butter chicken:

1 pound of super firm tofu (make sure it is super firm, while extra firm will work fine, you will have to press it for 30+ minutes. Super firm tofu requires no pressing and can be found at most grocers)

1 large yellow onion, chopped into 3/4" pieces

1 can of tomato paste (6 0z)

1 can of coconut milk (Unsweetened, 13.5 oz)

6 cloves of garlic, minced

1 nub of ginger, about the size of your thumb, minced

4 tablespoons of curry powder

1 1/2 tablespoons of garam masala

2 teaspoons of dried crushed red chili flakes (or more, depending on desired heat level)

2 Tablespoons of canola or other neutral oil

Salt to taste

For the cucumber cilantro raita:

1 English hothouse cucumber, finely diced

1 cup of plain nonfat Greek yogurt

1/2 a bunch of cilantro, finely chopped

1 tsp of ground coriander

1 tsp of ground cumin

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 lemon, juiced

salt to taste

The process:

For the raita:

Step one: Finely dice your cucumber, mince your garlic, and add them to a bowl with the yogurt and other ingredients.

Step two: Once all the ingredients have been combined, slowly add salt to taste. Once enough salt has been added to brighten the flavors of the other ingredients, cover and add to your fridge until it's time to serve

For the vegan butter chicken:

Step one: Take your super firm tofu and dice it into 1 inch pieces. Once finished, lightly oil a baking tray and cook your tofu in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. You want to see the tofu begin to brown and take on a firm texture. This will be what allows it to hold up in the curry.

Step two: Once your tofu has been in the oven for 20 minutes, it's time to start building the curry where it will live. Begin by heating up your 2 Tbsp of oil in a wide pan on medium-high heat and adding your chopped onions in. Cook these onions until they begin to become translucent, about 5-6 minutes.

Step three: Once the onions become translucent, add in your minced garlic and ginger, stirring constantly to avoid burning, for about 2 minutes. After this, add in your curry powder, garam masala, and dried red chili flakes, allowing them to sweat with the onions, garlic, and ginger for another 2 minutes while you continue to stir.

Step four: Add in your can of tomato paste and can of coconut milk. At first, these will be very separated. Continue to stir them until the sauce begins to turn into a hue of light red. At this point, turn your heat down to allow the curry to simmer and thicken up. By now, your tofu should be ready to go, so pull it out of the oven.

Step five: With your tofu out of the oven, allow the curry mixture to simmer until it thickens up. At this point, take a test of the curry itself. Salt as needed, and add any more curry powder/garam masala/red chili flakes as desired. Once it's good to go, go ahead and add your tofu to the pan, carefully folding it in and incorporating it into the curry.

Step six: Once your tofu has been well incorporated, it's time to serve. Serve the vegan butter chicken over rice for an easy weeknight meal. Bring the raita to the table to allow people to add as much as they'd like during their meal, and enjoy.