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Vegan Butter Chicken
Baked golden tofu marinated in Indian spices and simmered in a lusciously creamy vegan butter chicken curry sauce that will leave you wanting more!
The recipe is part of the must-try vegan curries series.
General
- Creates: 4 serves
- Dietary: V | VG | GF | can be made nut-free
- Prep Time: 5 minutes + marinate overnight or for at least 2-3 hours (optional)
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes + marinating time
Ingredients
Tofu Marinade
- 1 packet firm or extra firm tofu, drained, pressed and cut into 3cm cubes
- 1 cup coconut yoghurt
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp ginger, freshly grated
Vegan Butter Chicken Curry
- 2 tbsp vegan butter (optional)*
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 cup tomato passata
- 3/4 cup coconut milk
- 1-2 tbsp maple syrup^
- 1 tsp salt, adjust to taste
- Serve with: basmati rice, naan, fresh coriander
Directions
Tofu Marinade
For the best taste, marinate the tofu in the fridge overnight or for a minimum of 2 hours. But I’ve made it many times on the go with a 10-20 minute marinade and it is still delicious! Remember to press or squeeze out the excess water from the tofu.
- Combine the tofu and the marinade ingredients together in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for at least 2 hours.
Vegan Butter Chicken Curry
- Preheat oven to 180°C and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden.
- Meanwhile, heat butter in a pot over medium heat. When melted, add in curry powder and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
- Add in tomato passata, coconut milk, maple syrup and salt. Transfer the baked tofu into the pot and turn down the heat to simmer for another 15-20 minutes.
- Serve on basmati rice or with naan and garnish with fresh coriander.
Notes
*I don’t generally use vegan butter in a lot of my cooking because I’m moving towards a whole foods plant based diet… however, vegan butter chicken is an exception because the butter adds a layer of delicious creaminess and flavour to the dish
^Similar to the above note, I usually omit added sugars in my savoury recipes. However, I’m basing the taste of this recipe off my local Indian restaurant’s butter chicken dish and the sweetness of the maple syrup really brought everything together.
Additional notes:
- Gluten-free: make sure yoghurt, rice and naan are gluten-free.
- Nut-free: if using vegan butter, make sure it’s nut-free.
How to Make it Whole Foods
At Embody Nourish, we promote a plant-based diet that comprise mainly of whole foods. This means no oil (even ‘healthy’ oils such as coconut or olive oil), refined or processed foods. However we understand that this ideal is not yet mainstream so we strive to accomodate everyone while encouraging small changes.
You can make this vegan brinjal recipe more whole foods by: (this is a pretty good whole foods recipe actually!)
- Using coconut milk instead of coconut yoghurt for the marinade
- Omitting the vegan butter and maple syrup
- Serving the curry with brown rice or wholemeal flatbread
