Easy Eats: Barbecue Butter Bean Chicken
Why get takeaways when you can probably whip this spicy, creamy chicken dish in less time? Photo: Sam Parish
This recipe might just be quicker than getting takeaways and makes use of my favourite mid-week ingredient: a barbecue chook!
I like to have a cooled chook for this, which is a regular occurrence as I often grab them when they’re on sale late at night while ducking out for essentials (chocolate) when the kids are asleep. It works with a fresh chook too— all chooks are welcome. Bones in or bones out, this is a delicious mid-week meal to satisfy your Indian cravings. The spice mix is a bulk situation and great to have on hand for slipping into curries or rice.
Prep time: 10 minutes / Cooking time: 20 minutes / Serves 4
Ingredients
100g butter
1 brown onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
2cm ginger, finely grated
1 Tbsp butter chicken spice mix (trust me, it's worth having this on hand)
1 Tbsp tandoori paste (optional)
400g canned butter beans
680ml tomato passata
1 cup (250ml) cream
1 chicken stock cube
1-2 tsp brown sugar
1 x cooked BBQ chicken, cut into portions, bones left in or out depending on personal preference
Juice of 1 lemon
Cooked rice, naan bread, and greens to serve
Bulk spice mix:
2 Tbsp each ground cumin, coriander, sweet paprika
½ tsp each nutmeg, cinnamon, ground, cardamon, ground turmeric, ground cloves
Method
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes or until softened.
Add the ginger, garlic, spice mix, and tandoori paste (if using), and cook for 2 minutes or until darkened slightly.
Add the butter beans and stir to coat.
Add the passata, cream, stock cube, and brown sugar, and bring to a gentle simmer.
Add the chicken pieces and stir to coat. Cook for a further 5-10 minutes to let the flavours develop.
Add the lemon juice and season to taste.
Serve with naan bread, rice, and greens. Dip in and enjoy!
Photo: Sam Parish
Sam Parish is a Christchurch-based chef, writer and food stylist. Her food philosophy is ‘maximum of flavour, minimum of fuss’ (MOFMOF), which means she’s all about cooking smarter, not harder. She’ll be sharing delicious, fast, family-friendly food ideas every Wednesday (after road-testing them on her own whānau, of course). Sam’s first book, Cook Me is out now.
