Our Family
Butter Chicken
Recipe by Nicola Scruby, Nutritionist
There's growing evidence to suggest that a healthy, diverse gut microbiome in adults is supported by eating around 30 different plant foods per week. Don't worry, this isn't limited to just vegetables! Think fruits, legumes, wholegrains, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices and vegetables. Now... let's be real. That MAY be achievable for adults, but for children, especially those going through a very committed beige phase, it can feel completely unrealistic.
Why this recipe
This is one of the reasons we created Immune Protein, to help fill the nutritional gaps when variety isn't happening consistently. But when we do find a winning family recipe that sneaks in loads of plants and actually gets eaten? We share it immediately.
So here it is. Our family-favourite butter chicken, packed with 11 different plant foods, blended, nourishing and toddler-approved (both our 5 year old and 2.5 year old eat this!).
Ingredients
- 500 g chicken thighs
- Ghee or coconut oil
- 1 brown onion, finely chopped
- 1 zucchini, grated
- 1 carrot, grated
- ¼ Kent pumpkin, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- ¼ can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar or maple syrup (optional)
- 250 ml bone broth or good-quality stock
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 tbsp cashew butter
- 1 tbsp tapioca flour or cornflour mixed with 3 tbsp water (optional, for thickening)
- 3 capsules Whole Iron + C sprinkled in sauce (optional)
Method
- 01 Preheat oven to 160°C.
- 02 Season the chicken with half of the spices. Heat ghee or coconut oil in a cast-iron or oven-safe pot over medium heat. Brown the chicken on both sides, then remove and set aside.
- 03 Add a little more ghee to the pot. Sauté the onion and garlic until softened.
- 04 Add the pumpkin, zucchini, carrot and remaining spices. Cook until fragrant.
- 05 Pour in the bone broth/stock, crushed tomatoes and coconut sugar (if using). Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the pumpkin is soft.
- 06 Use a stick blender (or transfer to a blender) and blend until smooth to form a thick sauce.
- 07 Stir through the coconut milk and cashew butter, then add the chicken back into the pot.
- 08 Cover with a lid and transfer to the oven. Cook low and slow for 2.5 hours, then shred chicken or break apart into smaller pieces with a spoon.
- 09 If you'd like a thicker sauce, stir in the tapioca or cornflour slurry during the final 10 minutes of cooking.
- 10 Serve with bone broth and ghee rice, chutney, yoghurt and banana, and/or papadams.
