Easy Butter Chicken (Cauliflower) Dip

Background: 

As the holidays come closer and the weather becomes colder, we look to comfort food. One of the favorites in our household is a simple butter chicken dip which highlights Veda's signature spice mix. This is the perfect dish to share with friends over a few cold beers or a bottle of wine. 

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless chicken breasts or 1 head of cauliflower cut into small florets
• 1 finely chopped Vidalia or any other sweet onion 
• 1 ½ cups crushed tomatoes 
• ¼ cup coconut milk
• ¼ cup half and half or heavy cream
• ½ cup mayonnaise (optional)
• 5 oz Philadelphia brand cream cheese
• 2 tbsps Jalsa Signature Spice Mix for marinating chicken 
• 2 tbsps Jalsa Signature Spice Mix for cooking onions and tomatoes (can adjust to taste)
• Juice of ¼ lemon or to taste
• Oil or ghee

Directions: 

1. First, wash and pat dry the chicken breasts. Then, sprinkle approximately 2 tbsps of the Jalsa Spice Mix on both sides. 
2. *For vegetarian version: Toss the cauliflower florets in 1 tbsp Jalsa Spice Mix and 2 tbsp olive oil and roast in a 400 degree oven for approximately 25 minutes or until the florets are soft. 
3. Heat a pan and add enough oil to coat the bottom. Cook chicken breasts until done all the way through. Take off the heat, let cool slightly, then shred and set aside.
4. In the same pan, add the chopped onions with a little salt and sauté until translucent. Then sprinkle 2 tbsps of Jalsa Spice Mix and stir. Add 1 tbsp ghee at this point if you’d like. 
5. After about 2 minutes, add the pureed/crushed tomatoes, stir and cook until tomatoes deepen in color and the oil begins to rise to the surface.
6. At this point, add the coconut milk and stir. After about another 2 minutes, pour in the cream. Once that’s incorporated, add cubed cream cheese. Stir to dissolve, taste for salt, and add a little lemon juice.
7. At this stage, fold in the shredded chicken or the roasted cauliflower. Then finally stir in the mayonnaise, if using.  
8. Bake in a 375 degree oven covered for 20 minutes. Then turn heat up to 400 degrees, uncover and cook until the top gets golden. Serve with naan chips, bread, or crackers.  

Veda Sankaran 

Recipe Developer - Owner Jalsa By Veda

Veda is an Indian American mom, wife, teacher, and business woman living in Pittsburgh. Her professional background is in education, but she developed a love of food after 20+ years of cooking for her family. She cooks traditional Indian food, and her strength lies in creativity. She can take spices and flavors of Indian cuisine and use them to create new and unique recipes. Through constant recipe development and creating menus for local pop up dinners in Pittsburgh, she gives reigns to her creativity to use food as a medium for exploring the many facets of identity.

Find her on instagram @jalsabyveda