Lactose-Free Butter Chicken
Butter chicken's velvety sauce usually comes from cream and yoghurt — a double dose of lactose. This version keeps the richness with lactose-free cream and a lactose-free yoghurt marinade, so the nation's favourite curry won't sit heavy afterwards.
The creaminess in butter chicken comes from cream and a yoghurt marinade. Swapping both for their lactose-free versions — and leaning on ghee, which is naturally lactose-free — keeps every bit of the richness without the dairy load.
What you'll need
- 600g chicken thigh, diced
- 1/2 cup lactose-free plain yoghurt lactose-free
- 2 tbsp butter or ghee low lactose
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves + 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 2 tbsp garam masala (plus 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp paprika)
- 400g tomato passata
- 150ml lactose-free cream (or lactose-free milk) lactose-free
- to taste salt, sugar, fresh coriander
How to make it
Marinate. Toss the chicken with the lactose-free yoghurt, half the garlic-ginger and 1 tbsp garam masala. Leave 15 minutes (or overnight).
Brown the chicken. Heat a little butter in a pan and sear the chicken in batches until coloured. Set aside — it'll finish in the sauce.
Build the sauce. Melt the rest of the butter, soften the onion, then add the remaining garlic-ginger and spices. Cook until fragrant, about a minute.
Simmer. Pour in the passata and a splash of water. Simmer 10 minutes until thickened and rich, then return the chicken and cook through, ~8 minutes.
Finish with cream. Stir through the lactose-free cream, a pinch of sugar and salt to taste. Warm through without boiling. Scatter with coriander and serve with rice or naan.
Little tips that help
- Ghee is essentially lactose-free and adds an authentic depth — a great swap for the butter.
- Lactose-free cream won't split, but add it off a hard boil to keep it silky.
- Make the sauce ahead; it deepens in flavour overnight.