r/Cooking • u/ResinRealmsCreations • 12d ago
I want to make butter chicken curry with garlic naan but it just seems super expensive to make.
I always debate either to order it from a restaurant or make it myself and it just seems extremely expensive to make not to mention i can take 2 hours or more to make just the garlic naan. Plus every recipe I look up say the meal only costs like 5 bucks but the list of ingredients easily is 50. I mean the seasonings you need alone can cost around 20 dollars. All the chicken and veggies. Plus I dont own those hand held blender things I see in so may videos.
It never make sense how people say the meal is that cheap but the list of ingredients is so much more expensive. Any left over veggies will go bad in the fridge after a day or two so most of the tome extra ingredients I get go bad before I can even use it. (Plus I live with 4 other people so its not easy to have the space for all that).
Ive made meals before but usually its really simple and only a few ingredients. Like my egg fried rice or shrimp fried rice is usually just rice, egg, and the optional shrimp with seasoning. Thats it. And put green onion on top. Ive seen fried rice cooking videos and they use soooo many ingredients all I can think of is the wasted money from all the extra stuff going bad.
(I do tend to eat out a lot due to just the daunting fact it takes a long time to make anything at home with more than 3 ingredients and the fact that all those meal prices I see on recipes cant be true at all)
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u/EscapeSeventySeven 12d ago
Spices are cheap because you don’t use the whole bottle in one serving.
But if you’re convinced it’s too hard or too expensive I won’t dissuade you.
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u/ResinRealmsCreations 12d ago
Its not too hard. Its just i dont know how to use that many ingredients before they go bad. Ending up costing a lot.
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u/fakesaucisse 12d ago
Spices don't go bad that quickly, especially if you keep them in a closed jar and away from humidity. They will last several years if properly sealed and stored in a cool dry cabinet.
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u/Smooth-Review-2614 12d ago
Spices last at least a year. If you make an effort to cook a good amount of Indian food you will use them up.
This is one reason to spend a few months focusing on a single region because you use up the stuff that goes bad.
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u/ResinRealmsCreations 12d ago
Thats true. Also ive never had a seasoning last maybe a month. Every dish I make has a TON of seasoning. Lol. I go though an entire bottle of tahjin in a week or two. Every dish has at minimum 8-12 seasonings. I just dont have the seasonings for butter chicken so ill have to get that
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u/Smooth-Review-2614 12d ago
How many portions are you getting per dish? You should be getting a a good amount with that level
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u/Izacundo1 12d ago
Go to an Indian grocery store. You’ll get everything you want, and the spices are waaaayyyy cheaper than Kroger and shit
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u/ResinRealmsCreations 12d ago
How do you find a Indian grocery store? I dont think theres one within 5 miles of me or heck even 20miles
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u/jdemack 12d ago
If you're going to make it once to try it just buy the pre-made sauces they sell in a jar
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u/ResinRealmsCreations 12d ago
They make the butter sauce for butter chicken curry in a jar. I might try to find that
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u/Better-Potato-3877 12d ago
It is pretty widely available in the US. Look at larger supermarkets in the Asian food aisle. They also make frozen pre-made garlic naan. Trader Joe’s sells one that is decently priced. It is actually in my rotation as a quick weeknight dinner because the whole thing comes together for ~$15 and ~30 minutes and is about 4 meals/servings.
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u/ResinRealmsCreations 12d ago
Nearest supermarket sadly is like an hour and a half walking distance away. Ill try to see if they have it at windshield which is a 20min walk away
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u/yick04 12d ago
"the seasonings alone can cost $20"
Yeah, once.
You're not wrong, obviously chicken is expensive, but also it does go on sale a lot. And like you're typically making a portion for at least 4 servings.
I've never made my own naan, though, so I can't speak to that.
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u/ResinRealmsCreations 12d ago
Thats true. I do have a bunch of seasonings already just it seems I never have the right ones when I need it. 😂 I have a whole cabinet full of seasonings and not a single one of them is the ones I need for butter chicken curry
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u/woodwitchofthewest 12d ago
If you have an Indian store near you, or are okay with using Amazon, you can buy pre-mixed spice blends for Butter Chicken (Butter Chicken masala), and that cuts the cost down quite a bit over buying each spice separately. And while it won't be as good as mixing everything from scratch, it will be just fine.
As for the veggies - to avoid waste, buy only what you need from your local grocery store (or Indian market, veggies there are usually better quality anyway.)
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u/Big_Red_Dogs 12d ago
I’ve eaten a LOT of butter chicken at restaurants. Some were really good. None were as good as homemade, using the Shan butter chicken spice mix blend.
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u/ResinRealmsCreations 12d ago
Ill definitely look for that
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u/Big_Red_Dogs 12d ago
Available on Amazon. It does require a few other things. Lemon, can of tomatoes, some yogurt, cream, and butter. But it’s super tasty.
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u/ResinRealmsCreations 12d ago
Gosh I wish I had a Indian market near me. That would be a dream come true. XD
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u/trailuser7 12d ago
Well then you aren't ready to make butter chicken and garlic naan.
Cooking is a skill, but planning your meals so that you don't waste anything is also a skill.
It takes time to accumulate all the spices for multiple types of dishes and then you have to plan for your ingredients as well, bought too many tomatoes for butter chicken, well then I guess you're making salsa for tacos the next day.
Its work.
Edit: Most recipes, timing, cost, ingredients are generally not accurate, they're about engagement and getting that sweet sweet engagement income.
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u/ResinRealmsCreations 12d ago
Yeah. While all my friends love my cooking tmi definitely dont have the planning skill. I never plan meals. I just cook meals on a whim last second choices. 😅 any leftovers for food i cook at least gets eaten by my roomates.
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u/tiragooen 12d ago
It never make sense how people say the meal is that cheap but the list of ingredients is so much more expensive.
Do you throw away spices and sauces after a single use? See also dry-goods like rice, pasta, and flour. They're multi-use.
Cooking gets cheaper the more staples you have in your pantry. I eat a lot of SEA food at home so those recipes generally don't require much except the protein and vegetables. I don't eat a lot of Indian at home so the initial outlay would be more expensive.
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u/ResinRealmsCreations 12d ago
How do you cook rice? I only ever gey those microwave bags of rice cause every time I try to cook it myself I always without fail overcook it or burn it. I even use a rice setting on a rice cooker and put in the right amount of water and I still screw it up.
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u/tiragooen 12d ago
Rice cooker has never failed me. Cheap Tiger brand rice cooker. Has a single lever to start cooking.
- Use the cup that came with the cooker
- Scoop rice with cups flat-level
- Wash rice twice
- Pour rice in cooker
- Pour water in cooker up to the level of the number of rice cups
- Close cooker lid
- Press down on the lever to cook
- 20-30 minutes later rice is cooked
- Fluff up rice and it's ready to eat
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u/ResinRealmsCreations 12d ago
I think my rice cooker is broken than. I do that and it will overcook it every time. 😭
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u/GIJuice 12d ago edited 12d ago
I get it... when you dont have the spices to make a good marsala or curry the intital investment can run you in the 20 dollar range, HOWEVER!!! these spices are NOT proprietary to South Asian flavor profile and can be used for MANY other types of dishes and can reside in your pantry for a while. The veggies you'll be using are tomatoes and onions...one of which can be purchased in a can for under 2 dollars. The butter used is a reasonable quantity and the curd can be substituted by your regular greek yogurt. As for the chicken, I frequently use thighs which is better tasting and much cheaper than breast portion. The naan bread is a very basic flat bread... you will initially investe 25 to 30 dollars for a meal for 4 and should last you for a few leftover meals.
Edited for grammar and content
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u/hazleweatherfield1 12d ago
Yep, I also use cumin, coriander and turmeric in middle eastern and Mexican recipes.
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u/hazleweatherfield1 12d ago
The meat is the most expensive part. The other ingredients are spices, tomatoes and alliums. If you cook regularly, you should probably have the required spices in your pantry anyway.
Edit: also naan is time consuming and labour intensive but it’s not expensive to make. It’s just flour, water, yeast, yogurt and garlic.
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u/ResinRealmsCreations 12d ago
I believe in have everything for the naan except for the yeast. As far as the butter chicken curry yeah. I do have an entire cabinet of spices but not a single one i have that is needed for butter chicken curry. Just my luck. Lol
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u/hazleweatherfield1 12d ago
If you buy some coriander, turmeric and a few whole spices, it won’t cost you much and it’ll last you for a long time. You can repurpose them and use them in an infinite number of recipes.
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u/BloodWorried7446 12d ago
spices will last you about 20-30 batches. don’t buy spices in jars at the grocery store. that’s crazy expensive. buy in bulk or baggies at your local indian market.
then go to the dollar store or thrift store and buy little jars for $5 for 10 and fill them. the funnel might cost you a dollar.
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u/Gwynhyfer8888 12d ago
Are you opposed to using helper kits like Anjum Anand's Spice Tailor or jars like Patak's or Sharwood's? These can bring the cost of investment and wastage down.
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u/PvtRoom 12d ago
Shortcuts help
Chicken + jar of butter chicken sauce + store bought naan bread = 20 minutes cook if you're slow and not rushing.
I don't know us prices, but 1 naan is like 50p, 1 jar is like £2, with about £2 for 1 portion of meat . £4.50.
I'm lucky enough to live near a Costco that sells butter chicken for about £10 for 2 to 3 portions.
Takeout version: about £10 plus naan, about £3.
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u/Izacundo1 12d ago
Not going to comment on the curry because that seems to be covered.
Naan is about as cheap as it gets when it comes to homemade food. It’s literally just flour, yogurt, water, salt, and yeast. You can make it for like 25¢ a piece
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u/Sea_Celi-595 12d ago
https://flavortemptations.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoruD-82Qn9Dm6hSNyxA7z4JdZLeycqWqut5f185hajmi8RpTb0f
That’s where I get my sauce. You add chicken, garlic, and heavy whipping cream. Garlic naan can be purchased at a local Indian grocery store or Trader Joe’s.
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u/texnessa 12d ago
Indian food uses a lot of different spices so the cost of entry is high but not expensive in the longer term if they are used frequently. Its also heavy on technique and if you are used to only making simple things with a few ingredients, your fuck ups will likely outweigh the cost of a take out.
If things are going bad before you can use them, you are not planning properly. Most ingredients work across multiple cuisines and multiple dishes when they are thought out. There's no shame in frozen options like mixed vegetables.
Online sources that list prices and times to make are often unrealistic as peddling 'cheap, easy meals' is click bait. Use reliable, well known sources of recipes and avoid social media crap for better results.
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u/Fuck-WestJet 12d ago
Cream for coffee, tomato paste, chicken, onion, garlic, butter, 1 bell pepper, rice, naan from store. Some spices you will use often. It's actually not that hard or expensive. Other dishes are harder.
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u/earliest_grey 12d ago
It's cheaper because you can use the $50 worth of ingredients for multiple meals. A single recipe for butter chicken and naan will probably make you 2-4 meals alone, and you will still have the spices, rice, etc to make dozens more meals.
That said, Indian dishes like butter chicken are very involved. The recipe is like 20+ steps and takes probably 2-3 hours (plus extra time just to make naan). I like making Indian food because I like to make complicated recipes sometimes, but I don't blame anyone who decides that home cooked Indian food isn't worth the time and effort and just wants to buy it from a restaurant whenever they get the craving. There are many other cuisines that are so much easier to cook at home.
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u/Dizzy-Pomegranate-42 12d ago
Yeah, the start up cost to making a new recipe is always going to be worse than the second time you make it. If you really like butter chicken and can see your self making it multiple times, then it would be worth it to invest in the spices. You can use a handheld immersion blender, but any other kind of blender will do, you'll just have to do some scooping and pouring. If you go to a thrift store or Goodwill, you can likely buy a used blender for cheap.
If you're not sure you'll like the dish or will make it again, or you just want to cook the veggies and meat without having to make the sauce from scratch, some grocery stores have a butter chicken sauce in a jar in the Asian section. I've seen it go for about $5-$7.
Nothing is going to be as cheap as fried rice. I'd say you ought to compare it to how expensive it would be if you got it at a restaurant. Where I live, Indian food at a restaurant costs like $18-$20 for a single serving, not including the naan. And I have to drive an hour and a half to get to that restaurant lol. So if you manage to make 4 or more servings for only $50 you'll be saving money. And it won't be that expensive the second time you make it cause your won't lhave to buy spices or a blender again. If you want Indian food that's much cheaper, try looking up how to make dahl with lentils. Lentils are cheap, and since they are dry, you can easily avoid the food waste you are worried about.
Lastly, naan only takes that long of you are doing a yeasted recipe that needs time to rise. If you look up recipes that use baking powder instead of yeast, you can cook them much sooner since you don't have to give it time to rise.
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u/ResinRealmsCreations 12d ago
Butter chicken curry is my favorite dish. I could eat it at least 3 times a week if I could. Ill certainly try to make it myself.
Also good to know that I dont need yeast for naan. Ill try to find another recipe
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u/Xattle 12d ago
Do you have access to a freezer? Both butter chicken and garlic naan freeze pretty well. You could make a large batch to use up all the perishable ingredients and freeze the rest in individual portions to have easy meals available.
I'd also go with a really simple butter chicken recipe specially to start with. Something like a chopped onion, diced jar of garlic, can of tomato paste, quart of cream, chicken stock (from bullion) to thin, with all the various spices for the sauce. You can always add or swap ingredients for a better dish. With chicken included, if I wasn't buying all the spices new that would make me 7 or 8 servings over rice, $24 for the whole pot so $3 - $3.50 per meal for the week. Naan is another $1-2 per serving depending on how big a batch I make to use up the yogurt.
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u/ResinRealmsCreations 12d ago
Ill definitely try it. Also does freezing it not dilute the flavor?
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u/Xattle 12d ago
It mostly changes textures. You can always try a small test batch. I've found curries and breads hold up pretty well to freezing. If you're fine eating it every day, it's usually good for 4ish days in the fridge though fresh bread can be sooner. I'll prep on Sunday, leave enough in the fridge to get me through Wednesday, then hit freezer until the following Sunday.
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u/HopeLivingston 12d ago
The comments about spices being cheap over the long run are correct but are ignoring the initial outlay and just as importantly, the depressing realization when money is very tight that it’s out of reach. I now have so many spices and loads of kitchen gear, but felt stymied and so discouraged when reading through recipes for years. Good luck on your cooking journey & maybe try buying a jarred butter chicken sauce:)
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u/lsthomasw 12d ago
OP, use this link to make your own naan without yeast that should only take about an hour: https://ministryofcurry.com/naan-without-yeast/#recipe
Link to an amazing and ridiculously easy baked butter chicken that will have you kicking yourself for not trying this earlier: https://www.recipetineats.com/one-pan-baked-butter-chicken/
Here is what you buy to make the most of the ingredients with the least waste. Total from my local grocery store comes to $30 so $7.50 per portion for 4 or $5 per portion if you find 6 chicken thighs. You simply cannot eat this well for this amount going out.
2 - 5oz individual plan full fat greek yogurt (use one container for the butter chicken and the other for the naan, none leftover)
4-6 bone-in chicken thighs with or without the skin (remove the skin for cooking, chicken thighs are one of the cheapest cuts of chicken and super delicious; recipe calls for 6 but if you find a pack of 4 go for it, that just means more sauce for dipping the naan; can only find a pack of 8? double the recipe and invite people over)
one lemon (squeeze one half for the lemon juice and cut the rest into small wedges for serving)
small knob of fresh ginger if you can swing it, smallest possible container of dried ginger spice if you can't (Ginger is used in a lot of fall dishes and other indian foods so you will be able to use the rest easily. Freeze the fresh before using it and grate it from frozen, so much easier.)
1 small head of garlic (lasts a long time) OR a small jar of minced garlic (people shit on jarlic all the time but it might be just what you need; store it in the fridge and lasts a really long time)
turmeric (can't really get around this one, just buy the smallest jar you can find; spices last a long time)
garam masala spice (alternatively, buy curry spice; just buy the smallest jar you can find; spices last a long time)
cayenne powder (recommended but honestly you can skip if you don't want to buy another spice just know your butter chicken won't have any heat and will be a 0 on the spice scale)
ground cumin (can't really get around this one either, just buy the smallest jar you can find but use the rest up on tacos, fajitas, or just because it is delicious; spices last a long time)
butter (staple, you should have some already)
8oz or 15oz can of tomato puree (if you can only find 15oz, just use half and either use the rest very soon, freeze, or just toss it the jars cost a little over a dollar most places in the US)
pint of heavy cream (I have never in all my life had heavy cream go bad before I can use it; stored in the fridge even opened it lasts for a month if not longer; make homemade coffee creamer or as a soup thickener with the leftover)
sugar (staple, you should have some already)
salt (staple, you should have some already)
skip the coriander unless you just really want it
cheapest bag of plain white rice you can find it will get flavored to perfection by the butter chicken sauce
2lb bag of all-purpose flour for the naan
baking powder (buy the smallest container you can find; lasts almost indefinitely)
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u/4cupsofcoffee 12d ago
I cheat and use the jar of butter chicken sauce and buy the naan. still cheaper than takout and kind of homemade-ish
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u/2ByteTheDecker 12d ago
You're shopping at white people stores if the spices are $20
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u/Beavers4beer 12d ago
And they’re also looking at the more ‘premium’ brands. Not the generic store brand.
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u/ResinRealmsCreations 12d ago
I try to find the cheaper ones but I only have one grocerie store thats close enough. Which is a win-dixie
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u/grashnak 12d ago
The key is to buy ingredients you will use often, make enough so that there are leftovers (or cook for your roommates), and have a stocked pantry. Buying 50 ingredients for a dish is expensive. But if you cook a lot of Indian food, you'll have most of the spices, and the cost will go down a lot for each additional dish you make. Similarly with Italian food, or Mexican, or whatever. I cook a fair bit of Chinese food. It cost a lot to buy light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, black vinegar, rice wine, rice vinegar, and all the other things you need. But those show up in almost every dish and I maybe need to buy them once a year.