Butter chicken quesadilla recipe from Kwame Onwuachi

Kwame Onwuachi folds butter chicken into a quesadilla in his new cookbook All Hours, wrapping a slow-built curry, marinated chicken seared and finished in a cashew-thickened tomato sauce, between two sheets of naan instead of tortilla.

The dish belongs to the late-night hours the book is named for, built from pantry staples rather than restaurant mise en place. Naan replaces tortilla because it browns without tearing and holds the sauce inside the seal; a curry powder blend stands in for the fuller spice mix of the original, without losing the layered heat.

Ingredients

The dish holds together because naan, not tortilla, is doing the work.

• 500 g boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into large cubes
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 2 tsp curry powder, divided
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp garam masala, divided
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin, divided
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tsp salt, divided
• 2 tbsp ghee, divided
• 1/2 onion, finely diced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 green chilli, thinly sliced
• 1 tomato, blended to a pulp
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 4 naan breads
• 1 1/3 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
• Fresh coriander, to finish

Method

1. Mix the yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, 1 tsp curry powder, turmeric, 1/2 tsp garam masala, 1/4 tsp cumin, lemon juice and 1 tsp salt. Coat the chicken and refrigerate overnight; the yogurt tenderises the meat while the spices penetrate past the surface.
2. Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a small pan and sweat the onion with the cinnamon stick until soft, about 6 minutes, so the spices bloom in fat before any liquid goes in.
3. Add the remaining curry powder, garam masala, cumin and the chilli; cook for 2 minutes, then stir in the tomato pulp and simmer 20 minutes to cook out the raw acidity.
4. Stir in the cream, simmer 10 minutes more, then blend the sauce smooth. A thick, pourable sauce coats the chicken without soaking the naan through.
5. Sear the marinated chicken in the remaining ghee over medium-high heat until cooked through, 3-5 minutes a side, then toss it through half the sauce.
6. Heat a dry pan, lay down a naan, scatter cheese, add the sauced chicken, more cheese, then a second naan. Cook 5 minutes a side over medium-low heat, pressing gently, until the cheese has fully melted and the naan is crisp.
7. Cut into wedges and serve with the remaining sauce on the side for dipping, finished with coriander.

Why naan instead of tortilla

Flour tortillas crisp fast but crack under a wet filling; naan's higher hydration and slight char hold the dish together instead of letting it fall apart on the first bite. The trade-off is time: naan browns slower than a thin tortilla, so the lower heat and gentle press in step six matter more than usual.

Can I make the sauce ahead? Yes: it keeps four days refrigerated and works just as well spooned over rice, closer to how the curry was meant to be eaten before it became a quesadilla.