My friend Cathy is a great example of someone who practices hospitality. She knows how to make food taste good and she cares for others by unashamedly choosing do-able meals that aren’t trying to impress, but instead hit the spot in ways that don’t break the bank. Recently Cathy sent me a number of her favourite recipes that do all these things and I’m excited to share the first of these with you. The Butter Chicken recipe that follows is delightfully easy – choose to cook this crowd pleasing favourite in either the slow cooker or in a sealed casserole dish for a few hours in the oven. Doubling the measurements listed below neatly fills a 5.5L slow cooker, and doing so is my favourite time saver, fulfilling more than one purpose with just one venture in the kitchen. If you decide to make extra to freeze, here’s a tip I read in a magazine years ago: spray the inside of plastic containers with olive or canola spray before filling. This will create a film that protects the containers from the stain of the red coloured sauce. The quantities that follow serves 10 people and costs under $15 to make.

• I kg chicken thighs, chopped into chunks
• I onion, roughly chopped
• I jar of Patak’s Butter Chicken paste (not the sauce)
• I x 400g tin of diced or crushed tomatoes
• I x 420g tin of chickpeas, drained
• 150ml cream
• Handful of chopped coriander

1. Brown chicken and onion in frypan.
2. Put in a slow cooker or a heavy based casserole dish (covered) with the whole jar of butter chicken paste, tin of tomatoes and chickpeas.
3. Cook for 2 hours in the oven, or 3 hours on high in the slow cooker or most of the day if set to low.
4. Season with salt and pepper and add cream and coriander just before serving.

•  Serve with basmati rice and microwaved pappadums.
• Raita (natural yoghurt mixed with grated or chopped cucumber) is also a yummy accompaniment.