If you love Indian food as much as I do, you are going to LOVE this recipe I created. In the world of fitness, going to an Indian restaurant and ordering Butter Chicken is pretty much a no go. So I had to improvise because there was no way I could live life without Indian food, especially butter chicken. Now, I guess you can't really call this 'Butter' chicken considering there is no butter, cream, or even ghee used, but it tastes so similar and you won't know the difference because it is full of flavour.
Healthy Butter Chicken - serves 6-8
1 8oz container non-fat Greek yogurt
3-4 chicken breasts
2 tbsps minced garlic
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1/2 tsp chili powder
3 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 small red chili peppers, chopped
2 large onions, chopped
1/2 cup raw cashews
2 whole cinnamon sticks
5 whole cardamon pods
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves
1 tbsp garam masala powder
1 tsp chili powder (optional)
1 cup canned organic tomato sauce (not ketchup)
3 tbsps brown xylitol natural sweetener
Salt to taste
Serve with whole wheat naan and/or brown rice.
1. Cut chicken breasts into cubes. Mix together the yogurt, garlic, ginger, 1/2 tsp chili powder and salt in a bowl. Add the chicken cubes and marinate overnight, or a few hours if that's all the time you have.
2. Heat a deep dish pan to just over medium heat and spray with oil. When oil is hot, add all the chicken and yogurt mixture to pan. Cook until chicken has just browned but not necessarily cooked all the way through. Empty into another bowl and set aside.
3. Spray the same pan with a little more oil on medium heat, leave any remnants from the chicken/yogurt. Add the onions, cinnamon sticks, and cardamon pods. Cook until onions have started to soften. Add the chillies, tomatoes, raw cashews, and 1 tbsp garlic. Cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add cumin, coriander, fenugreek, and garam masala. Stir well to combine. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and sweetener. Cook for a further 5 minutes or until everything becomes very soft, almost mushy is fine.
5. Take off heat and set aside to cool down. Remove the cinnamon sticks and cardamon pods.
6. Once the mixture has cooled down enough, put batches of it into your blender. Depending on the size of your blender this can be done in two to four batches. Blend until very smooth.
7. Pour blended sauce back into the same pan and put on low to medium heat seating. Add the remaining chili powder bit by bit until you have reached desired 'hotness'. Pour chicken and yogurt into sauce and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked right through. Check this by taking out the biggest cube and cutting in half to make sure there is no pink. Season with salt once you are confident the chicken is fully cooked.
8. If mixture is too thick for your liking, add more canned tomato sauce. Serve hot over whole wheat naan bread and brown rice (I usually skip the rice. Too many carbs when eating a naan bread as well).
TIP; Taste taste taste. Like any great cook, they continually taste their food as they cook it. I find that with this particular dish, I have to taste it regularly throughout the process to see if the amount of spices are correct. Because the size of tomatoes and onions can vary greatly, it will impact the quantity of spices needed. I usually start by adding more garam masala before anything else. But just add bit by bit, you don't want to over-season. You can't take out the spice, but you can always add more in.
Healthy Butter Chicken - serves 6-8
1 8oz container non-fat Greek yogurt
3-4 chicken breasts
2 tbsps minced garlic
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1/2 tsp chili powder
3 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 small red chili peppers, chopped
2 large onions, chopped
1/2 cup raw cashews
2 whole cinnamon sticks
5 whole cardamon pods
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves
1 tbsp garam masala powder
1 tsp chili powder (optional)
1 cup canned organic tomato sauce (not ketchup)
3 tbsps brown xylitol natural sweetener
Salt to taste
Serve with whole wheat naan and/or brown rice.
1. Cut chicken breasts into cubes. Mix together the yogurt, garlic, ginger, 1/2 tsp chili powder and salt in a bowl. Add the chicken cubes and marinate overnight, or a few hours if that's all the time you have.
2. Heat a deep dish pan to just over medium heat and spray with oil. When oil is hot, add all the chicken and yogurt mixture to pan. Cook until chicken has just browned but not necessarily cooked all the way through. Empty into another bowl and set aside.
3. Spray the same pan with a little more oil on medium heat, leave any remnants from the chicken/yogurt. Add the onions, cinnamon sticks, and cardamon pods. Cook until onions have started to soften. Add the chillies, tomatoes, raw cashews, and 1 tbsp garlic. Cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add cumin, coriander, fenugreek, and garam masala. Stir well to combine. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and sweetener. Cook for a further 5 minutes or until everything becomes very soft, almost mushy is fine.
5. Take off heat and set aside to cool down. Remove the cinnamon sticks and cardamon pods.
6. Once the mixture has cooled down enough, put batches of it into your blender. Depending on the size of your blender this can be done in two to four batches. Blend until very smooth.
7. Pour blended sauce back into the same pan and put on low to medium heat seating. Add the remaining chili powder bit by bit until you have reached desired 'hotness'. Pour chicken and yogurt into sauce and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked right through. Check this by taking out the biggest cube and cutting in half to make sure there is no pink. Season with salt once you are confident the chicken is fully cooked.
8. If mixture is too thick for your liking, add more canned tomato sauce. Serve hot over whole wheat naan bread and brown rice (I usually skip the rice. Too many carbs when eating a naan bread as well).
TIP; Taste taste taste. Like any great cook, they continually taste their food as they cook it. I find that with this particular dish, I have to taste it regularly throughout the process to see if the amount of spices are correct. Because the size of tomatoes and onions can vary greatly, it will impact the quantity of spices needed. I usually start by adding more garam masala before anything else. But just add bit by bit, you don't want to over-season. You can't take out the spice, but you can always add more in.
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