The Best Easy Low Calorie Butter Chicken (that's still authentic)

No ratings yet

The Best Easy Low Calorie Butter Chicken (that's still authentic)

This easy one pot Butter Chicken sticks to the traditional recipe as much as possible with a few lower calorie swaps to make a high protein, lower fat version of the takeout favorite.

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Marinating Time4

Total Time5

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: Easy recipe, Indian, One pot

Servings: servings

Calories: 562kcal

Author: Jenna

Equipment

1 large pot or saucepan
1 immersion blender or stand blender

Ingredients

Chicken Marinade

1 ½ lbs chicken breast, cut into cubes
2 cloves garlic, crushed or grated
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp garam masala
½ tsp Kashmiri chili powder (see Note 1)
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp coriander
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp salt
½ cup fat free plain Greek yogurt

Butter Chicken Gravy

1 tsp avocado oil or avocado oil cooking spray
1 tbsp salted butter, divided
1 small onion, diced
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1-2 green chilies, seeded and diced, optional
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder (see Note 1)
½ tsp cardamom, optional
¾ tsp salt, or more to taste
2 cups Roma tomatoes, diced (canned diced tomatoes or passata also work great; see Note 2)
½-1 cup water or chicken broth, for blending
½ cup light cream (5%)
1 ½ tsp dried fenugreek (don't skip this; see Note 3)

For Serving

Fresh cilantro, chopped, to garnish
Cream, for drizzling, optional
3 cups cooked Basmati rice (1 cup dry)
Garlic naan

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the Chicken Marinade

In a glass bowl (to prevent turmeric stains) combine chicken and all marinade ingredients and mix until well combined and chicken is coated
Cover and refrigerate; marinate chicken for at least 30 minutes, but ideally a few hours or overnight for better flavor

Butter Chicken Gravy

Heat a large pot over medium high heat then spray with avocado oil spray and add 1 tsp of butter
Add the chicken and the marinade; sear for 1-2 minutes on each side then remove from heat and set aside

If your pot is not large enough to do this in 1 layer, sear the chicken in batches so that it browns instead of steams)

Add the onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes until softened, seasoning with salt
Add the garlic, ginger and chilies and sauté for 30 seconds until fragrant
Add the tomato paste and spices except the salt then toast for 30 seconds
Add the tomatoes and stir then scrape the bottom of the pan well
Cook for 8-10 mins until tomatoes are beginning to break down and reach a saucy consistency
Using an immersion blender (my favorite method) or by transferring the contents of the pot to a stand blender, blend until smooth, adding between ½ cup - 1 cup water or chicken broth as needed
Stir in the cream, then return the chicken to the pot, cover and cook for 8-10 minutes until chicken is cooked through
Stir in the remaining 2 tsp of butter
Gently crush the fenugreek leaves by hand then add them to the pot and stir (see Note 3)
Top with chopped fresh cilantro and optionally a little more cream then serve with Basmati rice, garlic naan or both

Video

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jenna (@cravingsbyjenna)

Notes

Note 1: If possible, use Kashmiri chili powder both for color and authentic flavor in this recipe. Some chili powders can be spicier than others, so start with less and add more to taste. If you can't find Kashmiri chili powder, use a mixture of paprika and cayenne (about ¾ tsp paprika and ¼ tsp cayenne for each tsp of Kashmiri chili powder)

Note 2: I use fresh tomatoes in this recipe when I have them on hand, but canned diced tomatoes or even pureed tomatoes like passata will work great here.

Note 3: Fenugreek leaves, also known as methi leaves, give butter chicken its signature flavor. They add a warm, earthy maple flavor that will give your butter chicken a restaurant quality taste, so don't skip it.

Nutrition Facts in the recipe card below are calculated automatically and may be inaccurate. Nutritional information for this recipe includes Basmati rice. For more accurate nutrition information, refer to the macros below. Macros in the Recipe Notes section are calculated using a Macro Calculation App but will differ slightly based on ingredients used in individual variations. Nutritional information for this recipe is based on one serving.

Macros per serving: 338 calories/47g protein/18g carbs/10g fat
Marcos including 45g dry Basmati rice, cooked: 498 cals/51g protein/54g carbs/10g fat

Nutrition