I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Chicken

Butter Chicken Recipe | I Can't Believe It's Not Butter ChickenButter Chicken is a recipe I have always loved, especially since I discovered Jimmy’s Butter Chicken on the Masterchef Australia website.  With recent changes to our diet and lifestyle, I have had to come up with some tweaks to this butter chicken recipe to make it ‘health friendly’.

In this recipe, I have tweaked Jimmy’s Butter Chicken recipe (the delicious spices and flavours are to Jimmy’s credit) to reduce the fat content and to fit the Saute Pan. I hope you enjoy my I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Chicken recipe!

This recipe has 2 components – Tandoori Chicken and the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Sauce. It is recommended the chicken is marinated for a minimum of 3 hours or overnight if possible.

tandoori chicken

If you like Tandoori Chicken, this recipe is great for school lunches to put into a wrap with some salad or on skewers for the bar-be-que with some lime juice and fresh coriander.

prep time: 3 hours – overnight
cooking time: 15 mins
serves: 6 – 8 with rice

the ingredients

1kg chicken thigh fillets, cut in three
juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp kashmiri chilli powder
1/2 tspn salt
1 cup no-fat natural yogurt (I recommend tamar valley no-fat all natural tasmanian yogurt)
2 tspn garlic paste, minced on microplane/grater
2 tspn ginger paste, minced on microplane/grater
2 tspn garam masala
1 tspn dried fenugreek leaves
1 tbsp sunflower oil

the fun

  • add all marinade ingredients except the sunflower oil into a bowl and mix well
  • coat chicken pieces with marinade and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight
  • pre-heat oven grill and place chicken on a grill rack with a tray underneath to catch the drippings
  • grill for 8 – 10 minutes, brush with oil
  • turn chicken over and grill for another 4 – 5 minutes until the chicken is cooked
  • set aside to rest

i can’t believe it’s not butter sauce

prep time: 10 mins
cooking time: 1 hour
serves: 6 – 8 with rice

the ingredients

2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 large brown onion, chopped
1 tspn ginger paste, minced on microplane/grater
1/2 green chilli, finely chopped
3 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
2g blade mace
2 tbsp cashew paste
600g ripe tomatoes, chopped
50ml tomato puree
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 tspn salt
1 tspn honey
1 tspn garam masala
1 tspn kashmiri chilli powder
1 tspn dried fenugreek leaves
100ml no-fat natural yogurt (recommendation above)
green chilli, chopped for garnish
fresh coriander for garnish
no-fat natural yogurt for garnish

the fun

  • heat oil in saute pan over a medium heat for 2 mins
  • add onion and cook until translucent
  • add ginger paste, green chillies, cardamom, mace and cashew paste and fry off for a further 2 mins
  • add tomatoes, tomato puree, stock and sale and simmer, stirring occasionally for 5 mins
  • remove from heat and set aside to cool
  • once cooled, blend to a puree to make a smooth sauce
  • strain through a sieve
  • return sauce to the Saute Pan and simmer over a low heat
  • add honey and the pre-cooked tandoori chicken pieces, along with the drippings from the tray
  • stir and simmer for 3 – 4 minutes
  • sprinkle over garam masala, kashmiri chilli powder and dried fenugreek leaves
  • add dollops of the no-fat natural yogurt and stir through
  • garnish with green chillies, fresh coriander and no-fat natural yogurt
  • serve with rice or naan bread

notes

You can find most of the spices in any Indian grocer or online store.

recipe inspired by

Jimmy Seervai from Masterchef Australia series.

Print Friendly

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

advert

No comments yet.

Leave a Reply