Butter 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.
