Bal's No-Butter Butter Chicken

"Entered for safe-keeping, from Bal Arneson, "Spice Goddess". I generally enjoy her recipes and I can't wait to try this lightened version of one of our favorite dishes, a very mild curry. I started using grapeseed oil because of Bal; it has a high smoke point and the sautéed food tastes "clean". I have learned that in Indian cuisine it is paramount to have fresh spices. I store my ground spices in the freezer. For this dish, you could puree the onion, garlic and ginger in a food processor prior to cooking, which will ensure a smooth, thick sauce. Serve with roti or rice."
 
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Ready In:
27mins
Ingredients:
14
Serves:
4
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ingredients

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directions

  • Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil.
  • When it starts to get hot, add the onion, garlic, and ginger and cook for 4 minutes, or until the onion is golden.
  • Add the tomato paste, brown sugar, cumin seeds, garam masala, red chile flakes, turmeric and salt. Cook for 2 minutes.
  • Add the chicken cubes and stir well to coat.
  • Add the yogurt and water and cook, stirring until the chicken is done, about 8 minutes.
  • Serve with roti or rice.

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Reviews

  1. A nice version of butter chicken which we served over brown rice. I actually watched Bal make this dish on Cooking Channel TV, so it was nice to try another of her recipes which emphasize healthier ingredients overall. I liked the idea of using greek yogurt vs. cream. The only change I made was to use less red pepper flakes as I was concerned that it would be too spicy. Made for PRMR, January, 2014.
     
  2. I love this recipe and make it at least a couple times each month. It's quick and easy.
     
  3. This recipe is awesome. For once I don't feel guilty eating Indian butter chicken! I have used Indian "simmer sauces" in the past and this is about 100x better. It tastes just like something you would get in an Indian restaurant. I made it exactly as the recipe is listed here. My only criticism is that the sauce is a little "chunky" because of the cumin seed, ginger, onion, etc. Next time, I think I will cut the cumin seed down to 1/2 T and add some ground cumin instead. I do like the cumin seed especially when it gets mixed into the rice, but 1T is a bit much. I will also probably do ground ginger instead of fresh. I might reduce the pepper flake too, if I'm not in the mood for something so spicy or if I'm cooking for others.
     
  4. Very good curry dish which we served over brown rice and with spinach. I did not know what butter chicken was but really enjoyed this dish - used olive oil instead of grapeseed oil and skipped the garam masala but otherwise made as directed. Thanks for sharing!
     
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Tweaks

  1. I usually cook the onions first - without the garlic and ginger - and get them nice and brown, almost caramelized. The other tip I have is to add the yogurt at the very end after adding the water and letting the chicken simmer. I take the pan off heat when adding the yogurt to prevent it from curdling. I like it spicy so I follow the recipe pretty closely. If I have them, I will add curry leaves along with the garlic and ginger
     
  2. Very good curry dish which we served over brown rice and with spinach. I did not know what butter chicken was but really enjoyed this dish - used olive oil instead of grapeseed oil and skipped the garam masala but otherwise made as directed. Thanks for sharing!
     

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