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No Butter-Butter Chicken

This no butter version on butter chicken is only less in calories, not in flavor.
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Prep Time 8 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Marination time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 33 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Servings 4 persons

Ingredients
  

For marinating the chicken:

  • 1 kg boneless chicken breast (or thighs)
  • 1 tsp kashmiri red chili powder (substitute: red chili powder)
  • 1 Tbsp ginger-garlic paste
  • 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp salt

For the sauce:

  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 piece ginger (5 cm)
  • 2 red chilies (substitute: green chilies)
  • 500 grams/ 5-6 tomatoes
  • 2 Tbsp ghee
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1/2 tsp red chili powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 green cardamom pods
  • 1 piece mace
  • ½ can/ 1 cup full fat coconut milk
  • 1 tsp dried fenugreek

Instructions
 

For marinating chicken:

  • Add all the marinating ingredients to the chicken and coat it well.
  • Cover and put in the fridge and let marinate for at least an hour, or preferably overnight. The longer, the better.

For the sauce:

  • Peel and roughly chop the onion and ginger, slice the red chilies, and dice the tomatoes. Keep aside.
  • Heat the ghee in a big pan on medium heat.
  • Add the chicken and spread it all over the pan in a single layer. Do not stir and let cook on this side on medium heat for 5 minutes.
  • After 5 minutes, move the chicken pieces and gently stir from time to time. Cook for a further 5 minutes, or until there are no pink spots left and the chicken is fully cooked through.
  • After the chicken is fully cooked through, remove it from the pan leaving ghee inside the pan.
  • In the same pan add your chopped onion, ginger and chilies. Saute for 2 minutes.
  • Add the chopped tomatoes. Split open the green coriander and lightly crush the mace with your hands before adding them to the pan. Saute for 5 minutes on medium low heat.
  • When the tomatoes are mushy and there is no liquid left in the pan, turn off heat and let the mixture cool down.
  • Transfer to a blender and turn it into a smooth paste.
  • Transfer this mixture back to your pan on medium low heat. When it just starts to bubble, add the coconut milk and mix well. (The sauce will look pale at this step but it will get darker with further cooking).
  • Add the cooked chicken to the sauce, and let cook on low heat for 5 minutes.
  • Turn off heat and add the dried fenugreek. Mix well.
  • Enjoy!
Keyword healthy indian food, indian curry, Keto friendly, no butter chicken, whole30 approved