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Butter Chicken | A Nerd Cooks
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5 from 1 vote

Butter Chicken

This Butter Chicken is delicious, fast, and easy. What's better than Indian food? Few things, in my opinion. But how about Indian food that doesn't require you to put on real pants?
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 1023kcal
Author: Lauren Pacek

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoon olive oil coconut oil, or ghee, divided
  • 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces
  • ¼ cup butter or ghee
  • 2 teaspoon garam masala
  • 2 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • 2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger minced
  • ¼ teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 6 cardamom pods cracked with the flat side of a knife
  • 15 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 1 ½ tablespoon sugar honey, maple syrup, or coconut sugar
  • cup full fat plain yogurt
  • ¾ cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • kosher salt to taste
  • fresh cilantro chopped
  • basmati rice for serving
  • naan for serving

Instructions

  • Heat a large skillet over medium heat with 1 tbs of oil/butter//ghee. Add half the chicken and cook until browned all over, but not necessarily cooked the whole way through. Remove and set aside. Add another tbs of oil/ghee and the rest of the chicken. Brown the rest of the chicken, remove it, and set it aside.
  • Turn the heat down to medium-low. Add the remaining oil/butter/ghee to the skillet and melt. Add the garam masala, paprika, coriander, ginger, chili powder, cinnamon stick, and cardamom pods and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken back into the skillet and stir it around to coat it in spices.
  • Add the tomato sauce and sweetener. and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
  • Add the yogurt, heavy cream, and lemon juice. Simmer for 5 more minutes, or until the sauce is thickened and the chicken is cooked through entirely. Add salt to taste and garnish with chopped cilantro.
  • Serve with warm basmati rice and naan.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 1023kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 63g | Fat: 68g | Saturated Fat: 32g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 33g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 375mg | Sodium: 1256mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 21g