Clean Eating - Butter Chicken

Oh, hello there from the Windy City :) I believe you've met the rest of the girls, but me. Better late than never...it's Anna here. So, tonight I cooked butter chicken for mi familia. We all know, butter chicken at the Indian restaurant is so finger licking good but the calories per serving will hurt if you're trying to watch what you eat. A serving of butter chicken for 490 calories? No, thank you. Those calories will go straight to your butt, I tell you. No wonder I can't fit into my old skinny jeans hahaha. Well, afraid not. Here's the clean version of butter chicken.

Boneless chicken, cut into 1-inch cubes
juice of 1 lemon or 2 limes
Greek yogurt
1 tsp Chilli powder (put more if you like it spicy)
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tbsp tandoori paste
Coconut oil or olive oil
3 tbsp butter
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
1 star anise
2 cardamoms
1 tsp cumin seed
5 ripe tomatoes, blended
Ketchup (I use Green Valley Ranch Ketchup)
1 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp agave nectar
1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves
1/2 cup coconut milk
Cilantro to garnish

Method:

Marinate the chicken cubes in the mixture of Greek yogurt, chilli powder, salt, lemon juice, ginger garlic paste and tandoori paste for at least half an hour. I sautéed the cubes in the pan until cooked with coconut oil. Or you can also grill for at least 10 minutes on each side or until cooked.

To prepare the gravy, blend the ripe tomatoes with cumin seed. Heat and melt the butter. Add to it the cinnamon stick, cardamoms, cloves and star anise. Stir fry for a minute before adding the blended tomatoes and ketchup. Let it simmer on low to medium heat, half covered for about 20 minutes or until the gravy starts to thicken and the oil will form a film on top. Add the rest of the ingredients and the grilled/sautéed chicken and simmer for another 15 minutes. Garnish with cilantro. 

Enjoy! 

Love,
Anna