This low-calorie butter chicken recipe will make you fall in love all over again

I just love butter chicken. But I hate the calories that come with each serving. From oodles of cream to dollops of ghee, everything that makes butter chicken a drool-worthy treat–also makes it an enemy of weight loss.

But, thanks to my mother-in-law’s experimental cooking, I discovered that there is a healthier way of preparing this dish. Wondering just can you make every Punjabi’s dinner desire, butter chicken, a low-calorie preparation?

Well, here’s a recipe to help you out:

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp garlic paste
½ tsp ginger, grated
5 tomatoes, pureed
2 green chillies, halved
2 tbsp finely-chopped coriander
2 chicken breasts, chopped
1 cup curd
Salt to taste
3 cinnamon sticks
4 cloves
4 cardamoms
2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
½ cup low-fat milk

Preparation:
1. In a bowl, combine half the garlic paste, salt, one teaspoon of the red chilli powder, and curd. Add the chicken breast and cover the bowl. Let the chicken marinate in the mixture for an hour.

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2. For the gravy, heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and throw in the cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves. Let the oil soak in their aroma and flavour for 2 minutes, after which add the remaining garlic paste and the grated ginger. Stir the ingredients, ensuring that they don’t burn, until the paste turns light brown in colour.

3. Next, add the tomato puree along with salt, turmeric powder, and the remaining red-chilli powder. Let the mixture simmer till the water in the tomato puree evaporates and you get a thick, dark-red mixture.

4. In another pan, heat the remaining olive oil and add the marinated chicken to it. Sauté, till the chicken becomes tender and brown. Remember to flip the chicken during the process to ensure that it is well cooked from all sides.

5. Now, to the tomato mixture add half a cup of milk and the cooked chicken. Bring the mixture to a boil and let it simmer, until the gravy thickens. Turn the gas off and garnish the butter chicken with the halved green chillies and finely-chopped coriander.

And that’s it! Your delicious and low-cal butter chicken is ready!

What makes this version of butter chicken low in calories?
For starters, we’ve omitted the cream and added low-fat milk instead. Next, we chose to make this recipe with chicken breasts which are high in protein and low on fat. Not to mention, they’re easy to cook with it.

Also read: Salad for dinner? Try this low-calorie moong daal chilla instead!

The entire preparation rounds up to 300 calories, unlike the heavier counterparts which are double the calories. Will you give this healthy recipe a try? Drop us a line at healthshots@hindustantimes.com.