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Keto Indian Butter Chicken
Known as Makhan murg, this dish from India’s capital, Delhi, was invented as a way to repurpose leftover Tandoori chicken, reviving it by drenching it in luxurious, fragrant, creamy-buttery sauce. Here, it’s made with fresh chicken, but you could also make just the sauce to accompany cooked chicken (adjusting the macros, of course). Serve it solo or add cauliflower rice and recalculate the macros. Note: this recipe requires you marinate the chicken for 6 hours, so plan accordingly.
Servings: 4 One Serving: 1/4 of a 4 serving recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup full-fat Greek yogurt
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 Tbsp garam masala (a dried spice blend available in well-stocked grocers)
- 1-1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound boneless, skinless, chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-inch-thick strips
- 6 Tbsp (3 oz) ghee (clarified butter)
- 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 Tbsp cumin seeds
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 Roma plum tomato, diced
- 2 Serrano peppers, seeded and minced
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp tomato paste
- 1/4 cup finely chopped toasted almonds
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
- In a medium bowl with a lid, add the yogurt, lemon juice, turmeric, garam masala, half of the salt, and half of the pepper. Whisk to combine, then add the chicken and toss to coat. Cover, and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.
- In a large saucepan, melt the ghee over medium heat. Add the ginger, cumin seeds, onion powder, garlic powder, and chili powder and cook, stirring often, until golden and fragrant, about 3 minutes.
- Add the diced tomatoes, Serrano pepper, the remaining salt and pepper and cook until the tomatoes and chiles soften, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken and its marinade and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup water. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
- Stir in the cream and tomato paste, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened up a bit more, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the almonds, garnish with the cilantro leaves, and serve.
Nutritional Information - Macros
- 501 Calories
- 42 g Fat
- 24 g Protein
- 11 g Total Carbs
- 3 g Fiber
- 8 g Net Carbs
Tips
- Ghee, or clarified butter, is used here because it has a very high smoke/burn point, making it better for cooking than butter, but providing the same, luxurious flavor and texture.
- Don’t let the long ingredients list deter you from trying this recipe. It’s super easy and many of the items are likely already in your pantry.