No Butter Chicken with Quinoa

GF NF SF Dec 19, 2024

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Butter Chicken is a classic Indian curry dish with garam masala, tomatoes, butter, and cream, and is typically served alongside rice. It can be quite the fat and calorie bomb due to the butter and heavy cream, is lacking in vegetables, and features high glycemic white rice. So I'm fixing these issues today with a creamy sauce that's higher in protein and lower in fat, peppers and onions for more volume, and quinoa instead of white rice (but brown rice or lentils will also work well).

CHICKEN
- 2 lb (907 g) Boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 tsp (6 g) Salt
- 2 tbsp (12 g) Garam masala
- 1 cup (226 g) Plain nonfat greek yogurt

QUINOA
- 1 1/4 cup (225 g) Quinoa
- 1 1/4 tsp (5 g) Chicken bouillon powder
- 2 1/2 cup (600 g) Water

VEGGIES
- 3 medium (330 g) Onion
- 3 medium (360 g) Bell pepper
- 2 tbsp (30 g) Minced garlic
- 1 oz, finely chopped (28 g) Ginger, fresh
- 1 tbsp (15 g) Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp (10 g) Garlic powder
- 1 tbsp (10 g) Onion powder
- 1 tbsp (6 g) Garam masala
- 1 tbsp (10 g) Paprika
- 1 tsp (3 g) Turmeric, ground

SAUCE
- 28oz can (794 g) Crushed tomatoes
- 12 oz (360 g) Fat free evaporated milk
- 1/2 cup (113 g) Nonfat cottage cheese

1. Dice your chicken, and add to a large bowl. Mix with salt, garam masala, and yogurt. Marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour

2. When you're ready to start cooking, begin with the quinoa, as it will take the longest. Add quinoa, chicken bouillon, and water to a medium pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce to medium, cover, and let cook for about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool

3. Dice your onions and peppers. Prepare your garlic, and finely chop the ginger

4. Heat a large Dutch oven with olive oil over medium heat. Add the peppers and onions to the pot along with your spices - garlic powder, onion powder, garam masala, paprika, and turmeric. Cover, and cook until the onions start to turn translucent and peppers begin to soften

5. Add the chicken to the pot, mix, cover, and cook until the chicken is 165F

6. Add in the garlic and ginger, and pour in the crushed tomatoes. Cover and let simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes

7. Mix in your evaporated milk and (blended) cottage cheese. Cover and let simmer for an additional 5 minutes

8. Remove from the heat, serve with a side of quinoa (or brown rice or lentils), and top with dried parsley

https://www.poormanprotein.com/recipes/butter-chicken

Servings: 6
Calories: 541
Protein: 50 g
Fat: 13 g
Net Carbs: 50 g
Fiber: 9 g

Description

Butter Chicken is a classic Indian curry dish with garam masala, tomatoes, butter, and cream, and is typically served alongside rice. It can be quite the fat and calorie bomb due to the butter and heavy cream, is lacking in vegetables, and features high glycemic white rice. So I'm fixing these issues today with a creamy sauce that's higher in protein and lower in fat, peppers and onions for more volume, and quinoa instead of white rice (but brown rice or lentils will also work well).

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Time

Prep Time:

15 minutes

Rest Time:

1 hour

Cook Time:

45 minutes

Total Time:

2 hours

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