This is a hack I like to do when I have leftover tomato soup. Yes, that's the secret to my easy butter chicken. Tomato soup! It can be from a restaurant, canned, whatever, but it is so easy and also a great way to spice up a tomato soup that is not the best. Obviously, creamy tomato soup is preferred, but use whatever you have on hand!
If you love Indian food I highly recommend you get all the spices used in this recipe! They are used in nearly every Indian dish! If you want to make your life easier you can get garam masala which is a mixture of cloves, pepper, bay leaves, cardamom, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, fennel, star anise....basically a lot of things. You can use that and just add turmeric and chili powder in this recipe if you would like!
I also like to add a splash of soy sauce, as a little secret ingredient 😉, for the umami flavor that just makes every dish better, but you don't have to if you don't have it or want to! Food is meant to be fun! So have fun with it!
This recipe is also way healthier than butter chicken you get at a restaurant. Depending on the tomato soup you use of course, it can be a lot less fatty. But also it uses a lot less butter! And trust me, it does not lack flavor with less butter!
Easy Butter Chicken
Servings: 3-5| Prep time: 10 minutes| Total time: 20-30 minutes
Ingredients
1 onion
2-4 jalapenos
3-6 garlic cloves
1-2 tbsp butter
6 chicken thighs (boneless and skinless)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin powder
½ tsp ginger powder
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp black pepper
2-3 green cardamom pods
¼ - 1 tsp red chili powder
1 tbsp soy sauce
1-3 cups tomato soup (creamy preferred)
½ cup water (optional if using a little less tomato soup or too thick)
Directions
1. Dice or blend onion, garlic, and jalapenos into a paste and chop chicken into cubes (I cut each chicken thigh into 6 pieces)
2. Heat pan/pot on medium-high with 1 tbsp butter. Once melted, add blended paste (or chopped) into pot, mix with butter and brown (takes around 3-5 minutes). Mix frequently to prevent burning.
3. Add all spices to pot and mix in 1 tbsp extra butter if mixture appears dry. Fix frequently to prevent burning.
4. Once spices are extra fragrant and slightly browned in color (1-2 minutes), mix in chicken, making sure each piece is coated thoroughly with spice mixture. Do not touch for 2-3 minutes so that one side becomes browned.
5. Mix in soy sauce, tomato soup and water (if needed), cover and leave to simmer on medium low for 10-15 minutes, until sauce is thickened to your liking.
6. Enjoy hot with rice, naan or roti!
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