Lightened Up Chicken Tikka Masala

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We were shocked how easy it was to make naan the other day, and we were so happy that we also made this flavorful chicken tikka masala for dipping!

Leftovers (if you have any!) are even better the following day!

Tikka Masala can actually be a pretty nutritious recipe.

You use lean chicken, lots of tomatoes and spices for loads of flavor.

Really, the least nutritious part of tikka masala is the cream and butter. That is why for this recipe we used Brummel & Brown Organic Buttery Yogurt Spread instead.

Since it is yogurt-based, it paired perfectly with this recipe and it has half the saturated fat of normal butter (check out the nutritional info here).

Along with omitting the heavy cream, it instantly made this recipe lower in calories and it cooked up great as a replacement for butter.

Serve this dish up with your Homemade Garlic Naan Recipe or check out How to Cook Basmati Rice.

Or pick from one of many of the sides for chicken tikka masala.

Lightened Up Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons Brummel & Brown Organic Buttery Yogurt Spread
  • 2 tablespoons ginger paste or fresh ground ginger
  • 1 tablespoons minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
  • 2 serrano peppers, minced (including the seeds if you would like some spice)
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 8 Roma tomatoes, diced
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 cup water
  • Oil, for grilling
  • Minced fresh cilantro, for garnish
  • Cooked rice or naan for serving

When you’re ready to make the curry, place a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil and Brummel & Brown Organic Buttery Spread with Yogurt. Once the buttery spread has melted, add the ginger, garlic and serrano peppers. Sauté them until they are lightly browned around the edges. Add the tomato paste and cook until the tomato has darkened in color. It should take about 3 minutes. Add the garam masala and the paprika and cook for 1 minute to draw out the flavors of the spices.

Next, add the tomatoes, salt, and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and cook until thickened, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat up your grill. When it is nice and hot, lightly brush it with oil. Place the chicken on the grill and cook until it’s charred, for roughly 4 minutes on each side. Note, the chicken will still be a little undercooked, it is going to finish cooking in the sauce. If you do not have access to a grill you can use a frypan on your cooktop.

Use an immersion blender to directly blend the mixture in the saucepan. If you don’t have an immersion blender, transfer to a blender/food processor to blend the sauce to break up the large tomato pieces. If you like a smoother masala, keep blending until smooth. We personally like to leave some small pieces of tomato in our tikka masala. Pour the sauce back into the skillet (if needed) and bring it back up to a boil. Add the chicken and take the heat down to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes. Check to make sure chicken is cooked through before taking off heat. If you want a more traditional tikka masala vs. this lighter version, now is the time you can add ½ cup of heavy cream and stir through. We skip this step to save on calories and it is still super delish! Garnish your dish with fresh cilantro, and serve over rice and with naan bread that you made from our easy naan recipe!

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