Butter Chicken Mac and Cheese

What is better than butter chicken mac and cheese? I say not much! The combination between fragrant Indian flavours, pasta, and cheese is hard to not like, right? Try it once and I can guarantee you will be coming back for the recipe over and over!

Ingredients for Butter Chicken Mac and Cheese

A few Indian spices, some pasta, some chicken, and a bit of cheese are all one needs to get this scrumptious meal on a plate.

Ingredients List for this Indian Recipe:

• 2 garlic cloves – finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon turmeric
• 1 tablespoon chili powder (or less)
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• salt to taste
• 4 large organic boneless chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup tomato puree
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon fenugreek leaves
• 1/2 cup table cream
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 4 cups cooked gluten free elbow macaroni (you can use any kind you like)
• 1 cup of grated marble cheddar

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Marinating the Chicken:

The first step to making delicious butter chicken mac and cheese is to marinate the chicken breasts. To do that:

• Chop the chicken breasts into thin 1/2 inch strips.
• Peel and finely chop the garlic.
• Grate the ginger.
• Add the turmeric, chili powder, garam masala, cumin powder, coriander powder, salt, and yogurt to a large mixing bowl.
• Add the chicken, garlic, and ginger to the bowl, and using your hands, mix everything well ensuring that the chicken is well coated.
• Allow it to sit in the marinade for about 1/2 an hour to marinate and the spices to mingle.

Cooking the Macaroni

While the chicken is marinating, we can prepare the pasta:

• Boil 6 cups of water and salt it liberally. I like to add lots of salt to the water so that the pasta is well salted, otherwise, it is too bland.
• Once the water is at a rolling boil, add the pasta to the pot and allow it to cook as per the package instructions less 1 min – so if your pasta box says to boil for 6 mins, I recommend you boil it for 4-5. The pasta will continue to cook once we add it to the chicken, so it’s best to undercook it a little.
• Once it’s boiled, drain it and run it under cold water to stop the cooking process right away.
• Let it sit in the colander while you make the sauce.

The Curry Sauce

Now we are ready to cook the butter chicken:

• In a pan add the butter and oil together and heat them so they’re quite hot, but not smoking.
• Add all the contents of the bowl (chicken and yogurt mix) into the bowl. You will hear a sizzle as the liquid hits the hot oil. This is a good sign.
• Brown the chicken from one side then turn it over to the other side and allow it to brown a little as well.
• By now the chicken will have almost cooked through since we cut it into thin strips.
• At this point, we can add the cream, sugar, and fenugreek leaves and allow everything to come to a boil.
• Simmer for a further 5 minutes to allow the gravy to thicken a little.

Assembling the Indo-Canadian Recipe:

Now that both the pasta and the sauce are ready, we can assemble our delicious Indo-Canadian recipe.

• Turn the heat to low and add the boiled pasta to the pot with the gravy.
• Toss it gently so that all of it gets well combined

Adding the Cheese

Once the pasta and the curry have been properly combined, we can introduce the cheese to the mix. Add the cheese all at one go and mix it in well. Try not to over stir, so that the pasta doesn’t break. It will be well cooked by now.

To Bake or Not to Bake

It is a question I am often asked. Should I bake my pasta or not? I always say this is a personal preference. My kids are divided. One love is just as is, the other prefers it baked. The difference between baking it and not baking it is the amount of cheese that goes into it. If you bake it, you need to add more cheese so that when it comes out of the oven, you can cut it and serve it. When you don’t bake it, you just scoop it out using a serving spoon and enjoy.

Serving Suggestions:

We love having this recipe when it’s freshly cooked, but it tends to taste a lot better the next day. I always make extras so we can have some the next day for lunch. To serve:

• sprinkle with fresh cut green coriander or parsley.
• serve with a side of my heirloom carrot and zucchini salad.
• or enjoy it with a side of my green bean and mango salad.

Tried and Liked the Recipe?

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