Butter chicken paratha

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to make butter chicken for dinner.  I use an easy, light recipe (there's actually no butter involved) I discovered last year that's flavorful yet neutral enough for my whole family to enjoy (including the little guy). Now the timing is going to sound suspect but I swear this is the truth...a couple of days before I was planning to make it for dinner, I happened to catch a cooking show featuring butter chicken parathas (same source for the original butter chicken recipe so it makes sense).  The idea was to use your leftover butter chicken and turn them into parathas, or unleavened flatbread. 

Homemade paratha dough is made with just whole wheat flour, some spices, and water

I am not making this up!  The timing was perfect so I knew I'd have to set aside some butter chicken to try making my own parathas.  Since I'd never done anything of the kind or considered that I could, the prospect was very exciting!  I couldn't resist the idea of being able to say I've made my own parathas.

It wasn't just for the fact that I'd have butter chicken on hand to make this that made it happen.  The real clincher was how incredibly easy the parathas are to make!  It is practically 2 ingredients - whole wheat flour and water - to make the dough.  You flavor the dough with salt and some spices (you could play around a little here, and I choose to use some curry powder) but it is as simple as combining that spiced flour with water until a dough comes together.  Then roll out the dough, fill it with your leftover butter chicken, and cook it in a dry skillet.  To give it moisture and a lovely shine, brush the paratha with a little bit of oil when it's done.

Filled with leftover butter chicken inside

I have no doubt that my technique is sadly lacking and that there are different, more involved, paratha recipes out there.  In fact, my favorite is type of paratha is aloo paratha, stuffed with spiced mashed potatoes, and I associate it with a fluffier dough that's different from this (I don't think the ones I've had are made with whole wheat flour but the difference could just well be my poor technique).  But regardless, the happy fact remains that this easy whole wheat dough worked and my family and I thought this simple paratha was quite tasty!

Please pardon my inauthentic presentation of slicing the paratha up like something of a quesadilla!  I was just trying to give a look into the filling inside.  I served the paratha with some plain Greek yogurt but it really doesn't need anything since the filling is juicy and flavorful.  It holds up well against the nutty whole wheat paratha.  

This is the kind of recipe I learn that opens my eyes to new possibilities and reinforces the idea that we can make so many things at home if we don't mind our own more rustic interpretations.

Indian butter chicken, minus the butter

Lately, I've been feeling more inspired on the savory front than on the sweet side.  Don't get me wrong - I'm clearly still baking, and if anything, I've put more focus on revisiting and making my family's favorites.  In other words, there's plenty of sweets in our lives.  Sometimes - thanks largely to this blog - I do feel as though I have all the sweet recipes I could possibly need for a lifetime...but then I discover something really good I haven't had/made before and I'm jazzed again so I don't think I'll be giving up on my baking explorations anytime soon.

Indian butter chicken but without the butter

I just find that, lately, I'm a bit more open to picking up a great slice of cake from the pastry shop while I work on dinner instead.  I suppose it's just a nice change of pace.  And let's face it - there's a lot more room for savory meals than sweets in our day-to-day lives.  So as I've been focusing on eating healthier in the last couple of years, I've been cooking more and realizing that it's not so hard and actually really fun trying out new recipes, discovering new ingredients, and learning to mix them up.  Along the way, sometimes I find new favorites to put in our dinner or lunch rotation.  Even if not, it's nice to try something new here and there even if it only makes one appearance at our table.  It keeps things interesting for the cook, and hopefully her family too!

I love many kinds of foods and Indian food is one of them.  However, my knowledge base is sadly lacking and pretty much limited to the typical buffet spread that I indulge in once in a while.  I readily admit to my love of chicken tikka masala and I confess to replicating it at home the semi-homemade way. That is, I marinate chicken in yogurt and tandoori spices, then broil it, but finish it off with store-bought jarred sauce.  Sometimes, a girl needs a little shortcut...

Fast, easy, and lighter recipe - The sauce is made from low-fat yogurt and water; I topped it with toasted almonds here

...but sometimes not.  While I think semi-homemade is perfectly fine sometimes, it's even better when you can find easy, from-scratch recipes that are also quick and easy - plus, sometimes you get really lucky and it's healthier and more nutritious at the same time!  I think this is one of those recipes!  It's butter chicken, otherwise known as murgh makhani, somewhat similar to the ubiquitous chicken tikka masala.  I have to be honest, I'm not all that familiar with butter chicken since I'm always after that tikka masala but I was intrigued by this recipe that promises a lot of flavor in very little time and, to top it off, it's a healthier, lighter rendition.

There's no butter, or rich cream, in this particular "butter" chicken dish.  It's essentially no-butter butter chicken.  I was intrigued and had to give it a try and I have to say that it worked like a charm.  A mix of spices, along with tomato paste, gives the dish a slow, long-cooked taste when, it reality, it doesn't take much more than 20 minutes to cook up!  Low-fat yogurt and water creates the sauce and it is perfectly satisfying.  I'm no butter chicken expert so I had no particular expectations but this dish turned out very flavorful without being heavy at all.  I served it with some brown basmati rice, naan, and broccoli for dinner on a recent Sunday.

Needless to say, taking a dinner photo, before daylight savings time, when it was dark by 5pm, is very difficult : )