I’ve always been a lover of curry, but this one really had me excited about trying something new. I rarely experiment with new flavors anymore, but this was the first time I was trying paneer. It is fantastic!
If I had to describe paneer, I’d say it’s very creamy and rich, and really added a good texture to the curry.
If you have the wiggle room, you can add an onion to this – I have done it before and it adds a nice sweet note to it, along with a texture boost.
Photos courtesy of PanGravyKadaiCurry and CookingandMe
The Preparation
- 48 ounces bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 7 ounces paneer packet
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic paste
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ginger paste
- 1/2 teaspoon kashmiri mirch
- 1/4 cup cilantro
The Execution
1. Preheat oven to 375°F
2. Get the chicken thighs out and rub them down with olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Put the chicken on a cookie sheet and let them roast for 25 minutes.
4. Cut the paneer into small pieces and set aside for later.
5. Heat up a pan to medium heat and add the butter and coconut oil. Let the butter start to brown.
6. When the butter starts to brown, add ginger and garlic paste. Saute for 2 minutes.
7. Add the crushed tomato.
8. Add the coriander powder, garam masala, paprika, red chili powder and the salt. Mix well and let it simmer until the oil is starting to show at the top.
9. Gently mix the paneer into the sauce.
10. Pour in the water and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
11. Turn the heat to medium low and add cream. Stir to mix.
12. Allow it to simmer until it comes to a boil again.
13. About this time, your chicken will be ready. Take it out and separate it from the bone (it should not be fully cooked).
(Photo courtesy of Martha Stewart – I forgot to take a picture!)
14. Add chicken to the sauce and mix well.
15. Allow to simmer for at least 5 more minutes.
16. Garnish with Cilantro and serve hot.
This makes a total of 4 servings of Butter Paneer Chicken Curry. Each serving comes out to be 1305 calories, 118g fats, 7.2g net carbs, and 55.5g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 48 ounce bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs | 3402 | 303.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 170.1 |
| 1 tablespoon olive oil | 119 | 13.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 teaspoon salt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 teaspoon ground black pepper | 5 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.2 |
| 1 teaspoon ground coriander | 5 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| 7 ounce paneer packet | 637 | 49.6 | 7.1 | 0 | 7.1 | 42.5 |
| 1 teaspoon garam masala | 8 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 1 | 0.8 | 0.3 |
| 1/2 teaspoon paprika | 3 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper | 3 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| 1 cup water | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 cup crushed tomatoes | 77 | 0.7 | 17.7 | 4.6 | 13.1 | 3.9 |
| 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream | 405 | 42.9 | 3.3 | 0 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
| 4 tablespoon butter | 407 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 |
| 2 teaspoon coconut oil | 81 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic paste | 41 | 3.8 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 0.3 |
| 1 1/2 teaspoon ginger paste | 20 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 0.1 |
| 1/2 teaspoon kashmiri mirch | 5 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| 1/4 cup cilantro | 1 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 |
| Totals | 5219 | 472.1 | 37 | 8.3 | 28.8 | 222.1 |
| Per Serving (/4) | 1305 | 118 | 9.3 | 2.1 | 7.2 | 55.5 |
Butter Paneer Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 48 ounce bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 7 ounce paneer packet
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 4 tablespoon butter
- 2 teaspoon coconut oil
- 1 ½ teaspoon garlic paste
- 1 ½ teaspoon ginger paste
- ½ teaspoon kashmiri mirch
- ¼ cup cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Get the chicken thighs out and rub them down with olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Put the chicken thighs in a baking dish and let them roast for 25 minutes.
- Cut the paneer into small pieces and set aside for later. Heat up a pan to medium heat and add the butter and coconut oil. Let the butter start to brown. When the butter starts to brown, add ginger and garlic paste. Saute for 2 minutes.
- Add the crushed tomato. Add the coriander powder, garam masala, paprika, red chili powder and the salt. Mix well and let it simmer until the oil is starting to show at the top.
- Gently mix the paneer into the sauce Pour in the water and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
- Turn the heat to medium low and add cream. Stir to mix. Allow it to simmer until it comes to a boil again.
- About this time, your chicken will be ready. Take it out and separate it from the bone (it should not be fully cooked).
- Add chicken to the sauce and mix well. Allow to simmer for at least 5 more minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.
I am so excited to try this!! I seriously am addicted to indian food it is the best!
Let me know how it turns out Aubrey!
Absolutely beautiful curry! Hubby said it was superb. I will admit I didn’t use paneer or chicken (didn’t have them) but I subbed them for good Aussie King Prawns, which I didn’t put in until the sauce was completely made then added them and cooked them for about 4 minutes in the boiling sauce, turned the heat off, covered the frypan and let it sit for about 5 mins. That way the prawns didn’t overlook but took one the flavours. Damn good recipe. I served it with one of your tortilla and some coconut cauli rice.
Sounds absolutely delish! Good call on putting the prawns in only a few minutes before serving, that’s the best way to do it 🙂
Could I just ask why you roast the chicken separately? Could I just cut into chunks and add it in directly (less wash up, always a plus!)
You could do that, but generally the flavor will be less than if you were to roast the chicken separately. Really up to you 🙂
Hi Craig,
I just made this and had it on top of coconut cauli-rice. Once again, you delivered! I roasted the chicken and had the added benefit of happily chowing the meat left on the bone after taking off as much as I could. Also replaced whipping cream with coconut milk because I love coconut milk, doubled the chilli (2 tsp), added 1 tsp of hot madras curry powder, and used fresh garlic and ginger because I didn’t have the paste. Also, after making it, I think the amount of paneer could probably be increased.
Looking forward to lunch for the next few days (:
Your changes sounds delicious! Glad you enjoyed!
By the way Craig, are you sure the nutritional information for the chicken is correct? 3lbs works out to about 1kg of chicken thighs (bone in), and the ones I got from Tesco (skin on with bone) work out to about 230kcal per 100g.
The nutrition information is not correct on the chicken (as you state). I have been meaning to go back and fix this for a while – I’ll try to update it soon (I’m traveling for the next 2 weeks). Thanks for reminding me 🙂
Being South Asian, this is my FAVORITE dish. I eat it with naan and I’m in heaven. Since this is a curry, how do you eat it w/o having to add carbs (bread and rice)
Sometimes I make cauliflower rice to help with that, but other times I just don’t mind – right out of a bowl 🙂
3lbs of bone in chicken thighs have more than 200 calories…
Yes! Thank you for pointing that out, that’s a huge error.
I love this recipe. I use Kashmiri Mirch in my enchilada sauce. It has a wonderful flavor.
For fun, I cut up some cauliflower stalks into the shape of diced potatoes and steamed them until they were soft, then tossed them into the sauce along with the chicken. It was almost perfect.
That sounds delicious!