Healthy Indian recipe!! Only 300 cals for a HUGE serving!

Okay, so anyone who likes Indian food knows that it is a) delicious and b) filled with coconut milk, ghee, cream, and oil. I love a nice warm, creamy Indian stew and have been working on this for awhile to get it right. If anyone is familiar with butter chicken or butter channa (chickpeas) (called chicken/channa makhni at some places), this is my healthified version!

Okay, so anyone who likes Indian food knows that it is a) delicious and b) filled with coconut milk, ghee, cream, and oil. I love a nice warm, creamy Indian stew and have been working on this for awhile to get it right. If anyone is familiar with butter chicken or butter channa (chickpeas) (called chicken/channa makhni at some places), this is my healthified version! Makhni sauce is tomato-based but usually made with a ton of cream and ghee. I totally removed the cream and ghee from this recipe and replaced it with fat-free plain yogurt (regular, not Greek) - it is just as creamy but saves a LOT of calories. Plus the spices make it so flavorful that you really don't miss the fattiness.

Also, I made this recipe with chickpeas for a meatless meal, but you could replace the chickpeas with boneless, skinless chicken breast cubes. You would probably want to pre-cook the chicken breast or at least sear it in a pan before transferring it into the sauce.


Here you go -

Ingredients:

1 small onion, diced
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp garam masala (may sound intimidating but it is common - I got mine at the regular grocery store, it's McCormick brand!)
1 tbsp curry powder (can also get at any grocery store)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp red pepper flakes (can increase or leave out to your spiciness taste)
24 oz tomato sauce
4 x 16 oz cans chickpeas, drained and thoroughly rinsed
4 cups fresh spinach (optional)
1 cup non-fat plain yogurt (use Greek at your own risk! I love Greek yogurt but thought it would be too bitter for this recipe)

Directions:
Cook the onion and garlic over medium heat until onion is soft and translucent (I did this with Pam, but you can use oil - it'll just increase the calories a bit). Add the spices and cook for a few (2-3) minutes. Roasting the spices like this releases their aroma and makes the whole dish more flavorful. Add the tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. When the sauce is heated through, add the chickpeas. Now cover and heat at least until they are heated through or as long as you like (I've done up to an hour)., on low heat so it is gently simmering If you want to throw some spinach into the recipe (not as authentic but I gotta sneak vegetables to my husband somehow), after you've simmered the chickpeas for the time you want, open the pot, put the spinach on top and close it. After the spinach has started to wilt a bit, stir it in and simmer a few more minutes until spinach is almost cooked through. Then stir in the yogurt. Heat through and serve! We have ours on top of brown or white rice. (Even my husband, who HATES spinach, said he couldn't taste the spinach at all - but you could still leave it out. Or if you love spinach you could increase it.)

I added all of the ingredients into the MFP recipe builder and this is what I got if you divide it into 6 servings. Btw, each serving will be HUGE. I have a BIG appetite (can easily eat half an x-large pizza and still have room for more) and I was COMPLETELY full with one serving this, 1/2 c brown rice and some steamed broccoli.

Per serving:
301 calories
61 g carbs
5 g fat
17 g protein
1403 mg sodium (note: the actual amount is probably less after rinsing and draining the chickpeas thoroughly)
19 g fiber

For the whole recipe:
1805 calories
365 g carbs
28 g fat
101 g protein
5040 mg (again, probably less in reality)
113 g fiber

Enjoy!

Ah, edited to add that it's even more flavorful the next day