Chicken curry, home style — 730 kcal, and where they actually are

The verdict

This is what butter chicken should have been. Same bird, no cream, nearly twice the protein per calorie.

Component by component

Per 1 katori chicken curry + 2 roti. Estimates, not yet verified against IFCT 2017.

Chicken

~150 g · ~150 g

250

Carbs0 g

Protein37 g

Fat11 g

Fibre0 g

Thirty-seven grams of protein. The reason to cook this.

Worth eating

Onion and tomato base

— · ~120 g

Carbs12 g

Protein2 g

Fat1 g

Fibre3 g

Slow-cooked onion is where the flavour comes from. It costs almost nothing.

Worth eating

Oil in the gravy

~1.5 tbsp · ~20 g

175

Carbs0 g

Protein0 g

Fat20 g

Fibre0 g

The only real variable in the dish. A tablespoon is enough for four servings.

Where the damage is

Roti

2 pieces · ~80 g

240

Carbs46 g

Protein8 g

Fat2 g

Fibre6 g

Fine as they are.

Three ways to fix it

Ordered by what you give up.

Option 1 · Halve the oil−90

Two teaspoons instead of a tablespoon and a half. Cook the onions longer.

Time replaces fat in an onion base. This is the single most useful thing to learn in Indian cooking.

Taste cost: None

Option 2 · More chicken, one roti−120

Bigger portion of curry, one roti instead of two.

Pushes protein up and carbohydrate down without changing the dish at all.

Taste cost: None

Option 3 · Skin off, thigh to breast−80

Skinless breast rather than thigh on the bone.

Leaner, though drier. Thigh tastes better and the difference is not large — this one is genuinely optional.

Taste cost: Moderate

← All thirty dishes