Mac and cheese with homemade butter chicken sauce. Indian-American comfort food.
Homemade sauce takes this from good to great. The butter chicken spices work surprisingly well with cheese.
Can be assembled ahead and baked when ready.
Ingredients
Scale
Measurement units
- 1 lb Cavatappi or elbow pasta
- 1 lb Boneless skinless chicken thighs, cubed
- 2 tsp Salt
- 6 tbsp Butter
- 1 Yellow onion, finely diced
- 4 Garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp Fresh ginger, grated
- 1 tbsp Garam masala
- 1 tsp Ground cumin
- 1 tbsp Kashmiri chili powder
- ½ tsp Ground turmeric
- 3 tbsp Tomato paste
- 1 ½ cup Heavy cream
- 1 cup Whole milk
- 2 cup Sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
- ¼ cup Fresh cilantro
Ingredients
Scale
Measurement units
- 1 lb Cavatappi or elbow pasta
- 1 lb Boneless skinless chicken thighs, cubed
- 2 tsp Salt
- 6 tbsp Butter
- 1 Yellow onion, finely diced
- 4 Garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp Fresh ginger, grated
- 1 tbsp Garam masala
- 1 tsp Ground cumin
- 1 tbsp Kashmiri chili powder
- ½ tsp Ground turmeric
- 3 tbsp Tomato paste
- 1 ½ cup Heavy cream
- 1 cup Whole milk
- 2 cup Sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
- ¼ cup Fresh cilantro
Instructions
Cook the chicken with spices
Season chicken with 0.5 teaspoon salt. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat (375-400°F surface). Brown chicken 4 minutes until cooked through. Remove to a plate. Add 2 tablespoons butter, onion, and cook 5 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, cook 1 minute. Add garam masala, cumin, Kashmiri chili, and turmeric. Stir 30 seconds. Add tomato paste and 0.5 cup cream. Simmer 3 minutes. Return chicken to pot.
Equipment
- large skillet
Ingredients
- chicken, cubed (1 lb)
- salt (½ tsp)
- butter (4 tbsp)
- onion, diced
- garlic, minced
- ginger, grated (1 tbsp)
- garam masala (1 tbsp)
- cumin (1 tsp)
- Kashmiri chili (1 tbsp)
- turmeric (½ tsp)
- tomato paste (3 tbsp)
- cream (½ cup)
Cook pasta and make cheese sauce
Cook pasta in salted boiling water until just al dente; drain. In the same pot, melt remaining butter. Add milk, remaining cream, and 1.5 teaspoons salt. Heat until steaming. Remove from heat. Stir in cheddar and half the mozzarella until melted and smooth.
Equipment
- large pot
Ingredients
- pasta (1 lb)
- butter (2 tbsp)
- milk (1 cup)
- cream (1 cup)
- salt (1 ½ tsp)
- cheddar (2 cup)
- mozzarella (½ cup)
Combine and bake
Preheat oven to 375°F. Fold pasta and chicken mixture into cheese sauce. Transfer to a greased 9x13 baking dish. Top with remaining mozzarella. Bake 15 minutes until bubbly. Broil 2 minutes until golden brown on top.
Equipment
- baking dish
Ingredients
- mozzarella (½ cup)
Add the fresh herbs
Let rest 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro. Serve hot.
Ingredients
- cilantro (¼ cup)
Before you cook
Cook notes
- • Homemade sauce takes this from good to great.
- • The butter chicken spices work surprisingly well with cheese.
- • Can be assembled ahead and baked when ready.
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