Butter Chicken Soup

5 from 1 vote

A hearty and filling chicken soup with a kick, modeled after a simple butter chicken recipe. This thick soup almost resembles a bisque and is filled with spices like garam masala, cumin, and turmeric.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1

Marinate4

Total Time5 15

Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Diabetic

Servings: servings

Calories: 366kcal

Author: Vincent DelGiudice

Cost: $15

Equipment

1 Large Dutch Oven or Pot

Ingredients

Chicken Marinade

2 lbs boneless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup full-fat greek yogurt
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced

Soup Ingredients

2 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoon butter
1 large onion, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
1 14 oz can coconut milk
3 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro for garnish

Instructions

Combine the boneless chicken thighs with the yogurt, garam masala, turmeric, cumin, salt, ginger, and garlic. Cover and marinate for 4 hours or overnight.
Add olive oil to a pan over medium-high heat. Once the olive oil is shimmering, sear the chicken on both sides for 3 minutes. It's normal for the chicken to stick a little so carefully use tongs to flip them. Place the seared chicken on the side.
Lower the heat to medium. Add the butter to the pot. Once the butter is melted, add the celery and onion. Stir often. Once the onions start sweating, you'll be able to deglaze the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Saute the onions and celery for about 8 minutes.
Combine the garam masala, turmeric, cumin, crushed red pepper, salt, and white pepper. Add the ginger, garlic, and half of the seasonings to the pot. Stir well to combine and saute for about 5 minutes.
Add in the tomato paste and combine well with the vegetables. Cook the tomato paste for 3 minutes with the vegetables. Then pour in the crushed tomatoes and add the rest of the seasonings. Stir well to combine and bring to a simmer.
Simmer the crushed tomatoes for 5 minutes, then add the chicken broth and return the soup to a simmer. Add the chicken thighs back in and lower the heat to a simmer for 30 minutes.
Remove the chicken thighs from the pot and set them aside in a bowl. Let them rest for 5 minutes. Using two forks, shred the chicken to an appropriate size and return it to the pot. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the coconut milk. Combine well and serve with cilantro for a garnish.

Notes

You can get away with marinating the chicken for an hour but the chicken will be more flavorful if you can marinate for 4 hours or overnight. Yogurt isn't very acidic so an overnight marinade is fine.
When searing the chicken, expect it to stick a little bit. This is okay. Gently pull the chicken away from the pan without ripping it apart. The brown bits left on the bottom of the pan will add so much flavor to the soup.
When adding a large amount of tomato paste like in this recipe (6 oz), it's important to let it cook directly on the pan before adding broth or crushed tomatoes. This will intensify the flavor and allow the sugars in the tomato paste to caramelize.
This soup can have a slight kick. If you don't like anything spicy, remove the crushed red pepper.
This soup develops more flavor over time, so you can make it early in the day and leave it on a low simmer all day or you can make it and eat it right away!

Nutrition