WILL BUTTER CHICKEN MAKE YOU FAT?

Indian cuisine is designed to provide its followers (devotees rather!) with a wide range of flavors, with its recipes often including an explosion of spices. Butter chicken, also known as Chicken Makhani, is a spicy, creamy tomato Indian dish flavored with a variety of seasonings that may include chili powder, garlic, garam masala, ginger, coriander, and fenugreek. 

You’ll find Butter Chicken in almost every Indian restaurant serving non-vegetarian food across the world. And if you want it delivered at home, just type “butter chicken near me” in your search engine and your screen will instantly light up with the best restaurants serving this mouthwatering delicacy in your immediate neighborhood.

Now, the Indian Butter Chicken recipe also features cream and butter, and therefore, knowing its nutrient values can help you adjust your diet to fit it in. 

Here's a basic breakdown of a single serving of Chicken Makhani:

• Calories: 438
• Fat: 28 grams
• Carbohydrates: 14 grams
• Protein: 30 grams

THE CALORIC VALUE OF BUTTER CHICKEN

The Nutrient value of any dish varies on your recipe and serving size. When it comes to the instant pot butter chicken, or garlic butter chicken for instance, on average, one serving that consists of one boneless chicken breast with gravy, can go up to 438 calories.

FAT CONTENT AND CONSIDERATIONS

Butter chicken contains butter obviously, and some variants contain like peanut butter chicken, for instance, contain extra cream, thereby automatically slotting it into any list of foods that are considered high fat. Depending on the recipe you choose for the day, a single serving of butter chicken can contain around 28 grams of total fat and 12 grams of saturated fat.

CARBOHYDRATES AND PROTEIN 

Coming to carbs, a single serving of butter chicken contains 14 grams of carbohydrates and up to 3 grams of fiber. Consuming Carbohydrates provide your body with the required energy and therefore carbs should make up most of your calories.

In a balanced diet, carbs should contain 45 to 65 percent of their calories. So, a 2,000-calorie diet should ideally include between 900 to 1,300 calories from carbohydrates or 225 to 325 grams per day.

Butter chicken is a high-protein meal. One serving contains around 30 grams of protein. A balanced diet should ideally contain 10 to 35 percent of its calorie count from protein, or say, about 50 to 175 grams a day on a 2,000-calorie diet. Going by these figures, a single serving of butter chicken can easily meet more than half of your daily protein needs.

HIGH IN SODIUM

Because Butter Chicken has a tomato-based sauce, most Indian Butter Chicken recipes use some or the other form of canned tomato, puree, or whole, which automatically elevates its sodium content.

One serving of butter chicken totals around 763 milligrams of sodium. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), your daily sodium intake should be limited to 2,300 mg a day. And if you’re above 51 years of age or have a history of high blood pressure or diabetes, your sodium intake should be less than 1,500 milligrams a day. Adding excess salt to your diet can enhance your risk of high blood pressure.

FINALLY...

As we all know, both butter and cream are high in saturated fat. High intakes of saturated fat increase blood cholesterol levels and consequently, your risk of cardiac disease. It’s always better to keep your daily saturated fat intake to less than 10 percent of calories, or around 22 grams per day on a 2,000-calorie diet, according to dietary experts.

Most healthy and moderately active adults — engaging in regular physical activity equivalent to walking 1.5 to 3 miles a day — can maintain their weight by consuming between 1,800 to 2,800 calories a day. Always ensure that you balance your daily calorie intake to maintain your weight.