Butter Chicken Lasagna – Indian Style Lasagna
The Butter Chicken Lasagna needs no applause, I would say you can never go wrong with this Indian Italian Fusion Recipe. Do you want to use leftover Butter Chicken? Or, you can just make it from scratch, the recipe says it all!!
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Butter Chicken, this has been by far the favorite dish in my family. Whether having a meal at home or eating out, we love the rich and creamy texture of this lip-smacking wonder. The word Gluttony can be easily associated with this, since it is really hard to let go of the velvety texture till your stomach starts to warn you not to put in more to it. LOL.
I always wanted to experiment with Butter Chicken leftovers. But, as I described, it is crime to say something like “Leftover Butter Chicken”. After few failed attempts, I got my hold on experimenting with this dish. I tried making different versions of Butter Chicken Fusion Lasagna, but the recipe that I am sharing today is by far the best, and simple too, one of the perfect punjabi fusion recipes.
The cheese I am using in this recipe is the Trader Joe’s Shredded 3 Cheese Blend, which is a mix of Mozzarella, Monterey Jack and Cheddar Cheese. I feel this is the perfect blend of shredded cheese that we can use in many recipes. I use this mixture a lot in other Pasta dishes as well.
Butter Chicken Lasagne – Other Variations
I have tried a version with layers of Bechamel Sauce (or White Sauce), added between layers of butter chicken, lasagna sheets and cheese. But, the Bechamel Sauce made the lasagna too heavy, since there is already loads of richness added to the dish due to cheese, and especially due to the creamy butter chicken itself. So, that version was a strict no-no for us. If you are not using butter chicken (with creamy sauce) for layering lasagna, and using just a layer of grilled chicken, you can give it a go trying with Bechamel Sauce layers.
The other version that I tried was using one or two layers of Marinara Sauce. But again, with every bite we took, it seemed like there were multiple flavors tossing in our mouth, which made the taste buds uncomfortable. I love using Marinara Sauce in a lot of recipes, but here it turned out to be a confused dish, with marinara flavor trying to cut down on the butter chicken sauce flavor, and vice versa. So, Marinara Sauce also went flying away from this experiment.
This time, I decided to keep it simple. No more extra flavors, but just the original butter chicken dish, with lasagna sheets and some cheese. And after I had a bite, I knew this was it. The perfect balance of all the ingredients.
One more experiment I did in this one was that I had separated out chicken chunks from butter chicken gravy, and made different layers with them. Makes sense, right? Well, I should’ve tried this earlier only, but there were already so many layers to play with (like Bechamel and Marinara), that I didn’t think much to separate the two.
Substitutions & Tips
- I had separated the chicken chunks into minced form with the help of a fork. This helped me in creating the chicken layer properly, otherwise big bite sized chicken pieces were not spread uniformly in the lasagna layer.
- I have just used four lasagna sheets in the recipe, making it sufficient for 2-3 people. Using more sheets has always resulted in us waiting for the dish to get over. This, I feel is the perfect proportion for a family of 2-4 people.
- While serving this dish, you can add salad vegetables (like broccoli, carrots, beans etc.) by the side. This helps in proportion control and also adds more nutritive value to your meal.
Here comes my seventh recipe under “My Julie & Julia Project” for this year. For those who don’t know, I have started this project under which I will be posting 100 recipes from my kitchen by the end of the year 2019. This is the Recipe #7.
I have shared Butter Chicken Recipe in my earlier post, which can be used to prepare lip-smacking butter chicken lasagna, which has hands down one of the very best Indian fusion chicken recipes.
If you like this recipe, do check out these Chicken Curry Puffs from the blog. These are the best chicken snacks you can ever make. They are a regular bake in our house, I’m sure you will definitely love them. Without further taking your time, I present to you, my favorite recipe of the season so far, the perfect fusion recipe of Butter Chicken Lasagna!!
How to make Butter Chicken Lasagna – Recipe (Step-by-step with pictures)
- For step-by-step recipe of Butter Chicken (with pictures), refer to the following link:
https://livelaughlovewithme.com/2019/05/07/butter-chicken-murgh-makhani/
- Firstly separate out chicken pieces and sauce from the prepared butter chicken. Set aside 2 cups of butter chicken sauce.
- Shred the prepared butter chicken pieces into mince size pieces with the help of a fork and keep aside 1 cup of the shredded mince.
- Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Boil the lasagna sheets in water and drain them as per packet instructions. Keep aside.
- For layering the lasagna, first take a 8 x 6 x 2 inch glass dish and spread 1/2 cup of butter chicken sauce.
- For the next layer, lay 2 lasagna sheets over the butter chicken sauce layer.
- Spread 1/2 cup of shredded butter chicken pieces as the third layer.
- Next layer consists of spreading 1/2 cup of cheese blend.
- Sprinkle the cheese with a pinch of black pepper powder, 1/4 tsp of garlic flakes and 1/4 tsp of Italian seasoning.
- Again top this with layer of 1/2 cup of butter chicken sauce.
- Next layer will be laying 2 lasagna sheets on top of butter chicken sauce.
- Again spread 1/2 cup of shredded butter chicken pieces.
- A layer of 1/2 cup cheese blend goes next.
- Again sprinkle the cheese layer with pinch of black pepper powder, 1/4 tsp of garlic flakes and 1/4 tsp of Italian seasoning.
- Top it with layer of 1/2 cup of final butter chicken sauce.
- For the last layer, spread the final 1/2 cup of cheese blend.
- Sprinkle 1/4 tsp of Italian seasoning on top of the last layer.
- Cover the glass dish containing the butter chicken lasagna layers with aluminum foil.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- Broil for 1-2 minutes for getting the brown crusty top. Remove from oven and serve the cut butter chicken lasagna pieces as is or with salad on the side!!
Butter Chicken Lasagna - Indian Italian Fusion Recipes
Ingredients
For butter chicken
- 500 gms Boneless skinless chicken breast chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 2 Onions cut roughly into big pieces
- 4 Tomatoes cut roughly into big pieces
- 1 tbsp Ginger chopped
- 5 cloves Garlic chopped
- 3 Green chilies or as per spice preference
- Salt to taste
- 1 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp Butter chicken masala I used MDH brand
- 1 tsp Ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp Red chili powder
- 1/4 tsp Ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp Asafoetida/Hing
- 1/2 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1/4 tsp Crushed Mint
- 1 tsp Dried fenugreek leaves (Kasuri methi)
- 1 1/2 tbsp Cooking oil + 1/2 tsp extra, I used Avocado oil
- 1 tsp Jaggery powder Can be replaced with sugar
- 1 cup Heavy cream
- 1 tbsp Butter
- Ground Cardamom seeds From 2 cardamom pods
- 1/4 cup Coriander/Cilantro leaves For garnishing
- 1 cup Water
For Lasagna
- 3 cups Butter Chicken Prepared with ingredients mentioned above or you can use leftover prepared butter chicken
- 4 Lasagna Sheets Can be increased to 6 as per liking
- Water For boiling lasagna sheets (As per packet instructions)
- 2 cups Shredded Cheese I am using Trader Joe's Shredded 3 Cheese Blend, a mix of mozzarella, cheddar and Monterey jack
- 3/4 tsp Italian seasoning
- Black pepper powder A pinch
- 1/2 tsp Garlic flakes (dried)
Instructions
For Butter Chicken Preparation
- Heat 1 1/2 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan or skillet. Add chopped ginger, garlic, green chilies in the oil. Also add onions and saute them on medium flame till they turn golden brown. Switch off the flame and let the mixture cool for sometime.
- Meanwhile, add the chopped tomatoes to the blender. Also add the onion mixture prepared in step 1 to the blender along with the tomatoes. Blend the ingredients to a smooth paste. The base of makhani gravy is ready.
- In the same non-stick pan/skillet, heat 1/2 tsp oil, add asafoetida powder and then add the blended mixture. Cook the mixture for around 5 minutes, and add the dry spices (salt, turmeric powder, butter chicken masala, ground cumin, red chili powder, ground black pepper and coriander powder. Simmer the mixture on low-medium heat for around 10-15 minutes or till oil starts to separate from the mixture.
- Add the chicken pieces to the mixture and saute for around 2-3 minutes. Add water and cover the pan. Simmer the mixture for around 15-20 minutes on medium heat till the chicken is completely cooked through.
- Once the chicken is cooked, remove the lid, reduce the heat to low, and add butter, cream, jaggery powder, crushed mint, crushed cardamom seeds and dried fenugreek leaves. Adjust the salt and cook for around 2-3 minutes more. Switch off the flame. Garnish the creamy butter chicken with chopped coriander/cilantro leaves.
For Lasagna Preparation & Assembly
- Firstly separate out chicken pieces and sauce from the prepared butter chicken. Set aside 2 cups of butter chicken sauce. Shred the prepared butter chicken pieces into mince size pieces with the help of a fork and keep aside 1 cup of the shredded mince.
- Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Boil the lasagna sheets in water and drain them as per packet instructions. Keep aside.
- For layering the lasagna, first take a 8 x 6 x 2 inch glass dish and spread 1/2 cup of butter chicken sauce. For the next layer, lay 2 lasagna sheets over the butter chicken sauce layer. Spread 1/2 cup of shredded butter chicken pieces as the third layer. Next layer consists of spreading 1/2 cup of cheese blend. Sprinkle the cheese with a pinch of black pepper powder, 1/4 tsp of garlic flakes and 1/4 tsp of Italian seasoning.
- Again top this with layer of 1/2 cup of butter chicken sauce. Next layer will be laying 2 lasagna sheets on top of butter chicken sauce. Again spread 1/2 cup of shredded butter chicken pieces. A layer of 1/2 cup cheese blend goes next. Again sprinkle the cheese layer with pinch of black pepper powder, 1/4 tsp of garlic flakes and 1/4 tsp of Italian seasoning. Top it with layer of 1/2 cup of final butter chicken sauce.
- For the last layer, spread the final 1/2 cup of cheese blend. Sprinkle 1/4 tsp of Italian seasoning on top of the last layer. Cover the glass dish containing the butter chicken lasagna layers with aluminum foil.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Broil for 1-2 minutes for getting the brown crusty top. Remove from oven and serve the cut butter chicken lasagna pieces as is or with salad on the side!!
Notes
- I had separated the chicken chunks into minced form with the help of a fork. This helped me in creating the chicken layer properly, otherwise big bite sized chicken pieces were not spread uniformly in the lasagna layer.
- I have just used four lasagna sheets in the recipe, making it sufficient for 2-3 people. Using more sheets has always resulted in us waiting for the dish to get over. This, I feel is the perfect proportion for a family of 2-4 people.
- While serving this dish, you can add salad vegetables (like broccoli, carrots, beans etc.) by the side. This helps in proportion control and also adds more nutritive value to your meal.
The Cooking spoon
I love this fusion recipe, such a great idea 😍
Kanwaldeep Kaur
Thank you Myra 😊