Butter Chicken Mac and Cheese Casserole

What do butter chicken and mac and cheese have in common? Perhaps nothing more than both being satisfying, delicious comfort foods. That's the only reason we needed to create a recipe that marries the two classics to make an over-the-top, decadent dish. Classic mac and cheese is topped with homemade butter chicken sauce laced with pieces of tender chicken, and baked together with more cheese to make an ooey-gooey, richly flavoured macaroni casserole.
Directions for: Butter Chicken Mac and Cheese Casserole

Ingredients

Marinade

cup Greek yogurt

tsp cumin

tsp paprika

tsp salt

1 tsp garam masala

1 Tbsp lime juice

3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Butter Chicken Sauce

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp ginger, minced

1 tsp garlic, minced

1 small onion, thinly sliced

cup tomato, grated

cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 tsp red chili powder

tsp garam masala

tsp salt

cup heavy cream

Mac and Cheese

2 cups elbow macaroni

cup butter

1 Tbsp flour

1 cups milk

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

cup fresh cilantro

Directions

Marinade

1. To make the marinade, combine yogurt, lime juice, garam masala, paprika, cumin and salt in a medium bowl. Add in chicken and stir to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, up to 24 hours.

Butter Chicken Sauce

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add in ginger, garlic and onion. Stir while cooking until mixture is golden brown and fragrant, about 2 minutes.

2. Add in chicken with marinade and cook until chicken is white and almost cooked through, about 4 minutes.

3. Add in chickpeas, tomato, chilli powder, salt, and garam masala and stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until chicken is cooked through and sauce begins to bind to chicken, about 8 minutes.

4. Stir in cream and cook until sauce has thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Mac and Cheese

1. Bring medium pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions for al dente. Drain.

2. Preheat oven to 450F.

3. Heat butter in a medium sauce pan until melted. Add flour and stir until mixture becomes pasty. Cook paste for 1 minute then whisk in milk and lower heat to simmer. Continue to cook until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes.

4. Whisk in 1 cup of cheddar cheese and stir until cheese has melted and the sauce is uniform.

5. Add pasta into the sauce and stir to coat. Transfer to a medium-size casserole. Arrange butter chicken sauce over pasta. Place remaining cheese on top of butter chicken sauce.

6. Place in preheated oven until cheese is melted and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Serve with fresh cilantro and lime.