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Butter Chicken

By:Nagi
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Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani) is one of the most popular curries in the world and yet happens to be one of the easiest! No hunting down hard to find ingredients, this is a Chef recipe that makes the most incredible curry sauce.

The chicken is incredibly tender and injected with flavour from a yogurt marinade, and the Butter Chicken sauce is so ridiculously delicious, you’ll want it on tap!

Butter Chicken on rice in a rustic black bowl, ready to be eaten

Butter Chicken – a Chef recipe!

As someone who loves food with big, BIG flavours, it’s no surprise that Indian is one of my favourite foods. A good curry and binge watching Netflix is pretty much my idea of a perfect Friday night. #NanaAlert! 😂

As much as I love making Indian food at home, sometimes I find the list of ingredients daunting. It’s easy enough to make once I gather all the ingredients, but that’s where I usually fall short because it requires a trip to an Indian grocery store – and my closest one is a fair drive away.

Butter Chicken is one of the few exceptions. I was elated when I discovered a Chef recipe for Butter Chicken and realised how easy it is. But more importantly, you can get all the ingredients from any supermarket. Yes!

Is Butter Chicken really Indian??

YES it is! It’s called Murgh Makhani and it hails from Northern India. It’s quite a mild curry compared to many Indian curries, and outside of India, it’s become just about everybody’s favourite curry!

Close up of Butter Chicken in a skillet, fresh off the stove

How to make Butter Chicken – in 3 Simple Steps

  1. Make Butter Chicken Marinade and marinate chicken for 3+ hours (overnight is best)

  2. Cook chicken

  3. Make sauce in the same skillet

The secret to the tender, flavour infused chicken is a spice infused yogurt marinade made with fresh ginger, garlic, lemon juice and spices. The spices in Butter Chicken are turmeric, garam masala, chilli powder and cumin.

Did you know….You don’t need copious amounts of butter for a great Butter Chicken!

The beautiful Butter Chicken Sauce mostly gets its richness from cream. While some restaurants take it over the top by stirring in a (very!) generous amount of butter into the sauce at the end, I find that it’s rich enough as it is. The Butter Chicken flavour and experience – but less oily than restaurant versions!

How to make Butter Chicken

Butter Chicken dinner menu with papadums, naan and basmati rice

The sauce will initially be a pale orange colour but as it simmers and thickens, the colour will depend to a rich orange colour.

What to serve with Butter Chicken

Made this the other night. INSANELY DELICIOUS!!! Barely spicy, the kids wolfed it down!

To make a proper Indian feast, sides and starters are essentials! Because every curry needs papadums for dunking and naan to scoop up the sauce with, right?

  • No-fry quick papadums – just microwave them! Place the papadums around the edge of the microwave turntable and cook on high for 45 seconds to 1 minute or until they are puffed up. They’ll be soft while warm but as soon as they cool down, they crisp up. They don’t expand as much as when deep fried, but neither will your thighs. 😂

  • Samosas! The ultimate Indian appetiser. Leftovers make great snacks or even lunch!

  • Proper naan – A recipe in the works for 5 years, I’m thrilled to finally share my proper naan recipe that can be easily made at home (no tandoor needed!)

  • Shortcut “naan” – For a simpler, no-yeast flatbread that’s just as good, my Easy No Yeast Flatbread looks and tastes very similar to real naan (except it’s much faster and easier!). Try telling me this doesn’t look like it belongs in this feast!

Easy Soft Flatbread NAAN

And it’s MADE for dunking in that creamy Butter Chicken Sauce!!

Close up of naan being used to scoop up Butter Chicken

Readers have also asked for Vegetable Side options – to add some greens to a meal. Indian food doesn’t really have fresh side salads like in Western cuisine. Partly because so much Indian food is vegetarian, so you get plenty of veggies in your diet!

But here are some Vegetable Side Options you can add on the side of Butter Chicken:

I hope this has inspired you to try your hand at making an Indian feast at home! You will honestly be amazed how much depth of flavour there is in the Butter Chicken despite how few ingredients are in it. – Nagi x

Butter Chicken Recipe
Watch How To Make It

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Butter Chicken served over basmati rice in a bowl, ready to be served

Butter Chicken

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 25 mins
Total: 35 mins
Chicken, Curry
Indian
4.99 from 452 votes
Servings3 - 4
Tap or hover to scale
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RECIPE VIDEO above. This is a Chef recipe and is one of the easiest Indian curries to make. The Butter Chicken Sauce is so good that you will want it on tap! Many restaurants take it over the top by adding copious amounts of ghee or butter into the sauce, but you'll find this rich enough as it is with the rich, creamy sauce!

Ingredients

Marinade

  • 1/2 cup plain yoghurt , full fat
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp tumeric powder
  • 2 tsp garam masala (Note 1)
  • 1/2 tsp chilli powder or cayenne pepper powder (Note 2)
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp ginger, freshly grated
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1.5 lb / 750 g chicken thigh fillets, cut into bite size pieces

Curry

  • 2 tbsp (30 g) ghee or butter, OR 1 tbsp vegetable oil (Note 3)
  • 1 cup tomato passata (aka tomato puree) (Note 4)
  • 1 cup heavy / thickened cream (Note 5)
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 1/4 tsp salt

To serve - choose

Instructions

  • Optional blitz: for an extra smooth sauce, combine the Marinade ingredients (except the chicken) in a food processor and blend until smooth. (I do not do this)
  • Marinade: Combine the Marinade ingredients with the chicken in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or up to 24 hours (minimum 3 hrs).
  • Cook chicken: Heat the ghee (butter or oil) over high heat in a large fry pan. Take the chicken out of the Marinade but do not wipe or shake off the marinade from the chicken (but don't pour the Marinade left in the bowl into the fry pan). 
  • Place chicken in the fry pan and cook for around 3 minutes, or until the chicken is white all over (it doesn't really brown because of the Marinade).
  • Sauce: Add the tomato passata, cream, sugar and salt. Turn down to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Do a taste test to see if it needs more salt.
  • Garnish with coriander/cilantro leaves if using. Serve with basmati rice.
  • The Butter Chicken is pictured with my very easy No Yeast Flatbread and no-fry papadums (Note 5).

Recipe Notes:

1. Garam Masala is a spice mix that is readily available at supermarkets nowadays. You will find it in the spice section and it costs around the same as other spices.
2. Pure chilli powder - This is not chili powder as Americans know it! American Chili Powder contains things other than ground dried chili. Use pure chili powder or cayenne pepper to add a spice kick. The spiciness is very mild.
3. Ghee is a clarified butter used in Indian cooking (see this Movie Popcorn Butter recipe for more info). For this recipe, it can be substituted with butter or almost any neutral flavoured cooking oil.
4. Tomato passata is pureed tinned tomatoes. Nowadays it is readily available in supermarkets, usually alongside pasta sauces. It costs just a tiny bit more, sometimes the same, as canned tomatoes. Called Tomato Puree in America.
If you can't find it, puree canned tomatoes using a blender. This will also work with what is called "Tomato Sauce" in America (Australia! Don't use what we call Tomato Sauce!)
5. For a lighter version, use OR for a lighter version use 3/4 cup light cream + 1/4 cup milk (full fat or low fat)
6. No Fry Quick Papadums - Place store bought raw papadums (which are really cheap - around $1 for a packet) in the microwave on the edge of the turntable. Then microwave for 45 seconds to 1 minute, or until puffed up. They will crisp up when they cool.
7. Adapted from a recipe by Luke Mangan, an Australian chef and restaurateur. The only adjustments I made was to add salt (I am sure it was inadvertently omitted from his recipe) and providing the lighter option for the cream.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 310gCalories: 402cal (20%)Carbohydrates: 9.8g (3%)Protein: 39.8g (80%)Fat: 23.4g (36%)Saturated Fat: 9.3g (58%)Cholesterol: 193mg (64%)Sodium: 928mg (40%)Fiber: 0.9g (4%)Sugar: 6.5g (7%)
Keywords: Butter Chicken
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

Originally published July 2015. Updated for housekeeping matters and a new video added January 2019. But most importantly, Life of Dozer section added! 

For Indian Curry Lovers

Life of Dozer

Flashback: Dozer’s first time in water. Look at those wild eyes!!! 😂 Fear? Excitement??

Dozer the golden retriever dog first time in water

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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1,558 Comments

  1. Suzanne Brenton says

    I made this tonight for dinner. Colour was what I expected but something was missing from authentic Butter Chicken, not sure what… having said that, it was tasty with roasted asparagus and Naan bread! Thank you!

    Reply

  3. Miriam says

    5 stars
    This is delicious!! I’ve made it so many times! The first time my husband and I made it, we made a few mistakes- greek yogurt instead of regular yogurt and 4x (!!) the amount turmeric. The next time, we made super sure to follow the recipe exactly but honestly, we prefer it with the “mistakes.” Amazing recipe all around.

    Reply

  4. Lucy says

    5 stars
    Nagi, your recipes never fail and are always a delight. I love this version of Murgh Makhani.

    I added some cinnamon, black pepper, cloves, green cardamom and methi leaves to the sauce and charred the chicken.

    To imitate the smokiness from the tandoor, I lit a couple of charcoal pieces and placed them in a small stainless steel bowl that I nestled within the finished chicken. I then poured some melted ghee over the hot charcoal and immediately covered the pan with a lid. The trapped smoke imparted the most amazing flavour.

    Reply

  5. Barbara G says

    5 stars
    Easy but really tasty curry – rather than chilli powder I used some of my own home made chilli jam.

    Reply

  6. Sprinkles says

    5 stars
    Just had this for dinner tonight, Yum! After I browned the chicken, I sautéed some diced onion, with some garlic and ginger, added some extra cumin, garam marsala, and cayenne pepper, then ran it through the blender and added it to my sauce. I’m sure it would have been fine without, but I wanted the extra spice. I also added chickpeas and cauliflower. I used half and half and left out the butter and sugar. Didn’t miss it at all! Love the recipe. It’s so easy to customize and less work than others, with all the taste!

    Reply

  7. Guy Morosini says

    5 stars
    This was fantastic! Marinated overnight and served with Basmati Rice. Made the ghee and used tomato purée. Thank you for this wonderfully delicious and easy recipe!

    Reply

  11. Kim says

    5 stars
    Love the way you present and explain your recipes. Excellent advice on roasted potatoes..love dogs say hi to Dozer

    Reply

  12. Isabelle says

    Hey Nagi, just wondering if you need to marinade this, or it would go fine without. I’ve made it a couple of times with marinading but I don’t really have enough time tonight. It’s delicious by the way, by far my favourite meal to make!

    Reply

  13. Renee says

    5 stars
    Made this tonight and it was a hit! So flavourful and delicious paired with a cucumber raita and roti. Will definitely make again!

    Reply

  14. Kristine says

    5 stars
    Thanks, this was delicious! I don’t eat meat anymore so I roasted some cauliflower and carrots, then added them to the sauce along with paneer and spinach. Even though you said not to add the leftover marinade to the sauce, I was worried the sauce would be lacking with no marinade ingredients at all so I decided to use half of all the marinade ingredients except for the yogurt (skipped that) and just mixed them into the sauce. Yummy! Who knew butter chicken was so easy to make?

    Reply
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