• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

RecipeTin Eats

Fast Prep, Big Flavours

Small book

My cookbook "Dinner" now available!

  • My RecipeTin
  • My cookbook!
  • Recipes
  • Recipes By Category
    • Iconic + cult classics
    • Mains
      • Chicken
        • Chicken mince
      • Beef Recipes
        • Ground Beef (Mince)
      • Pork
      • Lamb
      • Turkey
      • Shrimp / Prawns
      • Salmon
      • Fish
      • Salad Meals
    • Quick and Easy
    • Soups
    • One Pot
    • Stews
    • Slow Cooker
    • Sides
      • All
      • Salads & veg
      • Show Off Salads
      • Rice (all)
      • Fried rice recipes
      • Rice (plain)
      • Potato
    • Pasta
      • All
      • Pasta bakes
      • Pasta salads
    • Sweet
      • Cakes
      • Candy
      • Cheesecakes
      • Cupcakes & Muffins
      • Cookies
      • Puddings & Cosy Desserts
      • Bite Size
      • Pies
      • Slices & Bars
      • Frosting & Icing
      • Ice cream
    • Cuisine
      • Asian
        • All
        • Stir fries
        • Noodles
        • Soups
        • Chinese
        • Japanese
        • Korean
        • Thai
        • Vietnamese
      • French
      • Greek
      • Indian
      • Italian
      • Mediterranean
      • Mexican
      • Middle Eastern
      • South American
    • Dietary
      • Gluten Free
      • Low Calorie
      • Vegetarian
    • Other Categories
      • BBQ
      • Breakfast
      • Burgers
      • Cocktails
      • Party Foods
      • Rice Recipes
      • Roasts
      • Sandwiches & Sliders
    • Cookbook recipes
  • Collections
  • About
    • Me
    • RecipeTin Meals
    • Free Recipe Books
    • Contact
    • Nitty Gritty
      • Policy: Use of Recipes & Images
      • Privacy & Disclosure
Home Collections Curries

Butter Chicken

By:Nagi
Published:6 Jan '19Updated:11 Oct '22
2,309 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

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 chef recipe that makes the most incredible curry sauce.

This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!

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 deepen 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:

  • Indian Tomato Salad – with a refreshing minted yogurt dressing;

  • Cucumber salad with lemon yogurt dressing – another great refreshing salad that goes perfectly with curries;

  • Just some sliced cucumber and wedges of tomato – not dressed. Nice cool, refreshing side

  • South Indian Thoran-style Cabbage and Carrot Salad with Coconut is fresh, crunchy and shot through with gentle spices and coconut!

  • For a simpler cabbage salad, try my Everyday Cabbage Salad

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


Watch How To Make It

This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!

Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.

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

Butter Chicken

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 10 minutes mins
Cook: 25 minutes mins
Total: 35 minutes mins
Chicken, Curry
Indian
4.98 from 783 votes
Servings3 – 4
Tap or hover to scale
Print
  • 4246
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

  • Basmati rice
  • White rice
  • Coriander/cilantro (optional)

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. Also add any remaining marinade left in the bowl. 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 @recipe_tin.

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

  • Chicken Tikka Masala – kind of like Butter Chicken on steroids!
  • Palak Paneer – Indian cottage cheese and spinach curry
  • Rogan Josh – fall apart lamb in a rich creamy sauce!
  • Dal – the highest and best use of lentils, ever. Period.
  • Biryani – the world’s best Chicken & Rice. Full stop!
  • Qeema: Curried Ground Beef (Mince) – the fastest way ever to get a real Indian curry fix
  • Curry lovers, head here -> Curry Collection

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

SaveSave

Previous Post
Lemon Garlic SLOW COOKER Roast Chicken
Next Post
Chicken Vegetable Ramen Noodles

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!

Read More

Free Recipe eBooks

Join my free email list to receive THREE free cookbooks!

Related Posts

Freshly cooked Coconut chicken curry

Golden coconut chicken curry

Panang curry close up photo

Panang curry – real deal, from scratch

Freshly made Thai Yellow Curry

Thai Yellow Curry

More Curries

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cooked this? Rate this recipe!




2,309 Comments

  1. Helena says

    June 27, 2019 at 8:13 pm

    5 stars
    Thanks again Nagi. This was perfect meal for a cold Sydney evening. Best of all most of the work done in the morning. Was a breeze to finish cook after work. Made the flat breads too. Highly recommend. Will never get take out butter chicken again 😜✅

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      June 28, 2019 at 7:10 pm

      Woot! That’s great to hear Helena!

      Reply
  2. Jill says

    June 27, 2019 at 12:02 pm

    Hi Nagi, this looks fab. Can I replace the cup of cream with plain or greek yoghurt? x

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      June 27, 2019 at 5:41 pm

      Hi Jill, you could, it may alter the flavour a little but will still be delicious!

      Reply
  3. Angela Mackenzie says

    June 25, 2019 at 9:22 am

    5 stars
    Nagi, you’ve nailed it again! I had a left over BBQ chicken so I broke it up and popped it in the Greek yoghurt for 10 mins with some salt and pepper. I fried the spices with some onion and butter, then made a sauce and put the chicken and yoghurt in to warm through. Served with Basmati, Coriander and home made tzatziki and cooked some frozen roti paratha in the pan.. WINNER! Thanks so much xx

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      June 25, 2019 at 6:38 pm

      Sounds like you nailed it Angela!!

      Reply
  4. Anam says

    June 24, 2019 at 3:00 pm

    Can I cook the chicken in the oven at 200 Degrees instead of pan frying it? I am doing a huge batch and trying to avoid pan frying 3kgs of chicken 🙂 thanks

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      June 25, 2019 at 7:30 pm

      Hi Anam, I’d cook under a grill so you get the beautiful colour on it, enjoy! – N x

      Reply
  5. charlie says

    June 22, 2019 at 9:00 pm

    5 stars
    AMAZING!!!!!!!!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      June 24, 2019 at 6:24 pm

      Thanks Charlie!

      Reply
  6. Annie says

    June 15, 2019 at 5:37 pm

    5 stars
    By far the best and easiest butter chicken recipe I have ever come across! This has become a family favourite and the kids keep begging me to cook it over and over again. I’m still in awe of how authentic it tastes!!! I used only a pinch of chill power the second time around for the kids to keep it mild and it was still perfect. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful recipe.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      June 17, 2019 at 8:57 am

      That’s great Annie!

      Reply
  7. Cassie says

    June 12, 2019 at 8:30 pm

    5 stars
    So easy, so incredibly good! Fed 2 adults well but with the 4 pieces of naan made (also incredible), lunch the next day was bread and curry sauce. No changes to recipe but will say coriander really made it fresh.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      June 14, 2019 at 9:45 am

      I’m so happy you enjoyed it!

      Reply
  8. Genevieve Wilson says

    June 12, 2019 at 3:34 pm

    Hello, just wondering if this could be cooked in the slow cooker and if so how?

    Reply
    • Joanna says

      June 13, 2019 at 10:23 pm

      Yes, I’d also love to know!

      Reply
      • Adelaide Whitton says

        June 26, 2019 at 3:29 pm

        I’d like to know too!

        Reply
  9. Darren says

    June 11, 2019 at 4:53 pm

    I’m about to start cooking, but I forgot to add the lemon juice, will this make a difference?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      June 11, 2019 at 7:57 pm

      Hi Darren, it should be fine. I hope you enjoy it!

      Reply
  10. Lauren C. says

    June 11, 2019 at 10:21 am

    5 stars
    Another delicious recipe!! Absolutely loved it!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      June 11, 2019 at 11:51 am

      Great to hear Lauren – Thanks for letting me know – N x

      Reply
  11. Frank says

    June 10, 2019 at 7:01 pm

    5 stars
    You’ve done it again! Another restaurant classic perfected at home. I can’t go out to eat anymore. The whole family loved it. I have made it twice, once using ghee and once using butter. The ghee definitely made it more restaurant like but both versions were delicious. Thanks so much for your amazing website and recipes.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      June 11, 2019 at 12:11 pm

      That’s great Frank! Thanks for letting me know what you think!- N x

      Reply
  12. elissa says

    June 4, 2019 at 6:46 pm

    5 stars
    loved this recipe! I just added a little hot sauce to my own bowl to up the flavor and heat

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      June 4, 2019 at 8:45 pm

      Thanks so much for letting me know Elissa, you could definitely add chilli if you prefer it spicy ☺️

      Reply
  13. Jasmine Healey says

    June 3, 2019 at 9:26 pm

    How could you make this recipe dairy free?

    Reply
    • Gypsy says

      June 7, 2019 at 4:14 am

      replace the cream with coconut milk. I do it all the time and its delicious!

      Reply
  14. Fiona says

    June 2, 2019 at 12:39 pm

    5 stars
    This sauce is just delicious, I’d happily eat it with a spoon. It’s shockingly easy to make, too. Tried it once with chicken, and a second time with paneer instead. Both worked fabulously, thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      June 2, 2019 at 4:38 pm

      I could drink it on tap – I love it that much 😂

      Reply
  15. Karen says

    June 1, 2019 at 11:43 am

    Second time making this. My family just loves it. Thank you for the delicious and easy recipe.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      June 2, 2019 at 5:02 pm

      I’m so glad it’s a hit Karen!

      Reply
  16. Kate says

    May 30, 2019 at 5:04 am

    5 stars
    This is the best butter chicken recipe that I’ve tried (and I’ve tried quite a few). Thanks very much.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 30, 2019 at 3:33 pm

      Woah, awesome Kate!

      Reply
  17. Alyssa says

    May 25, 2019 at 5:41 am

    5 stars
    I love this recipe! I hadn’t planened ahead the second time I made this and didn’t want to wait for the chicken to marinade, so I mixed all of the marinade and curry ingredients together to use as the sauce for the meal. It’s amazing!! I always do this now – just cook the chicken and throw everything together (I use tomato soup instead of the pureé because that’s what I have on hand) and then put over rice! SO GOOD

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 25, 2019 at 1:01 pm

      Sounds great Alyssa!

      Reply
  18. Lisa says

    May 25, 2019 at 1:46 am

    5 stars
    I have made this on two different occasions. This is a phenomenal recipe and is now my husband’s and my favorite Indian dish! I think it came out even better the second time I made it, if that’s possible, because I let it marinade for two days since I wasn’t able to cook it on the day that I had intended to. This dish is so full of flavor, and has a tremendous amount of delicious sauce for the rice and Naan to soak up. Because there is so much sauce, the next time I make it, I am going to add another half pound of chicken so we will have even more leftovers! Thank you Nagi for this wonderful recipe!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 25, 2019 at 1:04 pm

      Hi Lisa, I’m so glad you loved it, I always like extra sauce for mopping up because is there such a thing as too much sauce??? 😂

      Reply
      • Lisa Killam says

        May 29, 2019 at 7:40 am

        So true! You can’t have enough sauce!

        Reply
  19. Gil says

    May 21, 2019 at 6:42 am

    Hi just curious been trying to read it multiple times because butter is part of the ingredients but in the directions i can’t seem to find where you’ve included them in the recipe( as in when do you add the butter in ? At the end? Thank you

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 21, 2019 at 8:20 am

      Hi Gil, it’s in the directions point 3 – you can use Ghee or butter. (ghee is just clarified butter anyway) – N x

      Reply
  20. nikky says

    May 20, 2019 at 4:35 pm

    5 stars
    delicious thank you! I used tomato paste. its all i had. and was fine. You covered all the bases too with bread and salads and different serving options!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 21, 2019 at 8:51 am

      Wahoo I’m so glad it worked for you!

      Reply
Newer Comments
Older Comments

Primary Sidebar

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! Read More

Free Recipe eBooks

Join my free email list to receive THREE free cookbooks!

Meet Dozer

Official taste tester of RecipeTin Eats! Meet Dozer
As Featured On

What's for Dinner?

Close up of beef enchiladas in a baking dish, fresh out of the oven

Beef Enchiladas

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

Butter Chicken

Overhead photo of 2 black bowls with Chinese Chicken Salad with Asian Dressing, ready to be eaten

Chinese Chicken Salad

Salisbury Steak recipe in skillet.

Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken - 7 ingredient magic. The coconut fragrance is heavenly! recipetineats.com

Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken

Fast prep. Big flavours!

Never miss a recipe

Back to Top
  • Related
  • RecipeTin Japan
  • Food Bloggers Center
  • Help
  • Contact Us
  • Image Use
  • Privacy Policy & Terms
Site Credits Maintained by Zao Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled © RecipeTin Eats 2023 · All Rights Reserved Back to Top