Butter Chicken Recipe: Butter Chicken is probably one of the most popular Indian chicken recipes liked by all for its mild flavour and deliciously rich gravy. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the most popular dish in Indian restaurants and so, this is a restaurant-style Butter Chicken Recipe.
Indian food is normally associated with dishes like Butter Chicken, Chicken Tikka, ‘Naan Bread’, and Biryani. Having a good butter chicken recipe in your repertoire is not a bad idea, especially if you plan to entertain a mixed group of Indians and non-Indians and want a crowd-pleaser.
Anyway, Butter Chicken is Indian, I do accept that. However, it has never been my first option while eating out – not now and not when I was growing up. I guess I always preferred spicier versions of chicken recipes like maybe Pepper Chicken or Chilli Chicken.
However, there’s really something very comforting about a good Butter Chicken Recipe. If cooked right, it pairs fabulously with some naan made on tawa, a simple vegetable pulao, or even plain rotis or chapatis. I have used cream in the gravy for this Butter Chicken but you can just as easily substitute that with some pureed cashew paste for a different flavour and if you are looking for a butter chicken recipe without cream.
I made this for some friends who were coming over for dinner, and paired it with my vegetable pulao recipe. The basic gravy is adapted from my Paneer Butter Masala Recipe. This is a restaurant-style Butter Chicken Masala Recipe – so enjoy!
Butter Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 350 grams boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh cubed
- 1 cup onions minced
- 3/4 cup tomato pureed
- 1 tbsp canned tomato paste or sauce
- 2-3 tbsp butter or ghee
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 to 1 tsp chilli powder use Kashmiri chilli powder for better colour and less heat
- 1 tsp of garam masala
- 1 large pinch of kasuri methi / dried fenugreek leaves
- 1 cup of milk
- 3 tbsp of cream or pureed cashew paste soak and grind cashew nuts if using that
- 1-2 tsp salt adjust to taste
- 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
- 1 small bunch of coriander leaves / cilantro for ganish
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a pan and add the minced onions. Fry until golden brown
- Add the ginger, garlic, coriander powder, chilli powder, turmeric, and salt.
- Fry for a minute until fragrant
- Add the pureed tomato and tomato paste and cook for 3-4 mins until the mixture bubbles uniformly
- Add in the kasuri methi, milk, and the cubed chicken along with some salt
- Cook covered for 8-10 mins until the chicken is soft. The chicken will let out more water, just check once or twice in between and give the curry a stir. Keep the heat on low
- When the chicken is cooked soft, open the lid and cook for a further minute or two. If the gravy is too thick, add some water at this stage
- When done, add the garam masala and the cream or cashew paste. Give it a good stir, but don't boil
- Adjust salt, garnish with the coriander leaves, and remove from heat
- Serve hot with tawa naan, vegetable pulao, or jeera rice
Notes
- If you have extra time, marinate the chicken pieces in ginger, garlic, turmeric, and chilli powder and lightly pan fry it until half-cooked. Then proceed with the rest of the recipe for Butter Chicken above
- Adjust all ingredients to your liking. I tend to add more ginger than the recipe states and find I like the extra heat
- The tomato paste is an odd ingredient that you may not readily have in your pantry. But it’s worth grabbing a can because it adds more sourness and colour to the finished curry
- Add a minced green chilli for extra heat and a nice flavour
- The kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves add a smoky dimension to the butter chicken. Try not to skip that. You can add kasuri methi to other Indian dishes to use it up, like dal, paneer butter masala, etc
- If you find that your milk curdles while cooking, add it after the chicken is cooked. Also remember to use full fat cream and not low fat etc
Step by Step Images for Butter Chicken Recipe
Heat butter in a pan and add the minced onion. I am using my all clad pan for this. Find similar here: US | India
Fry until golden brown
Add minced ginger and garlic. Fry for a few seconds until fragrant.
Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, and some salt. Saute again.
Add tomato puree and tomato paste (US | India).
Fry this mixture for 3-4 minutes until it starts to bubble.
Add milk to this
and kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves. Buy in US | India.
and the chicken pieces
Mix everything well together
and cook covered until the chicken is cooked through : about 8-10 minutes
The chicken will let out some water while cooking. Keep stirring cook covered until the chicken is cooked through. If the gravy seems too thick, add 1/2 cup water and keep cooking
When the chicken is cooked, add the cream (or cashew paste) and stir well. Lower heat.
Add garam masala and cream
Give everything a good mix, adjust salt as needed and turn off the heat. Don’t boil after adding cream and garam masala.
Serve butter chicken hot with tawa naan, vegetable pulao, or jeera rice.
This butter chicken recipe was updated with better images, adjusted quantities of ingredients and text.
Hi – Love the look of this recipe for butter chicken but as a beginner with Indian cooking I am unsure of how to prepare the marinade that you mention in your note at the end. How much of each ingredient should I use and should I add a liquid of some sort ?
Hello! So for that marinade, for 250 grams chicken, I would add 1 tsp grated ginger, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp paprika or chilli powder (adjust this to your taste) and mix well with some salt. You can add a few drops of water but don’t make it too watery. Set aside for 30 mins and shallow fry in some oil before proceeding with the remaining steps. Of course, adjust chilli and turmeric in the recipe afterwards.
Hey !!Tried it for a friends family tonight. I am a vegetarian but they said it was really nice!So thank you Nags!
aww thanks aditi. that was really nice of you to cook for them 🙂
I tried this out today. this was the very first desi handi I’ve ever made so i was a bit nervous about it; but it turned out sooooo good. I mean just what i wanted. Thank you soo much. It was yum.
thank you so much!
it was gret tast maya i like it thanks
thank you pratima!
Lovely and quick recipe
thank you praneeta
Awesome recipe … Tasted exactly like restaurant version !!!
Thank you Poornima
Best recipe ever. It just tasted like the curry at my favourite india Restaurant.
I would have never believed it. It was delicious! Thank you so much!
thank you!
Delicious! My family loves this
thank you rachel!
I made this with leftover Christmas turkey from the freezer! Just defrosted, cut it into chunks and put it in at the same stage as you said for fresh chicken. Also subbed cream for natural yoghurt and it worked a treat. New fav, easy to cook curry recipe! Thanks 🙂
what a great idea to use up leftover turkey. Glad you liked it 🙂
Hi. Loved the look of your butter chicken. How do I adjust spices for a kilo of chicken as I have a large family? Would appreciate your help as I don’t want to mess it up
Thanks
Smita
The quantities I have mentioned is for 250 gm chicken so if you have 1 kg chicken, just add 4 times the rest of the ingredients. Please adapt to your taste things like chilli and other spices.