Butter Chicken is a super popular Indian dish made with tender chicken thighs and a deliciously seasoned, creamy, buttery tomato-based sauce. Served with basmati rice and naan makes for a perfect meal.
Butter Chicken, like Chicken Tikka Masala, is a mild curry compared to many Indian curries. It is one of the most popular curry dishes on the menu at many Indian restaurants around the world and yet one of the easiest to make at home!
CREAMY BUTTER CHICKEN
Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani— chicken with butter)) is one of our daughter’s favorite foods. Because of its rich and creamy texture and flavor combinations. They are happy on Friday night with a good curry and binge-watching Netflix.
The Butter Chicken sauce is so ridiculously delicious, that it’ll soon become your favorite!
HOMEMADE BUTTER CHICKEN
If there’s any Indian recipe that’s worth making at home, it’s Butter Chicken, and this is the BEST butter chicken you’ll make! Incredibly tender and juicy chicken thanks to a deliciously spiced yogurt marinade, prepared in a buttery gravy with the addition of cream give the curry sauce a silky-smooth rich texture.
EVERYBODY’S FAVORITE CURRY
With the aromatic scent of the golden tender chicken pieces in an incredible creamy curry sauce, this Butter Chicken recipe is one of the easiest and best made at home, especially with basmati rice and naan
HOW TO MAKE CREAMY BUTTER CHICKEN
This Butter Chicken Recipe is delicious and so easy to make. Full of savory flavors, it rivals any Indian restaurant! Tender and juicy chunks of chicken simmered in a creamy spiced curry sauce. Better than take out, you’ll love making this Indian Butter Chicken right at home with chicken, tomato sauce, cream, and a handful of spices.
Serve over rice with a side of naan to sop up the delicious sauce!
PREP TIME:
10 minutes
COOK TIME:
1 hour
TOTAL TIME:
1 HOUR 20 MINS
COURSE:
Entree, Main Course
CUISINE:
Indian
SERVINGS: 4
INGREDIENTS
3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces
4 tablespoons olive oil
Chicken Marinade:
1 ½ cups full-fat Greek yogurt
4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, finely grated
1 teaspoon garam masala
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon ground cumin
SERVING
Chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems
Basmati rice, for serving
Naan, for serving
Sauce:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ teaspoon Kasoori Methi
2 bay leave
⅓ teaspoon of ground cardamom
1 large onion, sliced
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
4 cloves garlic, finely grated
1 tablespoon sugar
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 ½ teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
28 oz San Marzano crushed tomatoes
1/3 cup heavy cream
INSTRUCTIONS
For the marinade:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, cumin, garam masala, turmeric, salt, ginger, and garlic until combined. Toss the chicken in the marinade until evenly coated. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours. (The longer the better.)
For the sauce:
- Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Toss the Kasoori Methi, bay leaves, cardamom, clove, and cinnamon in the butter and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly darker and very fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the onions, season with 1 teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden and beginning to caramelize, about 10 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, until very fragrant and the ginger starts to turn golden and sticks to the bottom of the pot, about 3 minutes. Add the sugar, cumin, coriander, garam masala, and chili powder and cook, stirring occasionally, until very fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced by half and the tomatoes are very tender, about 30 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and cinnamon sticks.
- Let the hot sauce cool for about 5 minutes or so, then transfer it to a blender filling no more than halfway and pulse until smooth. (If your blender is small, you may need to work in batches.) Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and the cream to the blender and puree until creamy. Pour into a clean pot and bring to a simmer. Season with salt.
Meanwhile…
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When sizzling, add chicken pieces in batches of two or three, making sure not to crowd the pan. Fry until browned for only 3 minutes on each side. Set it aside and keep warm. (You will finish cooking the chicken in the sauce.)
- Add the chicken to the simmering sauce, cover, and cook until the chicken is cooked through, and the sauce is thick and bubbling, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the cilantro.
- Serve with rice and/or naan alongside.
- Enjoy!
NOTES
If you prefer a thinner sauce, add a couple of tablespoons of butter at the end of cooking, and gently simmer it through. Alternatively, add a small amount of water.
The sauce starts off a pale orange color but as it simmers and thickens, the color will deepen to a rich orange color.
Have you tried making this Butter Chicken Recipe?
Please share in the comments below! We always love to hear your thoughts. If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #appetizersandentrees on Instagram. We really enjoy seeing what you’re cooking in the kitchen.
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Tried the recipe to the tee, and it was just so yummy! Living out in Colorado we have zero access to Indian cuisine,, I’m craving great recipes to try at home. This is perfect and going in my recipe book!
I have made a few different Chicken Tikka Masala recipes but they we not close to this one. TRULY AMAZING AND DELICICOUS!
I read the comments and they’re all true – the best Butter Chicken I’ve ever eaten or ever made. So fresh and delicious!
YUMMY!! It was absolutely DELICIOUS! My husband and I love this recipe and plan to make it many more times.
Thank you for posting this recipe, Chelle I lived in India for a while and tasted a lot of Indian food. This recipe is so easy to follow and without a doubt, the taste is above expectation.
What can I say? I mean this butter chicken is so amazing. I really do like the moisture of it so delicious.❤❤
Made this delicious recipe for my parents last night. This butter chicken recipe is amazing and relatively easy to make!
I just made this for my family last night and everyone loved it! So delicious!!
This recipe was very easy to make and came out tasting like very good restaurant butter chicken!
Never been a huge fan of making butter chicken at home as other recipes have always been so full-on but oh my gosh this butter chicken is SOOO tasty and simple!!! Absolutely will be making it again, and Again!
Indian food is so delicious, I love butter chicken so much. I love pairing it with “naan” which is equally as delicious. This recipe looks so tasty and I cant wait to make it!