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 – 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!
How to make Butter Chicken – in 3 Simple Steps
Make Butter Chicken Marinade and marinate chicken for 3+ hours (overnight is best)
Cook chicken
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!
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
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!
And it’s MADE for dunking in that creamy Butter Chicken Sauce!!
Sides for 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
PS Don’t miss the new streamlined oven version: One-Pan Baked Butter Chicken. Readers are loving it!
Watch How To Make It
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
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Butter Chicken
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:
Nutrition Information:
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??
Hi Nagi,
Can you tell me if this Butter Chicken recipe is spicy? My husband can eat spicy food but me not so much. So I would like to check if we should make any adjustments for spiciness?
Thanks!
Lisa
Hi Lisa! There’s the tiniest hint of spiciness but it’s not very spicy at all,the only spice is from the cayenne pepper / ground chilli and there’s only 1/2 tsp across 4 servings!
It’s mysterious- it’s a simple recipe yet loaded with amazing flavors. I have tried a lot of tikka recipes, including Aarti s from food network, and this tastes even better. I didn’t marinate the chicken as I didn’t have time but the flavor was still there. Served with your flat bread recipe made while the chicken was simmering. Try it- you will be impressed by your own cooking! Thank u, Nagi- you rock!!
Oh I love the way you’ve described this!!! It’s exactly how I feel. And I must admit, I do not use any other recipes by Luke Mangan, the Chef who’s recipe this is. But this is exceptional!
hi there, wondering why theres no butter in this recipe when most other ones have butter?
Hi Mia! The cream provides the butteriness (after all, butter is made from cream!) so it’s not required. 🙂
You mentioned you were going to make naan bread so I went looking for your naan bread recipe. Can’t find it on your site. Please can I have your recipe for naan bread also would love it in grams as well. Would love this recipe in grams as well. I love your recipes as most are in grams which I use here in the UK. MANY THANKS JANE
Hi Jane! I use my no yeast flatbread recipe -> https://innovate-pulse.news/easy-soft-flatbread-yeast/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Hi Nagi! I can’t wait to try this out! I was just wondering when you say “cream” is that like American whipping cream or half&half? Thank you for your help!!! (:
Hi Alysha! Half and half 🙂 Any cream that can be poured in! N xx
I’m sorry, I should have added to my question that I am attempting to cook just the sauce without any chicken. I looked back into the early comments and found a similar question to mine, and you answered that the marinade will mostly stick to the chicken. Since I’m not using chicken, how much of the marinade should I add to the pan?
Gotcha! Then all of it! Simmer away 🙂
Hi, this recipe sounds delicious! I have a quick question before I get started:
Where you instruct to, “Add the chicken coated in the Marinade and cook for around 3 minutes, or until the chicken is white all over (it doesn’t really brown because of the Marinade),” do you mean for the entire marinade to be put into the pan along with the chicken? Or should I pick out the chicken from the marinade, leaving out most of the marinade?
Thank you!
Sorry for the late response! Nope, just pick the chicken out as opposed to tipping it all into the pan. I just mean don’t wipe the marinade off!
Thanks for the terrific recipe! My family has asked me to remake it for the third time in two weeks, finally giving us something our toddler will reliably eat at daycare. And as suggested, your flatbread was a great naan stand-in.
Woo hoo! So glad you like this Scott, thanks for coming back to let me know! N xx PS Wait – your toddler eats this????
Can’t you make this using coconut milk instead of the cream?
Hi Debi, yes you can, you’ll just get a hint of coconut flavour. Still delish, just not how this recipe is made 🙂
Question.
I am simmering my butter chicken right now. Something has come up and I won’t be eating it until tomorrow. Can I reheat it tomorrow and then add the cream.
Thanks for your help
I’m sorry for the late response, I was out of range for a few days. But it’s totally fine to reheat even after adding the cream! N x
OMG I just made this and it’s amazing!!!! Absolutely gorgeous. I have a question regarding the yeast free bread.. I’ve made it but couldn’t wait for it to have it with the butter chicken… can I freeze it to use next time?
Hi Shauna! So glad you enjoyed this, thanks for letting me know! Yes you can absolutely freeze the bread. I love that flatbread!!! 🙂
I can only marinate for about 4 hours, will it still taste good?
Hi Ashlee! It will still be GREAT! 🙂
My first time finally cooking an indian dish. This recepie turned out amazying! I still can’t believe how good it tastes:)) my whole family loved it , especially my mom who has been cooking similar dishes for 40 years, she said it was perfect and that doesn’t happen often with her!
Thank you :))))
Hi Rasho, I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for taking the time to let me know – N x
Hi Nagi,
Do you know if this freezes well? Thank you.
Hi Oliver, unfortunately I don’t recommend it, pretty sure the sauce will split 🙁
It would last usually upto 2 days without any change in taste. On 3rd and in my opinion last day it may taste a tad different, but still OK to consume. Should discard any leftover after that.
Passata isn’t quite the same as pureed tinned tomatoes!
When you make passata, a huge part of the process is removing as much liquid as possible from the tomatoes so that the final puree is as concentrated as possible. This means the taste of passata is more intense than if you just puree any old tomatoes. Well worth finding the real deal if possible! 🙂
Good point Lara, thanks 🙂 It works ok for this recipe because of everything else in it, but you’re right, I wouldn’t sub passata for pureed tomatoes for all recipes calling for passata! 🙂
agree, I asked at my local Publix and they started carrying it
This recipe is absolutely amazing!! My first time cooking Indian food at home and it turned out perfect. The only problem is I want to eat it every single day! Thanks for a super easy and incredibly easy dish!
Fantastic to hear Bonnie! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know! N x
Hi Nagi,
I’d like to incorporate some vegetables into this receipe, what vegetables would you recommend that wouldn’t compromise the taste?
Thanks 🙂
p.s I love your chicken and cashew and beef with honey & pepper recipes!
Hi Fiona! Hmm…that’s a tough one. Onion definitely. And peas. And baby baby spinach stirred through at the end 🙂
I think you can use small pieces of cauliflower.
I absolutely love this dish!! I make this almost once a week now! 🙂 I usually increase the amount of sugar a bit (I am partial to sweet curries…) and lessen the cayenne, as I have small children, and they love it too! I also make this marinade/sauce with Quorn as a vegetarian option for my husband and although it’s nowhere near as nice as the chicken version, he really likes it too. Friends always like it and seem quite impressed, yet it’s so easy! Thank you so much for this recipe!!
I’m so glad you enjoy this recipe Carin, thanks so much for letting me know! N x
Hi there. Can you freeze this ?
Thanks
I don’t recommend it, because of the cream and yoghurt, think they will split 🙂
We have both puree and tomato sauce here in America. Puree is thick. What you suggest I use?
Hi Stacey! Tomato sauce is better 🙂