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??
I spent a month over in India visiting a friend and came back 5 pounds heavier!!!
And since then I have never been able to re-create any of the dishes I had to my satisfaction!!
First one Nagi and you knocked it out of the park!!!!😛🤤😋
Thank you so much!!!!🥰
That’s so great to hear Sarah!!! N x
absolutely loved it….ive made butter chicken before and found it somewhat complicated. this recipe was so simple, easy to follow and delicious. thankyou
It’s amazing how something so simple can taste so good Rob, I’m so happy you enjoyed it! N x
It tastes amazing!!!! Except the first time I made it, I switched the 1 and a quarter TSP of salt with tablespoons!!!
Oh no Adam!!
Hi Nagi, if i wanted to make a big batch (Around 3kg of chicken), is it a matter of quadrupling everything? I look forward to your recipe emails each week!
Hi Nisha – you can adjust the servings size by scaling up – all the ingredients will scale up for you 🙂 N x
Also is greek youghurt ok to use instead of plain youghurt?
Hi,
I was wondering
1. What brand of plain yoghurt you use and;
2. Can greek yoghurt be used as a substitute?
We’ve made this twice now and love it! Daughter is a vegetarian, so I used part of the marinade to coat some cauliflower and it worked great. I found the gravy a little thin at the end, so I added a little flour to it to thicken a bit. Thanks for a great recipe!!
Hi Karen, I’m so glad you loved it! If you were using cauliflower, it leeches water so that could have contributed to the thin sauce 🙂 N x
Amazing recipe. Great flavor, easy to throw together and easy to make substitutions. I’ve made it multiple times now to rave reviews. I’ve used tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes and puréed tomatoes depending on what I could find at the store and the flavor was still excellent each time. If you’ve always wanted to try cooking Indian food but been intimidated this is a great recipe to start with. Thanks for sharing Nagi!
That’s great to hear Ewa!!! N x
Great recipe made it today. I added cauliflower and carrots to it, was amazing the kids loved it.
Just had this for dinner again. I have made it a few times but I thought tonight is the night to leave a comment. I can’t get over how easy and delicious this is! I add a heaped tablespoon of tomato paste because for some reason the passata I get isn’t very tasty haha other than that I follow it to the tee everytime and it is always a hit. Same goes for a lot of your other recipes I have tried. Thank you Nagi for the amazing recipes always xxx
This is one of my favourite recipes but tonight I have forgotten the yoghurt. What could I use as a substitute? Sour cream?
I made the butter chicken as per your recipe. The flavour is really authentic. However the sauce did not really thicken even after simmering for 20 mins. Any suggestions. As the flavour is so good I want to have another go
I found the same thing both times I made it. So, at the end I removed a bit of the sauce and added a little flour to it then put it back in again and simmered it a little longer to thicken. It was perfect!
Nagi, will this freeze ok?
Our lockdown mantra is “a Nagi a day keeps the doctor away!” Another delicious 5 star recipe and just enough heat to keep everyone happy and yet prevent my youngest from clutching his throat and accusing us of trying to kill him (he’s prone to drama). Thx Nagi
😂 This is the BEST!!
I was wondering if there is any sort of substitute for yogurt?
Hi Toni – not really, you need the yogurt for this recipe. N x
Thank you Nagi! I love your website SO much. This butter chicken is an absolute favourite of my fussy 6 and 3 year old, plus fussy husband! I am not a confident cook but your recipes make it easy and enjoyable. Thank you again 🙂
That’s great to hear Karla!! N x
Hi Nagi:
I’m so impressed! I have made your artisan no knead bread, soft flat bread and now this butter chicken. I realized after putting together the marinade that I used American chili powder..do you think it will ruin the dish? I’m serving it for dinner tomorrow?. Help! any suggestions?
Hi Reggie! It will be fine, but won’t be spicy at all! Just taste it as you’re heating it up and if you want a bit of spiciness then just add a touch of cayenne pepper. Go easy! 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi, thanks for this great website and for gifting us your recipes, time and expertise! Your presentations and recipes have lured me back into the kitchen, with renewed interest, enthusiasm and delight.. Many thanks!
P.S. Can the butter chicken work with coconut yoghurt and coconut cream, for a dairy free option?
You’re so welcome Kerry!! Yes coconut cream would work great in this recipe 🙂 N x
So far every recipe I have made is absolutely the best I’ve had!
Oh shucks Lori, thanks so much for the great feedback 🙂 N X
Nagi! This butter chicken is the best I’ve ever made & the family loved it! Authentic, creamy, quick & so delicious. I love all of your recipes, fool proof & fabulous🤗 Thanks so much xx
Forgot to rate!
Thanks Jo! N x
Wow. Loved this recipe! I’ve tried several butter chicken recipes but this one is by far the best and now my only recipe. Thank you Nagi!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Jo! N x