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”!
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
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??
This was AMAZING! Both my kids (8 & 5) gobbled it up and the youngest is super fussy!
I used sour cream instead of natural yoghurt as we didn’t have any yoghurt in the fridge. We also added some peas. It tasted so good!
Sounds great Jess! I’m so glad it was a hit with the kids too!
This is my follow up!
OMG! What a wonderful, tasty recipe! Amazing EXACTLY as written. I bought too much chicken and decided to put all of it in the marinade. There was more than enough to marinade almost. 4lbs of chicken thighs, so I was able to make it twice.
Thank you so much your recipes. You are a genius.
Cooked this tonight and it was yum! The sauce was still quite liquidy and didn’t really thicken though. Is there anything I can do to thicken? Do I just have to cook more?
Hi Lily, did you make any changes to the recipe by any chance? The sauce should be slightly thick – N x
I did. I used chicken breast instead of thigh and double the whole recipe. Do you think the breast would change the sauce consistency?
Wow!
I just made the Butter Chicken, and it was amazing!
I also made chicken Lo Mein and sausage rolls, and all were simply delicious! Next on my list are chicken tikka masala and beef pot pies.
Thanks Nagi!!
I just love your recipe’s!!
I hope you love them too Monica ❤️
This was awesome! My late mother would have loved it. My late father would have hated it. Anything more exotic than ketchup on his beef and potatoes was too much for him. But I sure think it was wonderful.
I love this Kevin! ❤️
This recipe was so good! You continue to bail me out every week. I’m OBSESSED with your recipes.
This was even better than I expected. BF loved it! He kept raving about it. This recipe is a keeper. Perfect amount of spice. (We added some frozen peas towards the end-mainly just because by BF loves them). Thank you Nagi! Everything we have tried from your website has been great. I love your tips about brands and how products can be different depending on the country you are in.
WOOT! I’m so glad it was a hit Sheila!
A beautiful recipe. My family loves it. A favorite birthday dinner request, even from the grands!
That’s awesome Linda!
OMG this looks amazing! I’ve been looking for a simple-ish butter chicken recipe to make in an attempt to introduce my husband to curries!
Just wondering, instead of heavy cream, can coconut milk be used? Or lite coconut milk?
Thanks!
It sure can Leah – it will change the flavour slightly but will still be delicious – N x
This was really yummy and easy to make.
And that’s the BEST kind of recipe in my book Sharon 🙂
I first had butter chicken at an Indian restaurant locally. I thought it was a little spicy.
I tried this recipe and it’s AWESOME! Thank you for the recipe.
You’re so welcome Jan, I’m so happy you enjoyed it – N x
Being a vegetarian, I made this with paneer instead of chicken and it was amazing! I’d never had butter chicken before (on account of the chicken!).
I only left the paneer in the marinade for about 30 minutes. I also added some frozen peas, which were yummy.
I think it would be nice with chickpeas and some cauliflower added to the the paneer and peas. Next time, I will cut the paneer into bigger pieces, as it broke up a little bit with stirring.
Definitely making it again 🙂
I’m so glad you loved it Naomi, I think anything covered in this sauce would be fantastic!
So delicious. I’ve made it twice now in 2 weeks.
I’m so glad you love it Kelli!
Hi ! Am I able to add a stick of cinnamon and some bay leaves? I do not have chilli powder! Currently got my marinade in the fridge ready for tomorrow night! Xx
You sure can Montanna!
First time i have ever made a curry from scratch, wow it was amazing and has inspired me to try other dishes off your website.
I’m so happy you loved it Karina!
Delicious!! I’ve tried so many different butter chicken recipes and this one is by far the tastiest.
What a compliment, thanks so much Jenny!
Is the remaining marinade added to the sauce at any point?
Hi Phiona, yes it is, add it with the tomato paste – N x
Just wanted to confirm I’m adding in the leftover marinade that the chicken sat in along with the tomato Passata? Saw this instruction in the comments but it’s not in the recipe to do this so wanted to check.
Hello mahi just wanted to say I cooked this today and it was amazing and a big hit with the family.defo on the menu for next week as we having friends around for a meal.guess what we are having lol keep up the good work we love your recipes x
It doesn’t say to add the remaining marinade anywhere on the recipe. Just wanted to confirm I’m adding in the leftover marinade that the chicken sat in?
Thanks for the great recipe. It was fantastic! Looking forward to trying more recipes !
Hi! I know it says on the recipe to not pour the marinade in the frying pan when cooking, but if I’m not mistaken, I saw on a little of that sauce being poured in with the tomato purée? Did I see right? Thanks!
Hi Meryl, yes you can pour the remaining marinade in the you add the tomato paste. You dont want to add it when you’r cooking the chicken as it will stew the meat – N x
Hi, I made this before and it was simply delicious! I want to double the amount of chicken this time, so do I double everything else in the recipe?
Hi Nelly, yes you do – you can adjust using the sliding scale under the “servings” – N x
I have tried this recipe before and it is delicious and easy to make , I would like to complement you on the photography , your photos of the food you cook is brilliant , part of wanting to eat something is how it looks to the eye as much as smell of the food that makes you want to eat it , so thanks for that .
Thanks so much Kevin!