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??
Passing along a bit of wisdom for the masses. Do NOT visit this site at 12:40am. Your taste buds and stomach will hate you 😂! This looks so tasty I’m thisclose to getting up and going to the 24-hour grocery store for chicken so I can get it marinating ASAP!
Do it! 😂
I actually did 😂 😂! It’s 4am and I’m starting now. I can’t wait 24 hours, though. That means Breakfast Butter Chicken! Thank you. Your recipes are just perfect and your writing is so good I actually read it all and don’t just skip to the recipe! Only you could make me stay up all night to cook something delicious.
Made this without watching your video Nagi. Followed it but disappointed with my efforts. Not enough spices for flavour or colour. I see Indian style is marinate chicken in yoghurt spices. Cook. They make their Spicy sauceseparately and then combine and add touches at the end. Will try again. Was tender but needed that Indian spice hit. I WILL win!!!!
Hi Elle, did you follow the recipe and marinade the chicken in the yogurt and spices? – N x
Thanks for another fantastic recipe! Loved that it so easy to make. Although next time will marinate for longer than 30m Lol
It made the perfect low carb meal with your Creamy cauliflower mash (& steamed broccoli). X
Sounds great Vivienne, I’m so glad you loved it!
Made this recipe tonight and it had so much flavour, my family loved it! Marinating this overnight definitely helped. Thank you and love going through all your recipes. Keep them coming Nagi x
I’m so glad you loved it Wendy!
This was fantastic!! My go-to recipe from now on. Many thanks Nagi.
Awesome Peta, that’s great!
Hi Nagi!! I recently discovered you a few months back and have tried a few of your recipes (including your baked chicken tenders, and your no fry KFC tenders) and you haven’t failed me yet! Everything turns out amazing, hence why I’m trusting this recipe for butter chicken. I usually don’t like tampering with recipes until I try the “as written” way first, but I have to ask if full fat coconut milk in a can (not coconut cream) would work with this in place of heavy cream? And if so, would it be a different measurement? Thanks Nagi! Love you!
Hi Katie, it will work, however will change the flavour slightly – N x
I made this recipe tonight and only marinated the chicken for 1 hour and it was amazing!!! Thanks so much for the simple and delicious recipe.
Yes you can still get great flavour even after an hour, I’m so happy you enjoyed it Natalie ❤️
I made this recipe a couple of weeks ago though the chicken only had about an hour’s marinade time. It’s seriously yum and so much easier than the traditional Indian recipe. Making again tomorrow morning. Thanks very much 🐨
Wahoo! That’s great Milsy!
I slow cooked the recipe this time so will see how that goes. Also, you are the one person that has a very similar recipe for lasagne as my mum made, something very important to me and it was of course really yum.
Also, you are the one person that has a very similar recipe for lasagne as my mum made, something very important to me and it was of course really yum.
Made this today wih your flat breads Nagi and it was better than any restaurant butter chicken I v had. So good my daughter kept thanking me for the amazing dinner. The flat breads were the perfect side.
That’s so great to hear Ann!
I love this recipe,I used coconut cream instead using full cream and have a good taste.
Sounds great Mercy – N x
Can this be done in a slow cooker?
Unfortunately not Iona, you need to fry the chicken and get the sauce to a simmer stage – N x
Made this today! It was my first venture into making an Indian dish, and I absolutely loved it. I only left out the cayenne/chilli powder because I can’t handle heat. It was perfect and made my entire day!
That’s so great to hear Einzel ❤️
Hi Nagi! In the last six months, since finding this brilliant recipe of yours, I’ve made it at least 15 times. So good. I have tried at least 9 or 10 of your recipes and they’re all fantastic. So thank you from my husband and I.
Quick question about the butter chicken: can you freeze the sauce after it has been cooked? Wasn’t sure whether or not the yogurt would survive well in the freezer. Thanks again!
Desirée
I have made it with coconut milk instead of cream and frozen it. No problem with reheating. I have not tried to freeze and reheat the recipe made with cream. This recipe is a hit with my family!
Thanks for the help Karrie. 😊 I have a can in the cupboard, will have to try that too!
Hi Desiree, it might split if frozen, but you could always give it a blend to bring it back together – N x
Thanks! 🙂
I have been secretly loving your recipes but today I had to leave a comment to thank you for your butter chicken recipe! My husband and I have been a long journey to find the perfect butter chicken. We have tried famous cookbooks and recipes of well known chefs but never succeeded. Your recipe is the one! It was so easy with the right flavour we love. Thank you so much Nagi! xx
That’s so great to hear Katie, thanks so much for letting me know!
The recipe written out doesn’t say anything about the leftover marinade after cooking the chicken but the video shows the marinade being scrapped into the sauce in the video. Just an FYI. I didn’t think you’d want to miss out on all that flavour!
I look forward to to trying this one out!!!
Hi Mike, yes I usually just add it to the sauce – N x
We were ordering take out indian food from a respected local restaurant so I decided to make this to have as a side by side comparison. This was far better!
Woah what a great compliment, that’s so great to hear John!
This was delicious and easy to make. Using chicken thighs is far better than using chicken breasts, which have a tendency to be rubbery rather than tender. More flavor in the thigh meat, too. Serve with an apple salad and you are ready for dinner.
This recipe is so good! Tastes like the one being served in the restaurants. My husband loved it! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I’m so glad you loved it, thanks so much for letting me know!
How would this taste using chicken breasts?
The whole family loved this!!! The only change that I made was to add a tin of chickpeas. Another fabulous recipe!
Its absolutely delicious. Made it 2 days ago and will make it again tomorrow.
I made some oven roasted cauliflower on the side and the worked lovely with the sauce. I did sprinkle a little Garam Masalla over the cauliflower to pretend it was Indian style too 😉