This restaurant style butter chicken, otherwise known as murgh makhani, tastes just like your favorite Indian restaurant version, with a few tweaks to make it easy and weeknight friendly. Tender, seasoned chicken is simmered in a flavorful, savory sauce. Served with homemade tandoori naan, flavourful onion pulao or plain, fluffy rice, you'll choose this over take out, any day!
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👩🏽🍳Why This Recipe Works
The real, authentic deal: If you are looking for a real, authentic Indian recipe, this is it! This recipe is a combination of my Nani's (maternal grandmother's) recipe, with some tweaks to make it slightly easier to make.
Packed with flavor: Like most Indian dishes, this butter chicken is packed with flavor, coming from the marinated chicken and the luxurious sauce. Butter chicken also happens to be a great dish to try out if you are just trying out Indian food, as the flavors are bold yet familiar.
Easy to make: The chicken and sauce are very easy to make. No fancy methods or cooking equipment is needed, which makes it all the better.
Easy shortcuts: To bring this dish together quickly, I have tested some fantastic shortcuts that will make prep and cooking a breeze. You will not miss any of the flavors from traditional methods.
🥘Ingredients
Get Your Pantry Ready to Cook!
For more detailed information on many of the ingredients used in this recipe, check out this guide to 20 pantry staple ingredients in Indian cooking!
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts: Chicken breasts are perfect for this recipe, as they stay tender and juicy and add a delicious depth of flavor in a small amount of time. Chicken breasts tend to be thicker, which makes for bigger chunks of chicken.
- Greek yogurt: Greek yogurt is a great way to keep the chicken flavorful and tender, in a short period of time. I always recommend using greek yogurt because of its thick texture and low moisture content. Regular yogurt has too much liquid, and will not cling to the chicken as well.
- Chaat masala: Chaat masala is a blend of spices, including mango powder, black salt and dried pomegranate. It adds a tangy flavour to chicken marinade, all in one spice mix.
- Kashmiri red chilli powder: Kashmiri red chilli powder is a combination of sweetness and subtle heat. Kashmiri chilli powder is also commonly used to add that signature red color to the chicken, without using food coloring.
- Tomato passata: Tomato passata is strained pureed tomatoes. This is a great shortcut for the butter chicken sauce, instead of taking the time to cook down fresh tomatoes.
- Heavy whipping cream: This is the creamy element that everyone knows and loves in butter chicken. Heavy whipping cream is the best choice, as it maintains its richness in the tomatoes, and cuts the acidity, too.
A full list of ingredients with measurements is located on the recipe card, below.
📖Substitutions
- Chicken: You can opt for chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts, if you prefer dark meat. Be mindful to keep the pieces uniform, and bite-sized. You can also use bone-in chicken pieces if that is what you have on hand, but the cooking time will increase slightly.
- Tomato passata: You can also use canned crushed tomatoes, or diced fresh tomatoes. You will likely have to put the mixture through a strainer after blending if using fresh tomatoes. This will yield a silky sauce without any seeds or skins.
- Dairy-free: Instead of sautéing in butter, feel free to use olive oil or your oil of choice. You can also use a dairy substitute instead of heavy cream. The cashews add a good creaminess to the sauce, so you won't lose too much by using a dairy substitute.
- Dried fenugreek: You can omit the fenugreek if you do not have it on hand, or cannot find it.
- Greek yogurt: You can use regular yogurt if that is what you have on hand. If using regular yogurt, you will want to put it into a strainer or put it through a cheesecloth to get the excess moisture out.
🔪Variations
- Spicy: Increase the amount of red chilli powder in both the chicken marinade, and the gravy. You can also add a green chilli while sauteeing the spices and cashews, and blend in with the tomatoes.
- Kid friendly or mild: Omit the red chilli powder all together for a super mild version of this recipe.
- Vegetarian: Substitute chicken with paneer or tofu - you may enjoy my favorite shahi paneer recipe instead!
⏲️ Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep Work Before Cooking
Collecting all your ingredients - This will make cooking so much easier. Gather all the spices you will need, and keep them nearby.
Prepare your chicken - Cut the chicken breasts into even-sized chunks. Avoid cutting the pieces too small, to avoid drying out the chicken while cooking.
Combine the cubed chicken breasts with all the ingredients needed for the marinade. [photo 1]
Bring a large skillet to medium-high heat. Saute the marinated chicken with a tablespoon of butter, until the chicken is cooked through and lightly browned. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside. [photo 2]
In the same skillet that was used for the chicken, add 1 tablespoon of butter. Brown the garlic, ginger, cashew nuts, green cardamon and a cinnamon stick until fragrant. [photo 3]
Add the ground spices to the skillet, and toast. Add the tomato passata to the skillet, and let it cook through until the water has evaporated, and it has thickened. [photo 4]
Once the passata mixture has thickened, remove the visibly large spices like cardamon pods and cinnamon sticks, and put the sauce into a blender. Add half of the water, and blend until smooth. [photo 6]
Return the mixture back to the skillet, and add the remaining water. Add the sugar and salt, as well as the chicken. Finish with heavy whipping cream, and dried fenugreek. [photos 7 & 8]
💭 Expert Tips
If you don't have a blender: Use an immersion blender. Be mindful that it may not break down the cashews as well as a regular blender. If you find it to be chunky, try straining it.
Cut the chicken in even-sized pieces: This will ensure that all the chicken cooks at the same time, and will prevent some pieces from drying out while others are undercooked.
For added flavor: Skewer and grill the chicken on a barbecue to add some smokiness to the sauce. This is typical to Indian restaurants, as they use chicken tikka that is cooked in a tandoor.
🍽 Make Ahead & Storage
You can make the butter chicken sauce in advance and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. This sauce is the base of the dish which also takes the most time to prepare, and having it ready can save time.
Marinate the chicken in yogurt and spices, then store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before cooking. This will also help the chicken absorb more of the flavor from the marinade, which is never a bad thing.
Cooked butter chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Ensure it cools down to room temperature before refrigerating to avoid any food safety issues.
Although freezing is an option, it is not my preference. Because this sauce is heavily cream-based, my experience is that the sauce defrosts to be slightly broken and less silky.
Reheat leftover chicken in a saucepan or skillet over medium-low heat to bring the sauce and chicken to an even temperature. If needed, add a splash of water or cream to loosen the sauce.
⭐ Recipe FAQs
Butter chicken is actually an authentic Indian dish, whereas chicken tikka masala is a westernized adaptation. Chicken tikka masala has an onion-tomato gravy, and butter chicken is a little bit sweeter with the addition of cashews and heavy cream.
Yes - you can use fresh tomatoes for the butter chicken gravy. The traditional way of making butter chicken involves cooking down fresh tomatoes until they are paste-like. Tomato puree is an easy shortcut, that saves time.
Thin out the tomato gravy with extra water. The heavy whipping cream will also thin out the gravy, at the end.
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Butter Chicken {Indian Restaurant Style Murgh Makhani}
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 4 Chicken breasts - boneless, skinless, cubed
- ¼ cup Plain greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon Ginger paste
- 1 teaspoon Chaat masala
- ½ teaspoon Garam masala
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri Chilli powder
For the Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Salted butter
- 1 tablespoon Garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon Ginger paste
- 15 Cashews
- 1 Cinnamon stick
- 2 pods Green cardamon
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon Garam masala
- 2 teaspoon Dried fenugreek - kasoori methi
- 1 cup Tomato passata
- 2 tablespoon Sugar
- ½ cup Heavy whipping cream
- Sea salt - to taste
- 1 cup Water
Instructions
- Combine the cubed chicken breasts with all the ingredients needed for the marinade.4 Chicken breasts, ¼ cup Plain greek yogurt, 2 tablespoon Lemon juice, 1 tablespoon Garlic paste, 1 tablespoon Ginger paste, 1 teaspoon Chaat masala, ½ teaspoon Garam masala, 1 teaspoon Kashmiri Chilli powder, 1 teaspoon Paprika
- Bring a large skillet to medium-high heat. Saute the marinated chicken with a tablespoon of butter, until the chicken is cooked through and lightly browned. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.1 tablespoon Salted butter, 1 tablespoon Garlic paste, 1 tablespoon Ginger paste, 15 Cashews, 1 Cinnamon stick, 2 pods Green cardamon
- Add the ground spices to the skillet, and toast. Add the tomato passata to the skillet, and let it cook through until the water has evaporated, and it has thickened.1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder, 1 teaspoon Garam masala, 1 cup Tomato passata, 2 tablespoon Sugar, Sea salt, 1 cup Water
- Once the passata mixture has thickened, remove the visibly large spices like cardamon pods and cinnamon sticks, and put the sauce into a blender. Add half of the water, and blend until smooth.
- Return the mixture back to the skillet, and add the remaining water. Add the sugar and salt, as well as the chicken. Finish with heavy whipping cream, and dried fenugreek.½ cup Heavy whipping cream, 2 teaspoon Dried fenugreek
✱Recipe Notes
- If you don't have a blender: Use an immersion blender. Be mindful that it may not break down the cashews as well as a regular blender. If you find it to be chunky, try straining it.
- Cut the chicken in even-sized pieces: This will ensure that all the chicken cooks at the same time, and will prevent some pieces from drying out while others are undercooked.
- For added flavor: Skewer and grill the chicken on a barbecue to add some smokiness to the sauce. This is typical to Indian restaurants, as they use chicken tikka that is cooked in a tandoor.
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