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??
Geez, Nagi – where to begin? You cracked me up with couch food being what you can eat without having to look away from the TV. 🙂 Have you ever tried to eat while watching a movie with subtitles? This is the kind of meal you need for that!
I’ve never made Butter Chicken – but, you know, butter. 😉 Butter and/or bacon in almost anything and I’m in. And when you say you want the sauce on tap, I completely understand why!
I’m really glad to hear that the follow up movie is really good – loved the first one! And, if you’re a Bill Nighy fan (like I am), definitely check out the movie ‘About Time’ – it’s a really creative story and very heart warming.
Ooh, I haven’t heard of About Time! I must pop it on my list 🙂
And subtitles?? You make me laugh!! That’s exactly what this food is – couch food for movies with subtitles! In fact, that’s a WHOLE new class of food in it’s own right!!! 🙂
My husband and I were just saying the other night how we really want to make butter chicken from scratch! This looks brilliant! Thanks for the recipe Nagi!
Well there you go! We are in SYNC! PS I keep seeing your peanut butter cake all over Pinterest!! 🙂
Great post in every sense ! Amazing pictures and narrative. And yes, I will have to make Indian butter chicken!
Thank you Maria! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂 YES please do try the Butter Chicken, it really is incredible! Plus you can trust the source because it’s a Chef recipe!! 🙂
I love Butter Chicken. By “love”, I mean I could sit in a bath full of Butter Chicken with a spoon in one hand and pappadums in the other and eat my way to the bottom of the tub. J Daddy, on the other hand, is not a fan – he says Butter Chicken is for wusses because he likes a bit of heat in his curries. But I just KNOW I’m going to convert him with your recipe! It’s going on the list for next week!
By the way, if you are a Dev Patel fan, check him out in the now-cancelled TV series called The Newsroom. There were 3 seasons, and Dev played one of the main characters. The series is AWESOME and AMAZING, and the dialogue is so good. Wish the series could have gone for longer.
I burst out into laughter at the vision of you squatting in a bath tub filled with butter chicken sauce!!! TOO FUNNY! Oh, tell J Daddy he can add a big dash of chili powder in his, if he really wants a kick!
Oooh, I LOVED The Newsroom! To be honest, I didn’t even realise it was cancelled, I thought there were way more than 3 seaons. Dev Patel is so good in that, SO different to his other movies! 🙂
Oh, yes please – LOVE Indian food and flavours and this looks REALLY good – thanks Nagi.
You know, I actually was thinking of you when I was posting it!! You have a way with spices – and though this is different in that it uses cream, which I rarely do, the spice combo I thought would be quite familiar to you 🙂
Oh My Goodness YES. I want to devour this right now! Butter Chicken never looked so good to me. With the No yeast flat bread I can eat this everyday!
Love anything with Judi Dench , she is a great actress. This movie and butter chicken is going on my to watch and make list.
Nagi, you are not alone with your reaction to movies. I cannot and will not watch most movies because of that. But I would eat butter chicken. It sounds wonderful.
Ha ha ha!! I’m so glad I am not alone!! I promise this is most certainly not a heavy movie, very light hearted, great entertainment for a Friday night. WITH the butter chicken!! N x
OMG i love that movie! and i love indian food! so exciting. I will have to make this recipe soon in anticipation for the movie.
YES YOU SHOULD!! The movie is awesome and honestly I can’t think of a better way to spend a Friday night than watching it + BIG bowl of butter Chicken!!
I’ve never had Indian food, but this looks delicious and I can’t wait to make it!! 🙂
Oh yes you must Amanda!! Indian food is incredible, the aroma is just stunning and the flavor is outta this world!!
Nagi…this spread just looks fantastic… absolutely incredibly, awesomely gorgeous…I love the story it tells…ahhh sigh in love with this…And I never watched I AM LEGEND because I know what happens to the dog and I could not bare to deal with that…I do action, romance, thrillers and comedies… they can have the horror 🙂
Oh Mila, the dog part in I Am Legend just about killed me….. plus there are some really scary rabid dogs too! I just all round didn’t cope, full stop! PS Our movie lists are the same, minus thrillers. Can’t cope with thrillers!!! N x
I really liked the movie Chef. It reinvigorated my desire to have a food truck. And The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is on my list of movies to watch (alone) because it’s not something that my husband is interested in. After reading your review, it has moved up on the list. I haven’t had much Indian food, but this looks and sounds marvelous! I love any saucy protein dish served over rice.
I have dreams about owning a fleet of food trucks!!! Dispersing them all around Sydney – how cool would that be?? The food trucks that go to construction sites etc in Sydney sell such awful food – dismal sandwiches, cold meat pies. Imagine how much better we would do!!! N x
We would kick some serious butt! Sydney would be eating well with you at the helm of those food trucks!
I love love love Indian food – and wow, Nagi your butter chicken is making me drool! Yes – bread is a must to sop up curry – and your butter flatbread is perfect with this butter chicken!
My mom and sis watched The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and absolutely loved it – I need to get my hands on it, because I love Bollywood dance moves just as much as I love Indian cuisine!
Shashi, I was actually a bit worried what you might think of this recipe because it’s a western curry!! But I’m glad you like the look of it 🙂
Oooh, you will ROCK the Bollywood dance moves!!! It made ME want to get up and get jiggy!!!
Hey Nagi! This looks great, and so easy! I especially love the way your roti looks! I did, however, want to note that chicken tikka masala is the Western dish, and butter chicken is actually a common dish in India, particularly in Punjab. When I was in one of the villages in Punjab for a wedding, guess what was made? Butter chicken! I was so happy, because it’s one of my FAVORITES!
Hi Whitney! Oh gosh, I totally got the two of them mixed up, didn’t I?? 🙂 So….what you are actually telling me is that it’s totally appropriate that I shared a butter chicken recipe for a movie night with the Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel because butter chicken IS made for movies???!! COOL! PS So jealous, I’ve never been to a traditional Indian wedding. I bet the whole village was celebrating for days!! 🙂
Exactly!!! BTW, if you like those movies, then I highly suggest you watch The Hundred Foot Journey!!!
Thanks! I LOVE getting movie tips!! 🙂
I loved the first movie and absolutely need to see the second! I love that it inspired this delicious dish! PS) Richard Gere grew up in my hometown and we went to the same high school. I was just a few short years behind him… Pretty cool, huh?
WHAT! No freakin’ way!! That’s so cool! 🙂
Holy Smokes – I bow to thee! You know this is right up my alley and the photos, crazy beautiful and storytelling. Not only will I be checking this one out, but also your Easy No Yeast Flatbread looks fantastic, so soft and fresh!
Funny you mentioned the movie as Dave and I were going to watch the second one Sunday and decided to check out the first one as we had not seen either. What fun and well done, the cast was superb. So maybe this meal and part 2 are on my list for this weekend.
See? This is why we are friends. 🙂 I follow your sourdough tips. You get movie ideas from me!! PS Your tip for how to check if the sourdough is alive is GOLD. As is the quantity tip for feeding it. Changed the way I “sourdough”! N x
I used to hate butter chicken! I didn’t know what proper butter chicken was until my indian friend introduced me to it! Before that it was that sweet, way too heavy butter chicken spice mix version in the shopping centre food courts! I am so thankful that I got to eat the right kind and have loved making my own since!! I use Cashew Nuts instead of cream though… 🙂 I love how flavourful your dish is Nagi… it looks amazing!
I need to watch that movie!! I may have to download it 😀
You’re totally right, many butter chickens are horrendously sweet! This is about as far from that as you can get 🙂 Luke Mangan is an awesome chef, this recipe is a winner! 🙂
What a fabulous post, Nagi! Such a great idea to combine the curry with a shout-out for the movie!
I actually haven’t seen the first one yet, but now you’ve definitely made me want to!
Butter chicken is really popular in Australia, isn’t it? No wonder … it’s delicious, so love the idea of a simple recipe for it. Definitely pinning this one lots of times! 🙂
You made me laugh with your comment about eating without taking your eyes off the screen. My husband is always calling me out on that … he says I’m always missing bits of whatever we’re watching because I’m concentrating on my food too much! Like a true foodie …
HA! You crack me up, you ARE a true foodie!! Why does that not surprise me?? I thought Butter Chicken was really popular in the UK too? I have memories of that at the top of every Indian menu as a “House Speciality”! 🙂
Can I please just tell you that I saw the title of this I almost just freaked out. Butter. Chicken. Butter Chicken. That just sounds amazing. So when I looked at the ingredients, I was looking at heaven on a screen. ALL OF THOSE FLAVORS. This looks DIVINE!
You made me laugh out loud with your comment!!! N x
I loved the original movie, so I’m sure I’ll like the second. With that cast, how could you not? And how could you not like this dish? So loaded with flavor! My kind of food. 🙂
This DEFINITELY is your type of food John!!
OMG, I haven’t seen the movie, but it sounds like fun! Will do! And I’ve been thinking of curry for a few days now! Need to try this recipe! And I do need to make that flatbread, too! Thanks for the inspiration as usual!
Hey Mira!! I know, I think of curry often but struggle with recipes, I don’t have many in my collection! This is one of the few 🙂 I must learn more about Indian cooking!! N x
Hi Nagi! Does anyone else in Sydney ever get chicken thighs or do you buy them all? 🙂 My husband will love this – curries are one of his favorites! I make grapefruit curried ribs which are really good (they probably don’t qualify as Indian). He thanks you in advance!
HA HA!! You know Dorothy, it is actually a real problem that I don’t cook enough other meats. Help! I need to change things up!! OK, not buying ANY MORE CHICKEN for the rest of the week!! PS Ribs is a great example of why I use so much chicken…ribs are SO darn expensive here. Chicken and mince are cheap, everything else is expensive!!! Please tell your husband he’s welcome!!! And dial up the spice if he wants a kick 😉