Butter Chicken! The ultimate comfort food your entire family will love! Make the best flavour-packed, creamy and delicious Indian butter chicken at home with this easy recipe. Serve it with Butter naan, Roti, Paratha, Steamed basmati rice or Jeera rice for a simple Indian meal. There are numerous versions to make Butter chicken recipe. In this post I share the recipe to make the authentic North Indian version known as Murgh Makhani.
Butter Chicken
Butter chicken also known as Chicken Makhani is a classic Indian dish where grilled chicken (Tandoori chicken) is simmered in a spicy, aromatic, buttery and creamy tomato gravy. This lip-smacking and delicious dish is hugely popular among the Indian food lovers across the world.
It is believed that Butter chicken was invented during 1930 to 1935, by Kundan Lal Gujral, the owner of a restaurant named Moti Mahal in Delhi, India. The restaurant would usually have large orders of tandoori chicken but sometimes ended up with leftovers which were dry.
Butter chicken was a way to use up the leftover dry Tandoori chicken. The large pieces of grilled chicken were diced and simmered in a rich creamy and buttery tomato gravy. That’s how murgh makhani – chicken with butter came into existence.
Butter Chicken Vs Chicken Tikka Masala
Though butter chicken and Chicken tikka masala have a lot of similarities, they both differ in taste, texture and flavor. Chicken tikka masala is spicy, hot and the tikka masala gravy has onions included in it. But Butter chicken is low on the heat & spice quotient and does not include onions in the gravy.
More importantly butter chicken is cooked in butter whereas chicken tikka masala is cooked in oil. Butter chicken has a smooth and silky gravy/sauce but tikka masala has a texture from the chopped and caramelized onions.
How Is Butter Chicken Made?
The original & authentic Butter chicken is made with tandoori grilled chicken. Firstly, Bone-in chicken is marinated overnight with thick yogurt, spices and herbs. This step helps to tenderize the meat naturally and remain succulent after grilling.
Later the marinated chicken is grilled in a tandoor, a clay oven which imparts its characteristic smoky aroma. This is then diced and simmered in a spicy buttery and creamy tomato gravy.
Since we are not equipped with tandoor at home, the marinated chicken has to be either roasted in a pan or in an oven or grilled on open fire (barbeque). For this post I have done it in a pan. Feel free to grill the chicken in oven or on open fire.
More Chicken recipes
Chilli chicken
Chicken curry
Chicken masala
Tandoori chicken
How To Make Butter Chicken (Stepwise Photos)
Preparation
You can make these on the previous day if you feel the butter chicken recipe is elaborate. I made it on the same day:
1. Marinate the chicken and refrigerate.
2. Make the Punjabi garam masala powder or decide on a good garam masala.
3. Puree the tomatoes & cashews in a blender until smooth. Filter through a colander to remove the skin and seeds.
4. If you do not own a powerful blender then soak the almonds or cashews for 1 to 2 hours and use.
5. The color of your gravy may differ based on your red chili powder. You may want to arrange for a good chili powder that is less hot like kashmiri chilli powder.
Marination
1. Marinating chicken helps to make it soft and tasty. Wash chicken and pat it dry. Make sure there is no excess water in the chicken. Marinate with lemon juice, chili powder and salt.
2. Set this aside for 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Go ahead with the second marination. Marinate with fresh yogurt, ginger garlic paste, crushed kasuri methi, oil, turmeric and garam masala.
4. Marinate and refrigerate for atleast 12 hours. The longer it is marinated, the meat turns softer and just melts in the mouth. Do not use sour yogurt/ curd.
Grilling – cooking chicken
5. Grill the chicken in the oven or stove top. For grilling in oven, preheat the oven to 240 C for at least 15 minutes. Skew the chicken on to soaked wooden skewers or place on a greased tray and grill for 20 to 30 minutes. In between you will have to flip to the undone side.
6. If grilling chicken on tawa. Add one tsp. butter and fry on high. Moisture begins to ooze out. This is very common. Keep stirring don’t burn and do not over cook.
7. Cook till the chicken is just done and all the moisture evaporates. Set this aside. You can even saute till the chunks turn lightly golden.
Make Butter Chicken Gravy
8. Heat butter in a pan, add cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Saute for a min or two. Add ginger garlic paste, green chilies and fry for 2 to 3 minutes till the raw smell goes off. (I did not use green chilies since my kids still cannot tolerate the heat.)
9. Pour the tomato puree. Add red chili powder, sugar and salt.
10. Mix and cook till the tomato puree becomes thick and begins to leave the pan.
11. Pour 1 cup water. I made my cashew paste separately so added it now. Let it come to a boil and then simmer for 3 to 5 minutes.
12. Add chicken and simmer for about 5 to 7 minutes till it becomes tender. The cook time may vary depending on how tender your meat is. I check with a fork, the piece just breaks upon piercing. Check the salt and spice. Adjust as needed.
13. Add garam masala and crushed kasuri methi. You can adjust the consistency by adding more water, if the gravy is very thick. Mix well and simmer for about 2 to 3 minutes. Then add chilled cream. Switch off the stove.
or Take a small portion of hot gravy and add it to the cream first. Mix and then pour the cream to the curry. This prevents cream from curdling. Take care not to cook longer after adding cream.
Garnish butter chicken with cream and coriander leaves. It is best served with Jeera rice , plain basmati rice, roti, naan or paratha .
Pro Tips
- Marination is the key to get flavorful, tender & succulent pieces of chicken.
- Yogurt in the marinade tenderizes the chicken so do not skip it.
- Makhani recipe never uses onion so is this butter chicken recipe. Using onion changes the taste of the dish.
- The rich taste in the gravy comes from the cashews (or almonds) & cream.
- You can make the gravy ahead and refrigerate. Just grill the marinated chicken when needed and heat up the gravy. Then add the grilled chicken.
Related Recipes
Recipe Card
Butter Chicken Recipe | Chicken Makhani
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
First marination
- ½ kg chicken (or 1 lb.) (preferably boneless)
- ¾ tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Red chili powder or paprika
Second marination
- ¾ teaspoon kasuri methi Optional (dried fenugreek leaves)
- ⅛ teaspoon turmeric (haldi)
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon garam masala
- ¾ tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- ½ cup greek yogurt or hung curd (thick curd, refer notes)
for gravy
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
- 1 cinnamon (2 inch piece, dalchini)
- 2 green cardamoms (elaichi)
- 2 cloves (laung)
- 1 to 2 green chilies (slit or sliced, optional)
- 4 large tomatoes pureed (400 to 500 grams)
- 16 to 18 cashew nuts or blanched soaked almonds (refer notes)
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder or paprika (adjust to suit your taste and color)
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ tablespoon kasuri methi crushed or powdered dried fenugreek leaves
- ¼ tablespoon sugar
- salt as needed
- 80 to 100 ml chilled cream (heavy cream or whipping cream, refer the notes)
- 2 tbsp Coriander leaves for garnishing
Instructions
Preparation for chicken makhani
- First marinate chicken with lemon juice, chili powder and salt for 20 minutes.
- Next marinate again with yogurt, kasuri methi, oil, turmeric, ginger garlic paste, and garam masala powder.
- Cover & rest in the refrigerator for atleast 12 hours. You can keep it as long as 48 hours. The longer the chicken rests in the marinade, the more tender it will be after cooking.
- Add the cashews to a blender jar along with tomatoes. Make a smooth puree.
- If the puree is not smooth, then pass it through a filter. Set this aside.
- Also make the ginger garlic paste.
Grilling or roasting chicken
- Grill the chicken in an oven or stove top.
- For stove top method, Add one tsp butter to a pan and add the marinade.
- Fry on high flame till all the moisture evaporates.
- To grill it in oven, preheat the oven to 240 C for at least 20 mins.
- Grill it until the meat is cooked through & is tender. It may take about 20 to 30 mins depending on the size of your chicken chunks. Ensure chicken is tender at this stage.
How To Make Butter Chicken
- Heat a pan with butter & saute cinnamon, cloves and cardamoms for a min.
- Add ginger garlic paste, green chilies and fry till it turns fragrant.
- Next pour the tomato cashew puree.
- Add red chili powder, sugar and salt.
- Mix and cook until the tomato puree becomes thick.
- It also begins to leave the sides of the pan.
- Pour 1 cup water. Add more or less water to suit your desired consistency.
- Bring the mix to a boil and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add chicken and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Butter chicken should become soft and tender. Add garam masala and kasuri methi.
- Stir and simmer for about 2 to 3 minutes. Pour chilled cream and switch off the stove.
- Garnish butter chicken with coriander leaves and extra cream if desired. Serve with long grain rice or naan or paratha.
Notes
- If you are using a young chicken, 4 hours of marination works. I have always found that the size of the chicken matters a lot. So if using larger sized or older chicken then rest it in the marinade for atleast 12 to 16 hours. This is the key to tender butter chicken.
- Curd/yogurt: If you do not have hung curd or greek yogurt, you can use thick yogurt too, but the cooking time increases slightly.
- Cream: You may use whipping cream/ heavy cream, thickened cream or sterilized cream. You can also use low fat cream but the gravy won’t be very rich. Chill the cream and add it to the gravy. Turn off the stove otherwise the gravy may split. or Take a small amount of hot gravy and add it to the cream in a separate bowl. Stir well. Then add the cream to the pan. This also helps to prevent curdling the cream.
- If using almonds, soak them in hot water for an hour and remove the skin.
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
Just wondering if anyone has frozen this recipe and how did it go?
I’m looking for a great recipe so I can make in larger batches to freeze in smaller batches for the family through winter season.
Excellent
Thank you so much Priyanka
WOW! Butter chicken is one of my all time favorite foods. I’ve been trying to make my own (twice unsuccessfully) but tonight I finally figured it out thanks to this recipe. Indian food is one of my favorite cuisines, but I don’t have a lot of familiarity with the flavors when cooking. Thanks for your awesome recipes and helpful step-by-step photos. Will be back for more recipes!!
Hi Abby,
Glad you like it. Yes give them a try. Thank you
Hi Swasthi,
I have 2 questions.
1. Can I use chicken with bone in?
2. Can I skip the Kasuri methi if I don’t have it?
Hi Krithi,
Yes you can use bone-in chicken. Marinate it overnight and the cook time will be a little longer. Yes you can skip kasuri methi but it makes a huge difference. Butter chicken will still taste good without that. Hope this helps
Stunning how delicious this is! Also I super appreciate the little tips about making it kid friendly. Now my one year old is getting introduced to good Indian food early so he knows what flavors to love. Just one recipe in and I think you’re already my definitive guide!
Thank you so much Marlena
So happy to know!
🙂
This is an amazing, delicious recipe! I just had a quick question. Do I ever remove all the whole spices or do I just leave them in? Are they ok to bite into? Thank you so much for all you delicious recipes!
Hi Linda,
Thank you!. We don’t remove the whole spices at any point. We discard them while eating. They are not okay to bite into. You may take them out before serving.
OMG! My daughter made this recipe yesterday. Polished. Thank you
Siti, Glad you all like it. Thank you
Hi Swasthi
First; I’ve used the recipe so many times now, and it’s so good!
Tomorrow I’ll be making it for 18 persons.
I’ve always used peeled canned tomatoes (not tomato puree) 400 gram.
What would you say the conversation should be? Going from Fresh tomatoes to canned tomatoes?
Hi Christian,
Glad to know it turns out good. Actually I have never cooked this with canned tomatoes so not sure how it works.
Hello, my sister is allergic to all nuts. Is there a substitute I could use? Or do you omit the nuts? Thank you.
Hi Naz,
I have another recipe. You can check it here – chicken butter masala recipe. Skip cashews and use more cream before finishing the dish.
Will check it out. Thank you for replaying.
Soooo good! The best butter chicken recipe i found on internet! I tried many recipes but yours Swasthi is the best! My kids loves it and i have always an empty plates even for a fuzzy eater daughter of mine! All my friends loves it too ♥️ They always ask me to cook it for them. Thank you for sharing your talents.
Thanks Arlene. Glad you like the recipe.
🙂
Really amazing recipe!! it’s by far the best I could find online
Thank you so much Marta
In your photo instructions, you stated you made the cashew paste separately. Did you use the same number of cashews as stated in the recipe card or do you make a batch using eg 2 cups of cashews soaked in 3/4 cup water then blended? If so, how much of the paste do you add?
Hi Lin,
I make the paste fresh every time with the quantity mentioned in the recipe card. For 16 to 18 cashews you will need about 4 tbsps water. If you do not have a small blender like mine, it is better to blend the soaked cashews with some tomatoes. I do it this way too sometimes
Thank you. Have made this recipe once before and it was wonderful!! Did not soak the cashews so over blended them and they were quite oily. Just starting the recipe again with the first marination. Usually leave the second one for 48 hours. Chicken is so tender!! Thank you again for the recipe. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
I’m going to try cooking this soon and I’m so excited! I haven’t able to find plain Greek yogurt but I have nonfat plain yogurt. Would this suffice or do I need yogurt with full fat?
Hi Julie,
Non-fat yogurt shouldn’t be a problem as long as it is thick (like Greek yogurt). We don’t want runny yogurt here. Go ahead and make it.
I made this butter chicken with your jeera rice for dinner tonight and I’m REALLY happy with it! This is my first time cooking a meal with no help, so I’m really proud of myself for making something SO delicious! I messed up cooking the rice and I’ll have to practice it more to get it right, but it’s still delicious even if it’s kinda wet, haha. I’ve always struggled with rice, but I’ll figure it out someday! Anyways, I nearly cried taking my first bite of the chicken when I realized 1) I didn’t overcook it! and 2) all the wonderful flavors in this dish are just so good. I’ve eaten butter chicken from restaurants before and I think this recipe tastes just as good as those! This is my first attempt at cooking Indian food and I’m SO happy with the result. THANK YOU, Swasthi!! 😄
Hello! Glad to know you could make delicious butter chicken. These tips may help you make better rice next time:
1. If the rice is just wet and not mushy, you just need to cook a little longer with the lid open. This helps to evaporate the excess moisture.
2. If the rice is too wet and mushy, it means your rice needs lesser water. So next time try adding less water and remember to drain the rice completely after rinsing.
3. If the rice is too sticky, wet and mushy, choose better quality rice. Avoid using sticky rice and look for aged basmati rice.
Hope this helps
Thank you so much for the tips! I will try them next time and hopefully it will turn out better! 😀
(Ignore the star rating cause this is just a question!)
When you write tsp / tbsp, do you mean the american measurements or the european one?
Cause if it is the former and I use the latter in my attempt, it will probably taste bland. And that would be quite sad, seeing as this looks like a good recipe!
Hi Niki,
Yes I mean the American measurements. Hope you enjoy the dish.
Dear Swasthi, I’m so happy to have found your blog when looking for a good butter chicken recipe! Thank you very much for your tested and true recipes. We just love Indian cuisine and are happy to make authentic recipes at home to share at the table. I appreciate your enormous efforts in sharing clearly written recipes, photos, tips….all of what you do! I made this butter chicken recipe along with green chutney and Jeera (cumin) rice – all are absolutely delicious! Will repeat often, thanks again!
Hello Daine,
That’s Awesome! So happy to know the food turned out good. Thank you so much!
🙂
This recipe is a favourite in my family.
I brought home take-away butter chicken yesterday and my son cried and refused to eat it! It wasn’t Mum’s homemade butter chicken from Swasthi 🙂
Hi Roxanne
So happy to know that your son loves it so much! Thank you so much!
🙂
I made this two nights ago. So, so tasty. Your instructions were clear and very easy to follow and the pictures were invaluable… Thank you.
Looking forward to trying out more from your site
Thank you so much Paul
Glad you like it.
Great recipe! My entire family enjoyed the dish and complimented me very generously! Thank you
Thank you! Glad to know!
Amazing recipe! Made it for the first time and my husband loved it
Thanks Stella
Glad you like it.
I am hoteliers, I need for meat items all dish grams weights
Let me know for which recipe you want. I can update it for you.