Butter chicken recipe – This post will guide you how to make butter chicken at home that tastes absolutely delicious, flavor packed, creamy and rich. Butter chicken also known as chicken makhani is one of the most popular, lip smacking and delicious dishes that’s been loved by many across the world. Paired with naan or kulcha is a delight which most Indians love during their restaurant visits.
There are so many versions of butter chicken that can be found on the internet which are different from the authentic Indian dish.
What is Butter chicken?
Chunks of grilled chicken (tandoori chicken) cooked in a smooth buttery & creamy tomato based gravy is known as Butter chicken or murgh makhani. It was invented by Kundan lal Gujral, who was the owner of a popular restaurant named Moti Mahal in Delhi.
The restaurant which had large orders of tandoori chicken throughout the day would typically end up with lot of leftovers which were turned into this amazing rich gravy the next day.
Preparation for Butter chicken
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.
Marinating
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.
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.
How to make Indian butter chicken
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.
How is butter chicken made?
To make an authentic butter chicken recipe, First we need to marinate the chicken & then grill it. This can be done either in a pan, tandoor or oven.
Next cook it up in the rich buttery tomato cashew gravy. Lastly add some cream to make it creamy & delicious.
The recipe shared in this post is an authentic one, except grilling in tandoor.
Not every one of us would be able to grill chicken in a tandoor or in a oven. So for this post I have done it in a pan. If possible you can follow the dungar method to smoke the chicken once it is roasted in a pan.
Tips to make butter chicken
- 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.
Serving suggestions for butter chicken
It is best served with Jeera rice , plain basmati rice, roti, naan or paratha .
More chicken recipes
Chilli chicken
chicken curry
Chicken masala
tandoori chicken
Butter chicken recipe (chicken makhani)
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (1 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)
- 1/8 teaspoon turmeric or haldi
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon garam masala powder
- 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 (or dalchini)
- 2 green cardamoms (or elaichi)
- 2 cloves (or laung)
- 1 to 2 green chilies slit
- 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 powder
- ½ tablespoon kasuri methi crushed or powdered dried fenugreek leaves
- ¼ tablespoon sugar
- salt as needed
- 80 to 100 ml chilled 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
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
Noor says
Loved this recipe!! My little brother has been practically begging me to make it since he had it last week. 5/5.
swasthi says
Thanks Noor
That’s great to hear!
🙂
Ujwala says
Made the butter chicken. Great taste. Loved by all.
Thanks
swasthi says
Welcome Ujwala
Glad to know
Sarah says
Hi Swasthi,
I’m going to try making this butter chicken recipe for a neighbor who just had a baby down the road. I’m wondering if coconut cream can be used instead of cream (due to lactose intolerance). I’m also wondering if you recommend a certain method of freezing this dish. My plan is to freeze the gravy on its own. Then freeze the marinated raw chicken on it’s own. Then the family can cook when they are ready. Thank you for your detailed recipe, it was a dream come true to come across. I’ll make a batch for my family too, we are excited to try it!
swasthi says
Hi Sarah,
Actually you can skip the cream completely and double the cashews. I am not sure if coconut cream tastes good in this. Glass containers are best for freezing since they retain the best taste and flavors. Yes your plan to freeze both separately is very good. Hope you all enjoy this.
🙂
Sarah says
It worked! In my first try, I forgot the cup of water. It came out very thick, but still super flavourful. Thank you for your guidance, and very detailed steps. Once you have everything in stock, it’s a lot easier to make than it seems at first glance!
swasthi says
Glad to know Sarah!
No problem. Water can be added later while reheating.
Yes it is easy.
🙂
Resh says
Hi Swasthi,
What is the right way to re-heat any leftover butter chicken? When I reheat it the last time , the cream began to curdle.
Please guide me with how to re-heat a curry with cream in it..
swasthi says
Hi Resh,
These days most kinds of cream are stabilized with additives. So they won’t curdle. Try using cream from a good brand. Also check if it is within the shelf period. It is just fine to reheat on a very low heat on the stovetop. If using instant pot, It can be reheated for 0 minutes, high pressure. Hope this helps
Julia says
Not sure why you care enough about us to answer all these questions abt substitutions/modifications that are sometimes completely unavoidable in this weird time, when soooooooooo many other recipe authors do not…
Are you really such a wonderful & caring human being?
I’m kinda shocked at finding an awesome recipe AND all my macro/minute step-by-step, indecisive queries ALREADY answered at 2am on a random Monday morning!
May all the time & care you’ve lavished on us via this website come back to you within this New Year…a thousand times over!
swasthi says
Hello Julia,
Yes I care a lot for time and effort. I really feel sad when someone fails to make good food after following my recipes. I feel a recipe is incomplete without these details. Thank you so much for the wishes. They mean a lot. Wish you too a very happy new year!!
🙂
Vanessa says
Thank you for all your wonderful recipes, your site is my ‘go-to’ when Indian food is to go on the family table. My family and I have lived in many different countries including 10 years in India, I’ve taken many classes to learn the ‘ins and outs’ of Indian cooking, but you give the most simple and direct instructions to achieve the ultimate in authentic flavour. I am a big fan and greatly appreciate all your efforts.
swasthi says
Hello Vanessa,
You are most welcome! So glad to know!
Thank you so much for leaving a comment!
Happy New Year!!
🙂
geeta says
Recipes are good I will try.
Zoltan says
This is so much better than the “Murgh Makhani” I cooked before. It’s not even the same league…funny looking back how I undercooked the chicken with my previous method and how afraid I was to use proper amount of fenugreek because I had read somewhere that it gives a bitter aftertaste. I spent a good 3 hours in the kitchen making it, but it was time very well spent.
Thank you for sharing Swasthi!
swasthi says
Hi Zoltan
You are welcome! Glad you liked it. Thank you so much for leaving a comment
Kim says
Exceptional recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Made some slight tweaks with a little extra sweetner and didn’t have the fresh chili but still tastes fantastic.
This is our new favourite.
swasthi says
Welcome Kim
Glad it turned out good. Thank you
Sandy says
Dear Swasthi, i am late to this party but now having tried it, there is no wonder why you have attracted so so many positive responses. Many thanks for sharing this recipe!!!
I used the stove top method, and cooking the chicken until the marinade cooked down was different to the other recipes I have tried (higher heat frying) and I think your method resulted in the chicken being more tender/moister.
If I was to double the chicken, does it follow that the other ingredients are doubled as well?
swasthi says
Hi Sandy,
You are welcome! Thanks for trying the recipe.
Yes double the entire recipe.
Vanessa says
Ma’am, I tried this recipe and I’m feeling on top of the world! My husband just pronounced it to be the best butter chicken he’s ever eaten!!! Today, I tried your dal fry and it turned out so awesome, I know I’m gonna stop ordering from Swiggy and Zomato henceforth. I’ve begun to believe I’m not as hopeless a cook I thought I was, thanks to you 🙏😘
I just want to thank you for being such a kind soul. You are such a fantastic cook yet you don’t hesitate to share the tiniest secret with novices like us. My mil is a good cook herself but she won’t let me in on the little tips that take a dish from good to wowwww.
God bless you for not having a mean bone in your body. Take care and stay safe.
Loads of love❤
From your biggest fan,
Vanessa
swasthi says
Hello Vanessa,
You are most welcome! So glad to know the recipes are helping.
Thank you so much for the love and wishes. They mean a lot.
Stay safe all of you!
🙂
Sanjyot says
A family favourite dish…tried many recipes but they didn’t really hit the mark
This one did! 😋
Thanks
swasthi says
Welcome Sanjyot
Glad to know!
Thank you
Nikita says
Hi, regarding the butter chicken, you mentioned purée tomatoes..does that mean I need to cook before, or just peel tomatoes and blend them?
swasthi says
hi Nikita,
Add 400 to 500 grams of chopped tomatoes to a blender and puree them along with cashews. Don’t need to peel or cook etc.
Greg says
Hi Swasthi, I love all your recipes that I have tried so far.
Tomorrow I’m finally getting around to your Butter Chicken. One question, your recipe calls for butter. Should I use sweet/salt free butter, or ghee?
Thank you,
swasthi says
Hi Greg,
Thank you! Use unsalted regular butter.
greg says
Came out fantastic (like all your recipes). Thank you Swasthi!
swasthi says
Welcome Greg
Glad to know! Thank you!
Aster says
Hi Swasthi,
This is great, but I recall you had another recipe for a chicken malai masala on your blog maybe 2-3 years ago which tastes amazing, but I can’t find it anymore. The recipe involved frying the chicken briefly in marinate (including fresh mace), long marinade process, and then cooking with the masala + cream the next day.
Can you please let me know where this recipe is?
swasthi says
Hi Aster,
Thank you! Yes I had it. I have unpublished the recipe since the post does not have step by step photos. I can publish it back in a day or 2. I will link it in the same comment here after I publish it. Hope this helps
aster says
Thanks so much Swasthi! This was really the best recipe, and my family loves it so much :o) However I even forgot its name, haha.
I hope to see the recipe soon!
swasthi says
Hi Aster,
You can find the recipe of malai chicken here. Sorry to keep you waiting. Hope you enjoy it.
John Vlad says
I will be cooking this tomorrow (marinating today) I am a avid cooker of Indian food and have tried no less than 15 recipes for Murgh-Makhini. All get close to what I want, but have never found that perfect iteration.
I will update this tomorrow.
Seems good fingers cross!!
swasthi says
Hope you enjoy the dish!
Bushra says
Your two step marination is amazing. I use it every time I make anything with chicken (any type of cuisine) and the chicken always cooks out perfectly seasoned. Thanks so much!
swasthi says
Welcome! Glad to know.
Thank you
Manju says
I tried this recipe and it came out so good
I always look new recipes in swathi’s kitchen
Thank you
Angela says
Amazing recipe!! Tried it out and it came out SO well
swasthi says
Thank you Angela
Caitlin says
I have tried several butter chicken recipes and they never taste like what I get in a restaurant. Neither does this – it’s better! Not only is this the best butter chicken I’ve ever had, it may be the best thing I’ve ever eaten. No joke. Made with fresh tomatoes, chilis and garlic grown in my garden.
swasthi says
Hi,
Thank you so much! Glad you liked it. Next time grill the chicken on red hot coal and add it to the sauce. You will get the same taste.
Thanks again!!
Caitlin Atkins says
Thank you! I will definitely try that!
Angela Fakira says
This was the best butter chicken recipe I have ever made, I also made and used the Garam Masala spice that I found on this site. My family enjoyed it and it was a big hit with my picky son!!!!
Thanks!!!!
swasthi says
Welcome Angela
Glad to know your family enjoyed it. Thanks for leaving a comment.