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 (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)
- 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
Ashwati says
Hi Swasthi! You have a made a cook out of a complete non-cook like myself! Thank you so much for your recipes, I’ve tried so many of them and they’ve all been so amazingly delicious and easy to make! Grateful to have your recipes!
Juan says
I really enjoyed this and so did my family. Easy to follow. Amazing taste. I like the three stage recipe. I’m now following you on Instagram I was so impressed.
Gracias!
Juan
Aiswarya says
Really very good recipe …my family loved it ..they said it was exactly how it is in the restaurant
Thank you so much for such a lovely recipe ?
Brian says
By far the nicest butter chicken iv had, the wife gave a 10/10 and she’s a freak about good butter chicken ? thank you so much ? great recipe
Lauren says
Hello! If making the sauce the day before do you make all of the sauce or do you save putting the cream for when you are putting it together with the chicken the day of eating?
swasthi says
Hi Lauren,
Add cream the next day after you cook the chicken in the sauce. Hope you enjoy it.
Lauren says
It was absolutely delicious, thank you so much! Honestly better than the restaurant, everyone loved it 🙂 can’t wait to try your other recipes! Thanks xxx
anjali pradeep says
Just made this curry and it tastes amazing!! Thanks for this fantastic recipe!
Dee says
This is a fabulous Butter Chicken recipe that will make you realise that you don’t need to go to the takeaway to get a really tasty authentic curry. The first time you make it you’ll think that it’s quite involved and be questioning whether or not all the effort be worth it. The answer to that is a resounding YES! Like all good recipes once you’ve made it a few times (which believe me you will) you’ll master the order of things and it will become second nature.
Thank you Swasthi for reassuring my faith that an amazing restaurant level curry is achievable at home. : )
Brian says
100% agree, all the way trough cooking a wondered was it going to be crap and be like tomato soup,how wrong I was ? nicest butter chicken iv had, wish I had a tandoori oven tho ? would have topped it off
Kim says
Would it be okay to substitute cashew butter for the cashews?
swasthi says
Hi Kim,
I haven’t tried it. But it should work with 2 to 3 tbsps cashew butter. You may try blending it with tomatoes.
janis says
Hi Swasthi . I think your recipe for butter chicken by far is the best! I made last night. Like many comments given by readers, it’s tastier than restaurant’s quality. I skipped the cashew nut part as i didn’t have a good blender & i used a small blender to blend canned tomatoes. Overall, taste was a bit tart but still super delicious. The aroma from the spices & butter were so good that i’m still thinking of it ! thanks for this amazing recipe. 🙂
swasthi says
Hi Janis,
Thank you! Glad you liked it. The tart taste is because you didn’t use cashews. Next time may be you can try adding more cream it should help.
🙂
jonah says
Hi Swasthi,
I am so excited to make your recipe! If I am using ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, and ground cloves- what would be the appropriate measurements? Thank you so much!!!
swasthi says
Hi Jonah,
You are welcome! I understand you don’t have the whole spices. I suggest you skip them and add more garam masala to suit your taste. Ground spices are usually more stronger in flavor and sometimes mess up. You can use upto 1 tsp garam masala. Hope this helps.
Nany says
Hi
I can’t see the comment I left day ago or so. Hope it comes up/ It was quite long though
Stay safe
Nany says
I love your recipes. I’ve started experimenting with Indian food and since I found your blog, I come only here to take recipes. Thanks to you I am learning more and more about Indian cuisine. However I do have silly questions. 1. What is the ginger-garlic ratio for the paste? 2. How do you make cashew paste? 3. My h didn’t thicken even with the cream, and there was just enough sauce not even covering the chicken. Nevertheless the taste was wonderful. I probably made something wrong when I cooked the chicken and waited for the liquds to evaporate. It happened too fast, part of the chicken was charred and not at all done. I just made the gravy according to recipe, added some more water and finished cooking the chicken in the gravy. It took a while (I used bone-in thighs) so some of the taste of the spices disappeared. I just added more of the same spices and some coriander powder and it came out delicious. I love butter and I must confess that I added more butter to the gravy.
Next I’d like to try and prepare Naan or paratha, which I know nothing about. I don’t even know the difference between all the Indian flatbreads. I guess I’m a bit anxious about trying and failing…
Thanks again for a wonderful wonderful site. Keep safe <3
swasthi says
Hi Nany
Thank you! I have the link for ginger garlic paste in the recipe ingredients. It is in equal ratio. I have mentioned in the recipe instructions to blend the cashews along with tomatoes as many blenders are not strong enough to make a smooth cashew puree. I add cashews to a small blender jar along with little water and make a fine paste. If the paste is not fine then the gravy will turn coarse. You have to adjust the flame and cook the chicken first. You will increase the flame only when the chicken is all cooked so it gets a slight charred. Not sure where you went wrong. This is a tried and tested recipe which is made by a lot of people every day. Make it a few more times and you will know how to make it right. Hope this helps.
🙂
You too stay safe!
Emily Edmonds says
Delicious!! After years of many failed attempts at cooking Indian recipes I am so happy to finally be able to make something so amazing that the whole family loves , thank you! Will deffintly be trying more of these recipes.
swasthi says
Hi Emily
So glad to know your family loved it!
Thank you!
Dharminder Sharma says
Another hit by Swathi!
What should I write again and again ???
After this my wife asked me to start a side business of cooking. It was a compliment ?
Thanks
swasthi says
Hi,
Haha! So glad your wife loved it.
Thank you so much for writing!
🙂
Aditri Kumar says
I have made this before but today I think I added a little too much of turmeric in the chicken and my mother suggested that I add a little more of the curd, is it okay? I mean my spoon was way too small so I think I added like 6 spoons of turmeric so my mother added more curd. I’m scared for today’s dinner….
swasthi says
Hi Aditri,
6 spoons of turmeric is a lot. If your mom feels it is a lot then, I think you should rinse the chicken off and marinate it again skipping the turmeric.
Hanna says
Hi! I am going to attempt this recipe tomorrow hopefully and am going to grab the ingredients today. When you say chilled cream, do you mean thickened cream? I see you’ve used a Nestle cream in your photos – can you specific which cream you used exactly? Thank you
swasthi says
Hi Hanna,
Sorry I guess I am late. I use heavy cream, whipping cream & cooking cream for most of my curries. What you are seeing in the picture is a Nestle sterilized cream. I didn’t have any other kinds so I used it. Hope this helps
Priya says
This recipe was incredible! Even without the cream (I didn’t have any), my husband and son – self professed Butter chicken aficionados – loved it! I’ve had so much success with every recipe on your site – just wanted to say thank you – you make it easy to cook special dishes. ?
swasthi says
Hi Priya, Glad to know! Thank you.
Reena says
Can I use ready made tomato puree instead of making from 5 tomatoes ? If can, what is the measurement to use?
swasthi says
Hi Reena
2 cups (400 grams) puree with 20 cashews or almonds should work. If the gravy becomes tangy then add more cream towards the end
Allison says
Hello, do you use chicken breasts for this recipe?
swasthi says
Hello,
Yes sometimes I use. Overnight marination is recommended for chicken breasts otherwise they will dry out.
Vicki Latham says
Good Morning. Ive been planning on making this recipe for about 6 months. After ordering some spices online and marinading since yesterday, today is the day.
Im a fairly knowledgable and experienced home cook but Ive never attempted indian food (or anything similar) solely due to unavailability of so many of the spices in my small town.
The only thing I havent read is when (if at all) I should remove the cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom pods. It would be easy to avoid eating the stick and pods but im afraid the cloves would get lost in the mix and not good to eat. Do you take them out at some point?
Thank you.
Vicki
swasthi says
Good Morning Vicki Latham,
We discard the whole spices (cinnamon, cloves and cardamoms) while serving. You may skip them if you find it hard to take out. The flavors from garam masala (ground spices) will be good enough. Hope you enjoy the dish.
Vicki says
Thanks so much. I definitely plan to use them but will removed before adding in the meat (easier to see the cloves). my kitchen already smells so yummy. never used fenugreek before but i absolutely LOVE the smell!.
Sheena says
The butter chicken was lipsmacking!!
swasthi says
Glad to know Sheena
Vicki says
Thanks so much! I didnt realize I was out of regular chili powder so I used half ground sumac and half ground aleppo. The flavor is phenomenal. Served with jasmine rice (all I had) and homemade naan. sooo yummy.
swasthi says
You are welcome! Glad you liked it. Thank you
Rajnish Roy says
I made this today following the recipe to the word. It came out fabulous. Served with naan. Your recipes are great for a novice cook like me. Thanks for sharing with the world.
swasthi says
You are welcome!
Glad to know. Thank you
Sruthi says
My sister made this for me and I could not stop eating it! I just cooked it myself tonight and once again, I couldn’t stop eating the grilled chicken even before I added it to the gravy. Thank you!
swasthi says
Hello Sruthi
You are welcome! Glad you liked it.
Yes the grilled chicken itself is so good. You can also check this recipe of Tandoori chicken recipe which is similar to the grilled chicken here. Thank you