This Butter Chicken served with Naan on the side is my ultimate comfort food meal. It is spicy, sweet, creamy, and just delicious! Serve it with basmati rice and pan fried naan for a meal you’ll want to make from scratch again and again.
Hello Reader! I try my hardest to research recipes as best as I can before posting to ensure I am representing each culture correctly. If this recipe is from your country and I have made a mistake or you have suggestions for how to make it more authentic, I would love to hear! Please leave a comment below letting me know what should be different, and I will rework the recipe. It is always my intention to pay homage and respect to each cultural dish that I cook. Thanks for reading!
Are you surprised to know that Butter Chicken is one of my most-requested recipes?
Probably not.
Butter Chicken with Naan (also known as Murgh Makhani in India) is one of the most delicious and well-loved foods across the world, let alone in India! I have always loved Butter Chicken in Indian restaurants but was intimidated by making it. Because of this, when I first cooked India, I ended up making Egg Biryani, Jeera Aloo, and Palak Paneer (as well as an Instant Pot Palak Paneer version).
Recently I decided to be brave and try making Homemade Butter Chicken! I need not have been intimidated. The ingredient list on this Butter Chicken recipe is long, but most of the ingredients are easy-to-source spices! The dish is actually relatively easy and is SO worth the effort.
My husband even told me that we didn’t need to order carry out anymore, because this version was just as good as the restaurant’s! What a compliment! I know you’re going to love this recipe, and I’m so excited to share it with you!
What is Butter Chicken?
Butter Chicken is made by cooking chicken, in this case chicken thighs, in a delicious sweet and spicy tomato sauce. The tomato sauce and cream mix together for a saucy and delightful Indian meal!
Ingredients to Make Butter Chicken
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
There are so many ways to make Murgh Makhani, and this is only one of them. This recipe was researched from Indian sources, but if you have a different way of making it, please feel free to let me know in the comments!
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs: Cut into cubes. You can also use chicken breast or a mix of the two if needed.
- Greek Yogurt: For marinating. Make sure you use the one without any added flavors. The Greek Yogurt tenderizes the chicken thighs, so make sure to use this in the marinade!
- Ginger + Garlic Paste: You can make this yourself using a lemon zester or just buy it frozen at the store! You can use equal parts garlic paste and ginger paste if you do not have a combination packet.
- Lemon juice
- Spices: Salt, homemade garam masala or store bought, Kashmiri red chili powder, turmeric, ground coriander, ground cumin, cloves, and cardamom powder
- Butter: You can substitute ghee
- White Onion: Some recipes call for red onion
- Canned Tomatoes: Tomato paste, diced tomatoes
- Unroasted, Unsalted Cashews: To thicken the sauce and make it creamier
- Heavy Cream: I do not recommend substituting milk in this recipe. You can substitute coconut milk or coconut cream for a lighter or dairy free alternative.
- Granulated Sugar
- Dried Fenugreek Leaves: Also called Kasuri Methi. This might be the only difficult thing to find in American grocery stores. You can often get it at Indian grocery stores or online. As a last resort, you can omit it.
- Naan & Basmati Rice: For serving
How to Make this Recipe
Step 1: Add the yogurt and the spices into a bowl alongside the chicken and allow it to marinate for 2 hours or overnight.
Step 2: Cook the chicken in a pan for about 5-7 minutes until the outside is cooked.
Step 3: Saute the onion, then toast the spices until fragrant. Add the tomato paste and toast again.
Step 4: Simmer the diced tomatoes and the raw cashews for about 10 minutes.
Step 5: Blend the sauce in a blender or food processor until completely smooth. You can add a bit of water if necessary to get the mixture to blend.
Step 6: Pour the sauce back into the pan, add the heavy cream, sugar, and chicken. Cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through. Add garnishes and serve!
Expert Tips
- Mix the spices into the yogurt before adding the chicken so that the flavor gets evenly dispersed!
- For an extra Authentic Butter Chicken, you can grill the chicken instead of pan frying it for a delicious smoky flavor. Then add it into the sauce to simmer at the end.
- You can also use whole spices instead of pre-ground spices. For this, toast the whole spices in a skillet until fragrant and then grind them.
- Butter Chicken with Naan is one of my favorite meals. I love to get the frozen Naan from an Indian grocery store or Trader Joe’s and then pan fry it until it warms up. This is great for when you want a low-effort dinner. If you want homemade, try this recipe for Garlic Naan.
FAQs
This is such a common question that I wrote a whole blog post on it! In short, Chicken Tikka Masala is the sauce. Chicken Tikka Masala still has yogurt in the sauce, but it does not use heavy cream. This makes the sauce a deeper red color and also maintains the spiciness of the dish a bit better than Butter Chicken. For a more detailed answer check out my Butter Chicken vs Tikka Masala article.
Butter Chicken is best when served over a bed of basmati rice. Then use the Garlic naan to scoop up bites of chicken coated in scrumptious sauce.
Did you enjoy this Butter Chicken Recipe from India? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes I picked out just for you:
Butter Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
Marinade Ingredients
- 1½ lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into cubes
- ⅓ cup greek yogurt
- 2 tsp ginger + garlic paste
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp ground coriander
Sauce Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp butter or ghee
- ½ large white onion, finely chopped (about 1 ¼ cups)
- 1 Tbsp Ginger garlic paste
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp kashmiri chili powder, more or less to taste
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 2 tsp garam masala
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- ⅛ cup unroasted, unsalted cashews (about 8)
- 1 15 oz oz can diced tomatoes
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 2-3 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
- fresh cilantro, chopped, for serving
- Naan, basmati rice for serving
Instructions
- Put the cubed chicken in a medium mixing bowl and then add the rest of the marinade ingredients. Stir until the chicken is well-coated, then cover the bowl and place it in the fridge. Allow the chicken to marinade overnight (preferably) but for a minimum of 2 hours.
- Once the chicken is done marinating, melt 2 tablespoons of butter or ghee in a large pan.
- Add the marinated chicken into the hot pan and stir until the outside of the chicken is cooked, about 5-7 minutes. The middle can still be raw. Remove the chicken and set aside.
- Add another tablespoon of butter into the pan. Add the diced onion and stir until sauteed, scraping down the extra flavor into the pan. Saute until the onions soften.
- Add the ginger and garlic paste and saute again for a minute.
- Add the spices and mix until toasted, about 1 minute.
- Add the tomato paste and mix for another minute until the mixture is fragrant.
- Pour the diced tomatoes into the pan along with the cashews. Cover and let this simmer for about 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, remove the sauce from the stove and put it in a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Pour the blended sauce back into the pan, then pour in the heavy cream and the granulated sugar. Mix until everything is combined, then add the chicken. Stir until the chicken is fully coated.
- Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes until the chicken cooks through and reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Sprinkle with fenugreek leaves, chopped cilantro, and an extra drizzle of heavy cream. Serve over basmati rice with garlic naan. Enjoy!
Notes
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs: Cut into cubes. You can also use chicken breast or a mix of the two if needed.
- Greek Yogurt: For marinating. Make sure you use the one without any added flavors. The Greek Yogurt tenderizes the chicken thighs, so make sure to use this in the marinade!
- Ginger + Garlic Paste: You can make this yourself using a lemon zester or just buy it frozen at the store! You can use equal parts garlic paste and ginger paste if you do not have a combination packet.
- Butter: You can substitute ghee
- White Onion: Some recipes call for red onion
- Unroasted, Unsalted Cashews: To thicken the sauce and make it creamier
- Heavy Cream: I do not recommend substituting milk in this recipe. You can substitute coconut milk or coconut cream for a lighter or dairy free alternative.
- Dried Fenugreek Leaves: Also called Kasuri Methi. This might be the only difficult thing to find in American grocery stores. You can often get it at Indian grocery stores or online. As a last resort, you can omit it.
- Mix the spices into the yogurt before adding the chicken so that the flavor gets evenly dispersed!
- For an extra Authentic Butter Chicken, you can grill the chicken instead of pan frying it for a delicious smoky flavor. Then add it into the sauce to simmer at the end.
- You can also use whole spices instead of pre-ground spices. For this, toast the whole spices in a skillet until fragrant and then grind them.
- Butter Chicken with Naan is one of my favorite meals. I love to get the frozen Naan from an Indian grocery store or Trader Joe’s and then pan fry it until it warms up. This is great for when you want a low-effort dinner. If you want homemade, try this recipe for Garlic Naan.
