Indian Butter Chicken

Better than takeout, make easy, restaurant-quality Indian butter chicken at home in just 30 minutes. This well-known Indian dish has a creamy tomato-based sauce, charred marinated chicken, and incredible spices and flavour. The moment you get those ingredients and spices into your pan, the aromas that will hit you are something else!

Ingredients in Butter Chicken

• chicken - marinated in yogurt, garlic, ginger, chilli powder, paprika, garam masala, salt and pepper. You can make this dish with chicken breast or thighs. I personally prefer thighs because I find their tenderness to be a better fit in this recipe.
• vegetable oil + butter
• onion
• garlic
• ginger
• seasonings - coriander seeds, cumin seeds, turmeric, garam masala, chilli powder, dried fenugreek leaves, salt and pepper 
• tomato puree - tomato puree may be called crushed tomatoes - look at the picture on the can.
• heavy cream - 35% or whipping cream
• water
• cilantro or parsley (for garnish)

How to Make Butter Chicken

There are two main steps to make this butter chicken. Making the chicken and preparing the butter chicken sauce.

1. Marinate the chicken. In a medium bowl, mix together the chicken with the marinade ingredients: yogurt, garlic, ginger, chilli powder and salt and pepper. Cover the bowl and allow chicken to marinate for 1-2 hours or overnight in the fridge.
2. Pre-cook the chicken. Preheat the oven to 475 F. Cook the chicken for 10 minutes on the middle rack. Turn broiler on high and move the chicken to the top rack. Char (meaning partially blacken or burn) the top for 2-3 minutes until the top of the chicken begins to brown or burn slightly. Remove chicken from oven.
3. Make the butter chicken sauce. In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add butter and allow it to melt. Then, add coriander and cumin and cook for about 30 seconds. Add onion, turmeric, garlic and ginger and cook until onion becomes translucent (2-3 minutes). Then, add garam masala, chilli powder and paprika, stir until coated and cook for about 40 seconds. Add the tomato puree and water and bring the sauce to a simmer.
4. Puree the sauce. Pour the sauce into a blender and puree until smooth (If you prefer a chunkier sauce rather than smooth, then skip this step). Pour the sauce back into the pan and bring to a simmer.
5. Add pre-cooked chicken. Add the partially cooked chicken. Turn the heat down to low, cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the cream and fenugreek leaves and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 2-3 more minutes.
6. Serve. Serve with a side of basmati rice and/or naan bread and sprinkle some chopped cilantro or parsley on top.

How to Serve Butter Chicken

Serve this curry over long-grain rice, coconut rice, or with naan bread. You can also use any leftovers to make butter chicken pot pies.

More Stewy Recipes

• Slow Cooker Moroccan Lamb Stew
• Pumpkin Chickpea Coconut Curry
• Coconut Curry Lentil Soup
• Easy 20-Minute One Pot Lentils

Recipe

Indian Butter Chicken

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4.6 from 5 reviews

• Author: Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 4-6 servings
• Diet: Gluten Free

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Description

Better than takeout, make easy Indian butter chicken in just 30 minutes, with a creamy tomato-based sauce, charred chicken, and incredible spice + flavour.

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Ingredients

Marinade:

• 1 + ½ lb. boneless and skinless chicken thighs or breast (about 2 chicken breasts or 4-5 thighs), cut into 1-inch cubes
• ½ cup yogurt
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder or red pepper powder
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper

Butter Chicken Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 + ½ teaspoons coriander seeds
• 1 + ½ teaspoons cumin seeds
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
• ½ tablespoon garam masala (or more to taste)
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder or red pepper powder
• 1 (16 oz.) can of tomato puree
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup heavy cream (35% or whipping cream)
• ½ teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves
• salt and pepper, to taste
• cilantro or parsley, chopped (for garnish)

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Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the chicken with the marinade ingredients: yogurt, garlic, ginger, chilli powder and salt and pepper. Cover the bowl and allow chicken to marinate for 1-2 hours or overnight in the fridge.
2. Preheat the oven to 475 F. Cook the chicken for 10 minutes on the middle rack. Turn broiler on high and move the chicken to the top rack. Char the top for 2-3 minutes until the top of the chicken begins to brown or burn slightly. Remove chicken from oven.
3. In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add butter and allow it to melt. Add coriander and cumin and cook for about 30 seconds. Add onion, turmeric, garlic and ginger and cook until onion becomes translucent (2-3 minutes). Add garam masala, chilli powder and paprika, stir until coated and cook for about 40 seconds. Add tomato puree and water and bring the sauce to a simmer.
4. Pour the sauce into a blender and puree until smooth (If you prefer a chunkier sauce rather than smooth, then skip this step). Pour the sauce back into the pan and bring to a simmer. Add the partially cooked chicken. Turn the heat down to low, cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Stir in the cream and fenugreek leaves and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 2-3 more minutes.
6. Serve with a side of Basmati rice and/or naan bread and sprinkle some chopped cilantro or parsley on top.

Notes

Marinate the chicken for at least one hour. This will enable the chicken to absorb all the delicious flavour deep into its meat. If you are thinking of making this in the next couple of days, make a mental note of that. If you want to make this quickly after work, then think about preparing the chicken the night before and marinate it in the fridge overnight.

Customize the spice level. This butter chicken is mild. If you want it spicier, add more chilli powder in the sauce, to taste.

How to store butter chicken. You can store butter chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Reheating butter chicken. You can reheat butter chicken easily on a frying pan or in the microwave. Note that chicken is only safe to reheat once, so only reheat the amount that you are going to consume in that sitting.

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Category: Chicken
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Indian

This post was originally posted in January 2016. It has been completely updated with new photos, tips and written content.