Restaurant-style easy Butter Chicken recipe with tender grilled chicken pieces cooked in aromatic, rich, creamy tomato curry sauce. Perfect with garlic naan or fluffy basmati rice. Impress your friends and family with your homemade butter chicken!
I shared my Homemade Chicken Tikka Masala recipe a few weeks ago, and it was also a great hit!
This butter Chicken Curry is easy, budget-friendly, and better than takeaway! Pair it with basmati rice; you can serve a delicious meal for a crowd with a minimum budget. It's made with cupboard-friendly ingredients, and the creamy butter sauce is seriously tasty! Your friends and family are going to love it!
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Ingredients
Following is a quick guidance. Please scroll down for a detailed printable recipe.
- Chicken: Boneless chicken thigh or breast.
- Spices: Turmeric, paprika and garam masala.
- Unsalted butter & cooking oil
- Dried fenugreek leaves
- Coriander
- Water
For Base Curry Sauce
- Shallot onions
- Ginger & garlic paste
- Tomato puree
- Double cream ( heavy cream )
- Cashew nut paste
- Salt to taste
Expert Tips
- I recommend using chicken thigh meat, which has more fat content than chicken breast and is perfect for grilling. But it's totally fine to use chicken breast or lamb.
- Use shallot onions and brown them until they are caramelized so they will melt in the sauce easily.
- I highly recommend using tomato puree instead of chopped tomatoes. Blending it in the food processor into a smooth paste saves lots of time.
- For a rich, creamy sauce, use double cream(heavy cream) and cashew nut paste. (The recipe note explains how to make cashew nut paste.)
- If you are making for a crowd, you can easily double or triple the amount of this recipe.
Instructions
1. Marinade the Chicken
- Moist juicy tender chicken pieces are all about a good marinade. Marinate the cut chicken pieces in a good amount of yoghurt and spices for at least 15 minutes. If you have more time you can cover lid and leave in fridge for longer, 1-2 hour.
2. Grill the Chicken
- Use a grill pan or skillet and brown the chicken pieces for 2-3 minutes on both sides. (Or you can cook in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes at 500°F.)
3. Cook Chicken with Butter Curry Sauce
- Use a good amount of unsalted butter, and fry the chopped shallots until they are caramelized and brown.
- Then, follow with the ginger and garlic paste for more flavour. Add tomato puree and spices, sauté for 1-2 minutes until dry and fragrant.
- Then, pour in water, double cream, and cashew paste. You can adjust the sauce thickness by adding more or less water, according to your preference.
- Place the grilled chicken back in, cook for another 2-3 minutes, and finish with dried fenugreek and chopped coriander.
Serving Suggestions
Butter chicken goes well with plain naan, garlic naan, chapati, roti, flat bread or cooked basmati rice. Add side dishes like Indian Onion Salad, Easy Raita, onion slices or lime wedges.
Perfect dinner option when you have guests to impress, your date night or family gatherings. Serve it together with King Prawn Butterfly, Vegetable Pakora, Monkfish Curry, or Lamb Pasanda for a complete takeaway dinner.
FAQs
How to make butter chicken tandoori charcoal flavour?
If you want to get the tandoori charcoal flavour, here is a little trick you can make: Heat one charcoal over the gas using heat-proof tongs until red. Add the charcoal to the small steel cup or heat-proof bowl and place it in the middle of the cooked chicken pan.
Pour 1 tablespoon of ghee or butter over the charcoal, close the lid and let it sit for 1-2 minutes. Then remove the charcoal cup and your dish is ready to serve! ( Smell exactly like you had at your favourite Indian restaurant. )
What is the origin of butter chicken?
Butter chicken originated in India and was modified and recreated by Indian chefs in England. It is one of the most loved Indian curries worldwide. In India, it is called Murg Makhani; Murgh means 'chicken', and Makhani means 'butter'.
Traditionally, the chicken is cooked in a Tandoor clay oven before adding to the sauce, but home cooks like us can make it happen by using our regular oven or grill pan.
Is butter chicken spicy?
It's one of the mildest Indian curry dishes, and the spiciness depends on the amount of chilli or paprika you use in the recipe.
Can you make dairy-free butter chicken?
Definitely, yes, you can! Swap the butter for cooking oil and substitute the cream for coconut cream or cashew nut cream.
More Tasty Chicken Curry Recipes
We love cooking Indian Curries at home. Chicken and Chickpea curry, Brinjal Bhaji ( Aubergine Curry ), and Murgh masala (Chicken Masala Curry ) are also our family favourite curry recipes you don't want to miss!
- Thai Red Curry Chicken
- Japanese Chicken Curry
- Chicken in Black Bean Sauce
- Spicy Basil Chicken
- Ceylon Chicken Curry
If you've tried this easy butter chicken recipe, please share your feedback in the comments and give me star 🌟 ratings!
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📖 Recipe
Easy Butter Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 500 grams Boneless chicken thigh or breast ( About 17.5oz )
- 4 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 1 tbsp Oil ( for grilling chicken )
- 1 tsp Dry fenugreek leaves Kasuri Methi ( optional )
- Fresh coriander chopped ( optional )
- 1 Cup Water ( add more water if needed )
Chicken Marinade
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Ginger paste
- ½ tsp Garlic paste
- ½ tsp Paprika powder Or Chilli powder
- ½ tsp Turmeric powder
- ½ tsp Garam masala
- 3 tbsp Plain yogurt
For Curry Sauce
- 2 Medium shallots ( finely chopped )
- 1 tbsp Garlic paste
- 1 tsp Ginger paste
- ½ cup Tomato puree ( plain, un-salted, unflavoured ) ( see details in note ) About 8 tbsp
- ½ cup Double cream ( Heavy Cream ) about 8-10 tbsp
- 3 tbsp Cashew nut paste ( Optional )( see details in note )
- ½ tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 tsp Paprika Or chilli powder
- 2 tsp Garam masala
- 1 tsp Salt or salt to taste
To Serve
- Cooked basmati rice or naan
Instructions
- First of all cut the chicken into medium bite-size pieces. Marinate the chicken with the ingredients from the chicken marinade list. Mix well to coat the each chicken pieces evenly. Set aside and marinate for 15 minutes. ( If you have time, you can marinate for longer. )
- In the meantime, finely chop the shallots, garlic cloves and coriander.
- Heat the grill pan/skillet over medium-high heat, drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil and grill the marinated chicken pieces for 2-3 minutes or until charred. Then turn sides and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
- To cook the butter sauce, add 3 tablespoon of unsalted butter in the pan, fry the chopped shallots with medium heat until brown. Then add the garlic paste, onion paste and stir fry few seconds.
- Follow with the tomato puree, turmeric, paprika, garam masala and salt to taste. Stir for few seconds.
- Pour the water, cream and cashew nut paste in and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Place the cooked chicken back in and stir well to combine with the sauce. Add more water if needed.
- Close the lid and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Finish with the dried fenugreek leaves and chopped coriander.
- Serve with cooked basmati rice, naan or flat bread. Enjoy!
Notes
- How to make cashew nut paste: To make the cashew nut paste, soak about 2-3 tablespoons of cashew nuts in water for 30 minutes and drain the water. Place the cashew nuts in the blender/food processor, add 1-2 tablespoons of water, and blend it into a smooth paste. (Add more water if needed. )
- Tomato Puree - Strained, skinned tomatoes, thick in consistency, also called tomato concentrate. It comes in tin, cans, or tubes. You can easily buy in most supermarket pasta or sauces aisle.
If you are using Italian Passata or fresh tomato puree, the sauce will take more time to reduce. You can cook the sauce until it becomes thick and reduced by half to achieve the perfect curry sauce. - Double Cream ( Heavy Cream ) - can be substituted with coconut milk/cream or cashew nut cream.
- Shallot onions- Suggest using them for curry dishes as they can be easily browned and melted in the sauces. ( Shallots will save lots of your time when blending the onions and cleaning the food processor. )
Amanda says
hi, i wanna try the recipe but i dont have any yogurt on hand, can i use sour cream instead? also do you recommend adding potatoes or carrots to the dish, if so what other ingredients do think would be good?
Khin says
Hi Amanda, you can use sour cream as a yogurt substitute. We love to cook it without any vegetables, just the chicken with creamy buttery curry sauce. If you love vegetables, potaotes and carrots are great option. Hope this helps.
Chantel Brown says
Hands down my favourite butter chicken recipe of all time, i have made this many times over and a family favourite
Khin says
Thanks for trying out and sharing feedback, Chantel. So glad that you enjoyed this recipe.
Louise says
Absolutely love making this dish and want to batch cook can this be frozen and reheated.
Thank you
Khin says
Hi Louise, let it cool down completely and store it in a freezer-proof air-tight container or bags. You can reheat in microwave or stovetop until piping hot just before serving. Add a bit of water while reheating if the gravy is too thick.
Scott says
Wife can’t have nuts is there anything else I can use thanks ps keep doing what you doing as I cooked 3 off your recipe so far I love the all 💯
Khin says
Hi Scott
Thank you so much for trying my recipe. You can skip it or substitute with double cream. I am sure you'll enjoy it.
Heidi Bittner says
Ive made this butter chicken twice in 4 days because its so good!
Martha Denholm says
Butter chicken is amazing so easy to make
Khin says
Thank you Martha! Glad that you enjoyed!
Neil Peters says
Tried this last night, easy to follow recipe and the best Butter Chicken I've had in a long time.
Thanks
Khin says
Thank you so much for trying out Neil. So pleased that you enjoyed our Butter Chicken recipe.