Butter Chicken - Make the best, simple, and authentic Indian butter chicken recipe that is creamy and packed with full of flavors. Serve this butter chicken with Indian naan, roti, chapati, steamed basmati rice, and ghee rice for a complete desi Indian meal.
Check out our popular chicken biryani recipe and some of the best Indian breads that you can serve with butter chicken.
What is Butter Chicken?
Traditional and authentic butter chicken is a classic Indian dish where the marinated and roasted or grilled chicken is simmered in an aromatic creamy onion-tomato-based gravy or curry sauce.
Butter chicken is a popular North Indian curry also known as chicken makhani, murgh makhani, butter chicken masala, butter chicken curry, etc. It is now one of the most famous Indian chicken dishes around the world.
If you have any leftover chicken tikka or tandoori chicken, you can make butter chicken masala or chicken tikka masala. The best way to use leftover grilled chicken.
Today, we will be making the best butter chicken recipe with simple ingredients in and easy way. You will fall in love with the curry sauce. This is going to be your family's new favorite recipe for chicken butter masala (murgh makhani).
Butter Chicken vs Chicken Tikka Masala
Both curries use similar ingredients and are popular but differ in flavor and texture. Butter masala or Makhani originates from Delhi, North India, and tikka masala is a British creation.
Kundal lal Gujral , who ran a restaurant in Delhi called Moti Mahal, did not want any leftover cooked meat in his restaurant to dry out. To avoid this, he cooked them in aromatic spiced tomato-based gravy along with butter and/or cream, adding richness to the overall dish, and named it Butter chicken or Murgh Makhani.
On the other hand, tikka masala was developed in the UK by a person from a subcontinental region. Chicken tikka refers to pieces of chicken grilled on skewer, and masala means Indian spice blend used to make tikkas or gravy.
Butter masala is on the sweeter side, and Tikka masala is on the spicier side.
Ingredients
For the marination
Chicken: Boneless chicken thighs give the best result and are used traditionally. But bone-in chicken breasts can also be used. Just note that the cooking time will vary accordingly.
Yogurt: For tender pieces of chicken, yogurt (dahi) is key.
Ginger garlic paste: Fresh homemade paste or freshly crushed or grated ginger and garlic.
Kashmiri red chilie powder: For the color.
Salt and lemon juice: For flavor.
Spices used:
I have used whole spices like bay leaf, cinnamon and cardamom and powder like garam masala, red chile, cumin powder, and kasuri methi. All these ingredients are easily available in Indian grocery stores. You may skip kasuri methi but will miss the magical north Indian flavor in your final dish.
For the butter chicken gravy or makhani sauce
Onion: Caramelized onions give the natural sweetness to your dish.
Tomatoes: Add a little tang. Canned puree can also be used.
Cashews: Make your dish rich, creamy, and silky smooth.
Butter: For rich flavor, use butter or ghee to make this gravy. Else, use ½ butter and ½ oil.
Cream: Once you have added gravy to the serving bowl, drizzle with cream if desired.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Step-by-step Instructions
Chicken Marination
Step 1: In a bowl, add chicken thighs, yogurt, salt, red chile powder, and ginger garlic paste, lemon juice.
Step 2: Mix this and marinate for about 30 minutes. You can even marinate it overnight.
Onion tomato gravy or sauce
Step 3: In a pan on medium flame, add 2 tablespoon oil, bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom, and onions and saute on a medium flame for 10 to 12 minutes or until onion becomes light and translucent.
Step 4: Add tomatoes and cashews and saute this on medium-high flame for 5 minutes. Let this cool down completely. Grind this in a blender or mixie to a smooth paste.
Roast or grill the marinated chicken
Step 5: In the same pan, add butter and oil and the marinated chicken and cook for 3 minutes.
Step 6: Flip and cook for 2 minutes. Now saute and continue to cook for another 2 minutes. (For even cooking, I have done this in batches. Based on the size of the pan, you can roast all chicken at once or in batches. Check the video here on making simple butter chicken. )
Making of simple butter chicken curry
Step 7: Add the onion tomato paste
Step 8: ¾ cup water, cumin powder, garam masala powder, salt, red chile powder, kasuri methi, and coriander leaves, and give it a mix.
Step 9: Add ¼ cup additional water to adjust the consistency, cream only if desired (optional), and simmer until the butter chicken sauce or masala turns thick to the desired consistency and the chicken is cooked through.
Step 10: Transfer it to a serving bowl. Drizzle cream and garnish with cilantro. Serve hot with homemade naan, steamed rice, or ghee rice, and enjoy.
Tips
- The thickness, richness, and sweetness of the gravy were perfect for my family. I add cream only while serving. You can make the curry richer by adding cream or more cashews if desired.
- The curry sauce or the onion tomato gravy with spices for butter chicken can be made ahead of time and refrigerated. When you are ready to serve, grill the marinated chicken, add it to the gravy or curry sauce, and heat.
- Do not skip the marination. Marinating will not only make the chicken tender but also absorb the flavors from yogurt and spices.
- Boneless chicken thighs or breasts are used. Bone in can also be used, but the cooking time will change accordingly.
- Fresh ingredients like ginger, garlic, onion, and tomatoes will enhance the taste of the dish.
- Adjust all the spices to taste. Simple ingredients are used.
- Leftover butter chicken can be stored in the refrigerator. It tastes even better as the flavors meld. Reheat gently.
- Sauteing the onion till it's light and translucent is very important, and don't rush this step.
Instant Pot Butter Chicken Recipe
- Marinate the chicken for 30 minutes.
- Turn on the saute mode of your IP. Add 2 tablespoon oil, bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, and onion, and saute for 6 to 8 minutes or until light in color. To this, add cashews and tomatoes and saute until it turns soft. Once this cools, transfer this to a blender and blend it to a smooth paste.
- Add butter and marinated chicken to your IP and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add onion tomato paste, cumin powder, garam masala powder, salt, chile, kasuri methi, and coriander leaves with 1 ¼ cups of water and give it a nice mix.
- Place the lid on your IP and seal to close.
- Set the pressure cook on HIGH for 5 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. After that, release any pressure manually.
- Switch the setting to simmer and stir 2 tablespoon cream. Add more butter and cilantro if desired. Simmer for 3-5 minutes or until the sauce is thickened to the desired consistency.
What to serve with butter chicken?
- For a complete Indian meal, serve it with homemade naan, roti, chapati, kulcha, steamed rice, ghee rice, etc.
- You can also serve this gravy with bread, dinner rolls, burger buns, etc.
- Any Indian bread is the best accompaniment for your butter chicken curry.
- Some onion rings, cucumber salads, cut vegetables and lemon can also be served with butter chicken.
- You can also try this with garlic turmeric rice, cilantro lime rice, basmati rice, etc.
Recipe FAQs
Authentic butter chicken is made using butter, Indian whole spices, onion, tomato, spice powders, yogurt marinade, and finally drizzled with cream before serving.
The blend of spices used for marination and to make the curry sauce or makhani sauce with the addition of butter makes it melt in your mouth.
Butter chicken was traditionally made by using leftover chicken tikka, which was cooked in a tomato-based gravy rich in butter (makhan). Maybe that is why it is called butter chicken.
This butter chicken is packed with rich, sweet, and savory flavors. The richness comes from butter, cashews, and cream, the savory flavors from the spices, and the sweetness with a hint of tanginess from sauteed onion and tomato.
Butter chicken, traditionally known as murgh makhani, is a North Indian dish. The grilled chicken is cooked in creamy and aromatic curry sauce.
More Indian Chicken Recipes
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Recipe card
Indian Butter Chicken Recipe | Best Chicken Makhani
Equipment
- Pan or Instant Pot
Ingredients
For the marination
- 500 grams Boneless chicken thighs 1.1 pound
- ½ cup Yogurt dahi
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Kashmiri red chile powder
- 2 tablespoon Ginger garlic paste homemade or ( ½ inch ginger and 1 bulb garlic crushed)
- 1 Juice of lemon
For the butter chicken gravy or curry sauce
- 3 tablespoon Oil, divided
- 2 Bay leaf
- ½ inch Cinnamon
- 3 to 4 Cardamom pods
- 3 Onions, chopped (350 g)
- 3 Tomatoes (230 g)
- 8 to 10 Cashews
- 2 tablespoon Butter
- 1 teaspoon Cumin powder roasted
- 1 tablespoon Garam masala powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt adjust to taste
- 2 teaspoon Red chile powder
- 1 tablespoon Kasuri methi dried fenugreek
- 1 tablespoon Coriander leaves or cilantro
- 2 to 4 tablespoon Cream, serving optional
Instructions
Chicken Marination
- In a bowl, add chicken thighs, yogurt, salt, red chile powder, ginger garlic paste, juice of 1 lemon.500 grams Boneless chicken thighs, ½ cup Yogurt, 1 teaspoon Salt, 1 tablespoon Kashmiri red chile powder, 2 tablespoon Ginger garlic paste, 1 Juice of lemon
- Mix this and marinate for about 30 minutes. You can even marinate it overnight.
Onion tomato gravy or makhani sauce
- In a pan on medium flame, add 2 tablespoon oil, bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom, and onions and saute on a medium flame for 10 to 12 minutes or until onion becomes light and translucent.3 tablespoon Oil, divided, 2 Bay leaf, ½ inch Cinnamon, 3 to 4 Cardamom pods, 3 Onions, chopped
- Add tomatoes and cashews and saute this on medium-high flame for 5 minutes. Let this cool down completely. Grind this in a blender or mixie to a smooth paste.3 Tomatoes, 8 to 10 Cashews
Roast or grill the marinated chicken
- In the same pan, add butter and oil and the marinated chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Flip and cook for 2 minutes. Now saute and continue to cook for another 2 minutes. (For even cooking, I have done this in batches. Based on the size of the pan, you can roast all chicken at once or in batches. Check the video here on making simple butter chicken. )2 tablespoon Butter, 3 tablespoon Oil, divided
Making of simple butter chicken curry
- To this roasted chicken, add the onion tomato paste, ¾ cup water, cumin powder, garam masala powder, salt, red chile powder, kasuri methi, and coriander leaves, and give it a mix.1 teaspoon Cumin powder, 1 tablespoon Garam masala powder, 1 teaspoon Salt, 2 teaspoon Red chile powder, 1 tablespoon Kasuri methi, 1 tablespoon Coriander leaves or cilantro
- Add ¼ cup additional water to adjust the consistency, cream only if desired (optional), and simmer until the butter chicken sauce or masala turns thick to the desired consistency and the chicken is cooked through.2 to 4 tablespoon Cream, serving
- Transfer it to a serving bowl. Drizzle cream and garnish with cilantro. Serve hot with homemade naan, steamed rice, or ghee rice, and enjoy.
Instant Pot Butter Chicken Recipe
- Marinate the chicken for 30 minutes.
- Turn on the saute mode of your IP. Add 2 tablespoon oil, bay leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, and onion, and saute for 6 to 8 minutes or until light in color. To this, add cashews and tomatoes and saute until it turns soft. Once this cools, transfer this to a blender and blend it to a smooth paste.
- Add butter and marinated chicken to your IP and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add onion tomato paste, cumin powder, garam masala powder, salt, chile, kasuri methi, and coriander leaves with 1 ¼ cups of water and give it a nice mix.
- Place the lid on your IP and seal to close.
- Set the pressure cook on HIGH for 6 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. After that, release any pressure manually.
- Switch the setting to simmer and stir 2 tablespoon cream. Add more butter and cilantro if desired. Simmer for 3-5 minutes or until the sauce is thickened to the desired consistency.
Video
Notes
- The thickness, richness, and sweetness of the gravy were perfect for my family. I add cream only while serving. You can make the curry richer by adding cream or more cashews if desired.
- The curry sauce or the onion tomato gravy with spices for butter chicken can be made ahead of time and refrigerated. When you are ready to serve, grill the marinated chicken, add it to the gravy or curry sauce, and heat.
- Do not skip the marination. Marinating will not only make the chicken tender but also absorb the flavors from yogurt and spices.
- Boneless chicken thighs or breasts are used. Bone in can also be used, but the cooking time will change accordingly.
- Fresh ingredients like ginger, garlic, onion, and tomatoes will enhance the taste of the dish.
- Adjust all the spices to taste. Simple ingredients are used.
- Leftover butter chicken can be stored in the refrigerator. It tastes even better as the flavors meld. Reheat gently.
- Sauteing the onion till it's light and translucent is very important, and don't rush this step.
Nutrition
Note: We originally posted this authentic butter chicken recipe in July 2016. It has now been modified in Sep 2023 with Expert Chef Tips, FAQs, Storage Instructions, etc.
Chef Dennis
your butter chicken is such a flavorful dish! I can't wait to try it in my kitchen
CPG
Superfan of this recipe- and I love Bitter Chicken. So savory and delicious- 5 Star
Sabine
This was the best butter chicken I have tried and it is not difficult at all to make it. Loved it.