Butter Chicken or Murgh Makhani is an easy to make, rich, creamy and delicious, popular Indian dish where the chicken is cooked in aromatic and spiced tomato based gravy. This is one of my favorite chicken preparations.
How I got transitioned from vegetarian to non vegetarian.... 🙂
I was a vegetarian till I got married. I was not forced or encouraged to eat meat. It was out of my own interest that I started eating and now I eat as well as prepare non-veg dishes occasionally.
When my husband prepared chicken biryani for his family when they visited us for the first time, I was mesmerized by the aroma of the biryani and wanted to check how it tastes - but I resisted. At the dinner table everyone was praising the dish, and now my desire to try it increased manifold - and I finally succumbed. I only had rice that day kept the chicken pieces aside 🙂 but I loved it.
It was out of the box when compared to veg biryani that I used to eat. I then knew why most my college friends ordered chicken dishes when we hung out together.
Well, after my first baby steps of eating only rice or only gravy of non-veg dishes, I slowly began eating small itsy-bitsy pieces of chicken, then bite size pieces, and now I happily prepare chicken dishes without my husbands guidance and he just loves it. Whenever we have a romantic cookout we include a non-vegetarian (fish or chicken) preparation along with all the veggie items.
Butter Chicken - One of the famous chicken dishes around the world
Butter chicken is an extremely popular chicken dish and can be found on the menu of most Indian restaurants. It was only when one of my readers requested for the recipe, I realized that I have not posted it yet 🙂 I highly recommend that you to marinate chicken overnight for best results. Today I have served it with with kulcha - Indian flatbread. This combination is one of the best that I have tried. Butter Chicken or Murgh Makhani is also a classic accompaniment for breads like naan, roti, chapatis and ghee rice or brown butter rice
Can I make vegetarian butter chicken?
For vegetarians, who would love to try this dish simply substitute chicken with paneer, mushroom, babycorn or roasted potatoes or mixture of all of these.
What is the difference between butter masala (makhani) and tikka masala?
Both are popular dishes around the world. Butter masala or Makhani originates from Delhi, North India and tikka masala is British invention.
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 cream adding richness to the overall dish and named it Butter chicken or Murgh Makhani.
On the other hand, tikka masala was developed in UK by person from 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 on the spicier side.
This delicious entree can be prepared for your upcoming tailgating events or game nights (football or super bowl) or potluck or Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas holiday dinner parties!
Some of the best popular chicken recipes to make at home
- Orange chicken
- Chicken tikka
- Satay Chicken
- Cranberry chicken
- chicken tikka biryani
- tandoori style grilled chicken
- chicken kali mirch
- easy chicken biryani
- tandoori chicken wings
- spicy sriracha chicken wings
SOME OF MY FAVORITE, BEST AND EASY, POPULAR FLATBREAD (roti, naan) RECIPES that are perfect accompaniment for butter chicken or murgh makhani
- 15 quick and easy vegan flatbread recipes - don't miss to check this out.
- Pita Bread – popular on blog
- Thai roti bread – popular on blog
- Tava Naan
- Garlic butter Naan
- Garlic Cheese Naan
Detailed step by step recipe for Butter Chicken or Murgh Makhani or How to make restaurant style butter chicken masala at home
BUTTER CHICKEN (MURGH MAKHANI) | HOW TO MAKE THE BEST RESTAURANT STYLE BUTTER CHICKEN MASALA AT HOME
Ingredients
For the Chicken Marination
- 1 pound Chicken thighs or breast ( ½ kg)
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder (haldi)
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala powder or tandoori Masala powder
- 1 inch Ginger finely chopped or grated
- 1 Garlic cloves finely chopped or grated
- 2 strands Coriander leaves or Cilantro finely chopped
- 1 Green chile, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Fresh or Dried mint leaves (pudina)
- ½ teaspoon Red chile powder
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- 2 tablespoon Lemon juice
- ¼ cup Yogurt (check tip)
For Butter Chicken Masala or Murgh Makhani Gravy
- 2 tablespoon Butter
- ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds or Jeera (optional) - check tip for below 5 ingredients
- 1 Bay leaf
- 2 Cloves or laung (optional)
- 2 Cardamom seeds or Elaichi (optional)
- 1 inch Cinnamon or dalchini (optional)
- 1 Onion, finely chopped
- 1 inch Ginger grated or finely chopped
- 3 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 or 2 Green chilies chopped
- 2 Large tomatoes (or 2 to 3 tablespoon thick tomato paste)
- 12 to 15 Cashews
- ½ teaspoon Garam Masala or Tandoori Masala powder
- ¾ teaspoon Red chile powder
- 1 tablespoon Tomato ketchup (check tips)
- Salt , to taste
- ½ teaspoon Dried kasuri Methi or Fenugreek leaves (optional)
- 5 tablespoon Heavy cream
- ½ inch Ginger juliennes
- 4 strands Coriander leaves or Cilantro for garnish
- 1 tablespoon Vegetable oil
Instructions
Step I (chicken Marination)
- Cut the chicken thighs to desired bite-size pieces. Add all the ingredients listed under marination, mix well and marinate for atleast 1 hour, preferably overnight. I have kept it overnight.
- You can marinate the chicken upto 48 hours. More you marinate more tender will be the end result.
Step II (Prepare Butter Chicken or Murgh Makhani)
- Heat butter in a pan. Add bay leaf, cloves, cardamom seeds, cumin seeds and sauté for couple of seconds till you get nice aroma.
- Add sliced onions along with a pinch of salt and sauté until onions turn light golden in color.
- Add chopped ginger, green chilies and garlic and continue to sauté till they are golden in color.
- Remove the bay leaf and keep it aside. In a blender grind all the sautéed ingredients except the bay leaf along with chopped tomatoes, cashews and about half cup of water till you get a smooth paste.
Step III
- Meanwhile, in the same pan add the bay leaf, 1 tbsp. of oil, marinated chicken thighs and roast it for about 5 to 6 mins on medium-high heat until the meat sears on all sides. Rotate the meat about half way through.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the ground paste from Step II, tandoori masala, red chilli powder, tomato ketchup, salt to taste and bring to boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. The gravy thickens and leave the side of the pan.
- Add cream , kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves. At this point taste the gravy, adjust the spices and thickness with water if desired. Continue to simmer for another 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through but be soft and tender and the sauce or the gravy is thick and bubbling.
- Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and ginger juliennes.
- Butter Chicken is now ready. Serve this with naan, roti, chapatis and ghee rice or brown butter rice
Notes
- For better results, marinate the chicken overnight.
- Traditionally most Indian gravy and curry use whole spices. It is readily available in our pantry. This enhances the flavor of the dish. If you are outside India and find it difficult to find one, simply skip it in the recipe. eg(cloves, cardamom, bay leaf, cinnamon and cumin seeds)
- Vary the spices as per your taste
- You can substitute cream with milk or coconut milk or evaporated milk.
- You can use serrano pepper or jalapeno instead of green chilies.
- I generally add tomato ketchup as it gives the right balance of sour and sweetness to your dish. You can skip and add ½ sugar instead.
- If using medium or small tomatoes, add 3 tomatoes to the recipe. You can even use canned crushed tomatoes.
- I have tried this dish even without adding yogurt and it still tastes amazingly delicious. You can skip this ingredient if its not readily available in your pantry.
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Some of my favorite flatbread (roti, naan) recipes that are perfect accompaniment for butter chicken or murgh makhani
If you like this butter chicken or murgh makhani recipe,
Don't miss to check out other delicious bread and flatbread, Indian curry and gravy recipes
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Preparation time : 30 minutes + marination overnight
Serves : 3
Ingredients for Butter Chicken
For Chicken Marination
Chicken thighs or breasts - ½ kg ( 1 pound)
Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp
Tandoori masala powder or Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Ginger finely chopped - 1 inch
Garlic clove finely chopped - 1
Coriander leaves / Cilantro finely chopped - 2 strands
Green chile finely chopped - 1
Mint leaves dried or fresh - 1 tsp
Red chile powder - ½ tsp
Salt - ¾ tsp
Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
Plain Yogurt - ¼ cup (check tip)
For Butter Chicken or Murgh Makhani gravy
Butter - 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds - ½ tsp
Cloves - 2 (optional)
Cardamom seeds - 2 (optional)
Bay leaf - 1 (optional)
Cinnamon -1 inch (optional)
Onion sliced - 1
Ginger finely chopped- 1 inch
Garlic cloves finely chopped - 3
Green chilies chopped - 1 or 2
Large Tomatoes - 2 chopped (or use 2 tablespoon tomato paste)
Cashews - 12 to 15
Tandoori masala or Garam masala powder - ½ tsp
Red chile powder - ¾ tsp
Tomato ketchup - 1 tablespoon (check tip)
Salt - to taste
Kasuri methi - ½ teaspoon (optional)
Heavy Cream - 5 tbsp
Ginger juliennes - ½ inch
Coriander leaves for garish - 4 strands
Vegetable oil - 1 tbsp
Steps to prepare Butter Chicken
Step I for chicken mariation
- Cut the chicken thighs to desired bite-size pieces. Add all the ingredients listed under marination, mix well and marinate for atleast 1 hour, preferably overnight. I have kept it overnight.
- You ca marinate the chicken upto 48 hours. More you marinate more tender will be the end result.
Step II prepare butter chicken masala or sauce
- Heat butter in a pan. Add bay leaf, cloves, cardamom seeds, cumin seeds and sauté for couple of seconds till you get nice aroma.
- Add sliced onions along with a pinch of salt and sauté until onions turn light golden in color.
- Add chopped ginger, green chilies and garlic and continue to sauté till they are golden in color. Remove the bay leaf and keep it aside.
- In a blender grind all the sautéed ingredients except the bay leaf along with chopped tomatoes, cashews and about half cup of water till you get a smooth paste.
Step III
- Meanwhile, in the same pan add the bay leaf, 1 tbsp. of oil, marinated chicken thighs and roast it for about 5 to 6 mins on medium-high heat until the meat sears on all sides. Rotate the meat about half way through.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the ground paste from Step II, tandoori masala, red chilli powder, tomato ketchup, salt to taste and bring to boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. The gravy thickens and leave the side of the pan.
- Add cream , kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves. At this point taste the gravy, adjust the spices and thickness with water if desired. Continue to simmer for another 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through but be soft and tender and the sauce or the gravy is thick and bubbling.
- Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and ginger juliennes.
- Butter Chicken is now ready. Serve with a side of kulcha, naan or other flat breads or on a bed of cooked basamati rice.
Tips and substitutes for butter chicken:
- For better results, marinate the chicken overnight.
- Vary the spices as per your taste
- You can substitute cream with milk or coconut milk or evaporated milk.
- You can use serrano pepper or jalapeno instead of green chilies.
- I generally add tomato ketchup as it gives the right balance of sour and sweetness to your dish. You can skip and add ½ sugar instead.
- If using medium or small tomatoes, add 3 tomatoes to the recipe. You can even use canned crushed tomatoes.
- Traditionally most Indian gravy and curry use whole spices. It is readily available in our pantry. This enhances the flavor of the dish. If you are outside India and find it difficult to find one, simply skip it in the recipe. eg(cloves, cardamom, bay leaf, cinnamon and cumin seeds)
- I sometimes skip adding yogurt if I dont have it in my pantry and the dish still tastes great.
Chef Dennis
your butter chicken is such a flavorful dish! I can't wait to try it in my kitchen