Indian Butter Chicken Recipe | Best Chicken Makhani
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.
Servings: 5
Calories: 425kcal
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
Calories: 425kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 111mg | Sodium: 1075mg | Potassium: 621mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1780IU | Vitamin C: 27mg | Calcium: 77mg | Iron: 2mg