Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)
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One of the most popular Indian dishes, this Indian Butter Chicken recipe (Murgh Makhani) is packed with an incredible depth of flavor that will leave your taste buds singing! Rivaling your favorite Indian restaurant, it’s phenomenally delicious!
What is Butter Chicken?
Butter Chicken is an enormously popular dish and you find it served in practically every Indian restaurant around the world. Tender chicken in a rich tomato-butter-cream sauce with bold flavors and a heavenly fragrance, it is well deserving of its reputation and is one of my all-time favorite Indian dishes. This Indian butter chicken recipe consistently gets rave reviews and we’re confidant you’re going to love it as much as we do!
Of Punjabi origin, Butter Chicken, or Murgh Makhani, has been popular since the day it was created in 1948 by Chef Kundan Lal Gujral, who also created dal makhani and the equally famous tandoori chicken. In India this dish is usually made with bone-in chicken and outside of India boneless chicken is more commonly used. As with any dish, bone-in chicken will always give you the most flavor, but feel free to use whichever you prefer.
Traditionally the marinated chicken is cooked in a tandoor prior to being added to the sauce. Tandoors are used throughout Southern, Central, and Western Asia and are cylindrical clay pots used for cooking and baking. The heat is generated by a wood or charcoal fire at the bottom of the tandoor and the air inside the tandoor can reach upwards of…900 degrees Farenheit, yeeeouch! Tandoors are often left lit for hours at a time and a consistent temperature is maintained.
How Do You Cook the Chicken?
In the absence of tandoors, Westernized versions will instead grill or roast the chicken in an attempt to replicate the flavor generated by the tandoor. Depending on what you have the time and means for, grilling the chicken on a barbecue will definitely generate more flavor than roasting it in the oven will. Alternatively you can also pan-fry the marinated chicken (shaking off the excess marinade before adding it) until it’s browned or you can take the easiest route and cook the chicken along with the other ingredients in the pan.
Butter Chicken Ingredients: Spices
Butter Chicken calls for a variety of Indian spices. As I’ve emphasized in some of my other Indian recipes, if you haven’t heard of or used some of these spices before don’t be afraid of them! Some people equate unfamiliar ingredients with a higher level of cooking difficulty and that just isn’t the case at all. It just means that instead of using staples you’re used to like basil, oregano and thyme, you’re using spices like turmeric, cardamom, coriander and garam masala. It’s just as easy, the names of the spices are just different.
Some Indian spices are a little more challenging to find in regular grocery stores in the U.S. but can be conveniently purchased online (I link to several in the recipe box below) and in case you’re worried about spending the money on more spices than you’ll need for this dish, the spices will keep for a long time if you store them in airtight jars in a dark, cool place. So you’ll be able to have them on hand any time you make Indian food.
Butter chicken is one of the mildest curries in terms of heat so it’s an especially great choice for kids or for adults who are heat-sensitive. That said, if you happen to like a lot of heat feel free to increase the amount of red chili power or cayenne!
Flour vs. Ground Nuts for Thickening Sauces
Westernized versions of Indian dishes will usually use flour or cornstarch to thicken the sauces but in India these are virtually never used for that purpose. Instead, ground nuts are commonly used as thickeners including for this Butter Chicken where grounds almonds are used. Ground nuts not only thicken the sauce but provide additional depth of flavor. And wherever more flavor can be added, I’m all for it!
Butter Chicken Recipe
Let’s get started!
In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, lemon juice, almonds, ground cloves, ground cinnamon, sugar, garam masala, turmeric, ground cardamom, salt, minced ginger, garlic, crushed bay leaves and chili powder. Stir to combine.
Add the chicken and stir to thoroughly coat. Marinated for at least 2 hours or overnight if possible.
Now it’s time to grill the marinated chicken.
The marinated chicken can then be either: Grilled on the barbecue or roasted on a lined baking sheet in the oven until nicely browned. If you want to skip these steps you can pan-fry the marinated chicken in some oil until it’s browned or you can simply cook it along with the other ingredients. Whichever route you go be sure to save the marinade because you’ll still need it for the sauce.
Heat the ghee in a large pan or medium stock pot over medium-high heat and cook the onions until soft and translucent and beginning turn golden, 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute.
Add the grilled chicken.
Add the remaining marinade.
Add the tomato puree and the black cardamom.
Bring the mixture to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the butter.
Add the cream and stir until the butter is dissolved. Return the butter chicken to a low simmer just to heat through.
Add salt to taste.
Serve with steamed jasmine or basmati rice and/or naan bread or sourdough naan and garnish with some chopped fresh cilantro. A cucumber raita also makes the perfect accompaniment. If you like, stir in a little extra heavy cream for a nice creamy swirl. Note: This dish tastes even better the next day once the flavors have had more time to meld.
Enjoy this with a refreshing Mango Lassi or Fruit Chaat!
Enjoy!
Make Ahead and Storage
Can butter chicken be made in advance? YES, in fact I recommend it because butter chicken only gets BETTER with time as the flavors develop. Make it, let cool completely, refrigerate and enjoy it the next day for optimal flavor.
Butter chicken also freezes well if you don’t add the cream. Simply freeze the chicken, gently reheat it on the stovetop and stir in the cream.
More more delicious Indian food be sure to try my:
- Chicken Tikka Masala
- Egg Curry
- Tandoori Chicken
- Eggplant Curry
- Dosa
- Chicken Biryani
- Chicken Xacuti
- Shrimp Curry
- Chana Masala
- Dal Palak
- Masoor Dal
- Balti Chicken
- Saag Gosht
- Pakistani Chickpea & Pistachio Fudge
- Mango Chutney
- Mango Lassi
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Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)
Ingredients
- For the Marinade:
- 1 1/2 cups plain full fat yogurt
- 1/4 cup almond flour , unblanched or blanched
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
- homemade garam masala (STRONGLY recommended)
- 3/4 teaspoon ground green cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed bay leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder optional, if you like it spicy (use more for more heat), or cayenne pepper
- For the Chicken:
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken , cut into bite-sized pieces (brown chicken meat produces the most flavor. You can also use bone-in chicken)
- 2 tablespoons ghee (can substitute oil or butter)
- 1 large yellow onion , finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 14 ounce can tomato puree (can substitute passata or plain tomato sauce)
- 1 black cardamom pod (if you can find it. It isn't necessary but it adds such a fabulous flavor.)
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Combine the yogurt with the almonds, garlic, ginger, lemon juice and spices and stir to combine. Add the chicken and stir to coat. Marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight if possible.The marinated chicken can then be either: Laid on a lined baking sheet and placed under the broiler in the oven until nicely browned or grilled on the barbecue. I highly recommend one of these options (I broil it in the oven). Otherwise you can skip these steps you can pan-fry the marinated chicken in some oil until it's browned (shake off any excess marinade before frying) but it will have less flavor. **Whichever route you go be sure to save the marinade because you'll still need it for the sauce.
- Heat the ghee in a Dutch oven or large skillet over medium-high heat and cook the onion until soft and translucent and beginning to turn golden, 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute. Add the grilled chicken and all the marinade. Add the tomato puree and black cardamom pod. Bring the mixture to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the butter and cream and stir until dissolved. Let it simmer for just a minute until heated through. Add salt to taste. Discard the black cardamom pod.
- Serve with steamed jasmine or basmati rice and/or fresh naan bread. Garnish with some chopped fresh cilantro and swirl in a little extra cream.This sauce tastes even better the next day when the flavors have had more time to meld so we recommend waiting a day to eat it (let it cool completely, refrigerate, and reheat gently on the stovetop).
Notes
*This dish tastes even better the next day once the flavors have had more time to meld!
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet December 30, 2014
Image of tandoor courtesy timtom.ch, creative commons CC licensing
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
I’ve never had butter chicken before but this was absolutely fantastic!
I made this yesterday and loved it. I’ve made other Butter Chicken recipes but always like trying new ones. I loved the yogurt marinade in this one and that you actually cook it and use it instead of throwing it away like some other recipes. There are only a small amount of leftovers but looking forward to them today. (Indian and Thai foods are my 4-year old’s favorite, starting back when he was 2 years old! He usually doesn’t eat much but had 3 servings of this.)
I am so happy to hear that, Michelle! We love this dish too, including our 3 and 5 year olds. The flavor’s even better the next day – enjoy those leftovers :) Thanks so much for the feedback!
Made this dish tonite with my wife. Absolutely amazing
Wonderful, Jt, I’m glad it was a hit, thank you!
Hi KImberly,
I was told by someone that butter chicken is not originated from India but is a variant invented by Indian who settled in the western countries, (That was what I heard in an Indian restaurant in Auckland, NZ lately).
Nor sure if it is true, but saliva is wetting my lips now by just looking at the list of spices in your recipe. Fortunately, I do have most of them and ready to cook.
Thanks for the recipe.
KP Kwan
Thank you, KP Kwan! Yes, there are several popular Indian dishes that originated in the UK such as Chicken Tikka Masala, though even that has been debated. The sources I’ve read say that Murgh Makhani was developed by the Moti Mahal restaurant in Delhi, India. But who knows? In any case it is delicious and that’s what’s most important! :)
Thank you for a fantastic recipes..I’ve already try three of your recipes and all are great….Indonesian chilli chicken…butter chicken and masoor dhal…amazing site!
Thank you so much, dorie, you’ve made my day! :)
Thanks for the reply! is your tomato sauce more of a pasatta then?
Hi Matt, yes. Pasata is more liquidy, more of a sauce, whereas tomato puree has been cooked down to a very thick, concentrated paste and usually comes in very small cans/containers. Pasata is also considered superior to regular tomato sauce – better flavor.
Hi Kimberley,
Just cooked this for my wife and she said it was absolutely amazing! so, thank you.
i have a question though. in England, our tomato puree is ‘double concentrate’. i that the same over there? only, i decided to add half of your recipe and it was still a lot redder than your picture. didn’t taste overly tomato(ey) but i thought i would ask. I always struggle with imperial/cups/metric….
thanks again for all your hard work. really do love this site.
Matt
Hi Matt, that’s wonderful, I’m so glad to hear that! We’re big fans as well. If I’m remembering correctly, tomato puree in England is what we call tomato paste in the U.S.. It’s much thicker and very concentrated. Tomato puree here refers to more of a sauce and can generally be used interchangeably. You made the right move using half the amount even if it was a bit redder – no big deal at all. Thanks so much for your feedback and kind words.
idiotic question re: green cardamom pod…. do i put the entire pod in coffee grinder OR do i take out shell?
Hi Jennifer, not idiotic at all! First remove the seeds from the pod.
YOU were soooo right! It tasted so much better 2 days later! From now on, I’m gonna ALWAYS cook this 1 day prior to serving. Pretty good and so much easier than marinating chicken, cooking it in the oven, making sauce, putting it together etc.
Fantastic! It tastes great the same day, but yes, the flavors only improve after they’ve had time to meld. Thanks for the feedback, Jennifer! At this rate I think you’re going to single-handedly cook your way through my entire blog! That’s awesome!! :)
Your site, is the only site where I’ve really enjoyed the spices and flavours. SO, yup, I’ll probably eventually get there :)
*happy dance* :)