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!
Absolutly loved this recipe!!! We try and eat paleo, but decided to make this anyways. I ended up forgetting to add the cream & butter at the end 🤦♀️ but it still turned out great! So pretty easy to make it dairy free if you needed to.
Wonderful, Lori, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
Hi, Kimberly – I made this the other night and waited until the next day to serve it, as you suggested. It was well worth the wait!
So delicious! I didn’t have any black cardamom pods so I had to leave that out, but there is an Indian grocery where we live here in Ocala so I can get some for the next time I make this. I’m sure there will be many more “next times”!
Fantastic, Addie, I’m so glad it was a hit, thank you!
Thank you, Kimberly, that was a real “duh: on my part; when I read through the recipe again I understood it better. 🤪
I know I’lll be making this recipe; I lived for many years in the UK with my British husband and learned to love Indian food.
I notice in this recipe there are two lots of garlic and ginger, one part is 1 1/2 tsp and the other 1 tsp of each. Where does each of them go?
Hi Addie, the first lot is for the marinade and the second lot is added later when it’s time to cook everything. Happy cooking! :)
Another delicious meal. Thank you. As someone else stated in the U.K. tomato puree is very concentrated (like toothpaste). I guessed with a part can of chopped tomatoes, pureed.
Can I ask. What is U.S. tomato puree equivalent to in U.K.? Passata maybe?
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Cliff, thank you! Yes, it’s confusing. What you call tomato puree in the UK is known as tomato paste in the U.S. And you’re correct, what we call tomato puree in the U.S. is like passata.
I absolutely love this curry. It reminds me of the Tikka Masala which originated in Glasgow, Scotland. I am not far from there. Curry culture is very big here. We love our curry. Delicious!
Thanks so much, Sarah! Agreed, Tikka Masala is fantastic and the UK produces some of the best Indian food in general!
I’m not a big fan of the texture of nuts, do you notice the texture of the almonds in it?
Hi Lauren, I don’t. The ground almonds are already very fine to begin with and then soften as they cook. But it depends on how sensitive you are to the texture, you may notice them. You can simply omit them if you prefer and if needs be use cornstarch as a thickener.
This tasted great but the sauce came out really grainy, and not the smooth curry I would be used to. How do I fix this?
Hi Kanzi, it comes down to the difference between authentic versus restaurant butter chicken. Authentic Indian food traditionally uses ground nuts (in this case ground almonds) as the thickening agent (as well as for flavor), never flour or cornstarch, and the nuts will account for the graininess. The vast majority of Indian restaurants do not serve authentic Indian food. We were just dining in an Indian restaurant recently that supposedly serves authentic Indian cuisine according to patron reviews – at the end of the meal I was chatting with the waiter who is the son of the restaurant owner. He commented, “none of the dishes we serve are ones that we actually cook at home. We never prepare them like this for ourselves. Truly authentic Indian food is very different than what is served in the restaurants.” That’s something I was already aware of but it was really interesting to have yet another Indian restaurant owner confirm that. Back to your question – the slightly grainy texture from the almonds is the authentic preparation for murgh makhani and is deliberate. You can omit them if you prefer and use cornstarch or flour for thickening.
Sometimes when I cook chicken cubes the fat becomes somewhat cottage cheese like. I rinse it off after cooking it. Also when you add the cream, I stop cooking it, or else it curdles. I also make sure it isn’t boiling when I add the cream. Hope this helps