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!
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 and creamy sauce with bold flavors and a heavenly aroma, 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!
Where Did Butter Chicken Originate?
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.
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!
Which Spices Do I Need to Make Butter Chicken?
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.
Is Butter Chicken Spicy Hot or Kid Friendly?
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!
Can I Make Butter Chicken Ahead of Time? And Does It Freeze Well?
YES, in fact we 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.
This Butter Chicken recipe is so simple to make with relatively few steps and the result is a wonderfully flavorful dish you’ll want to make again and again.
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.
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.
Stir in the chicken with all of the marinade. If you’re choosing to cook the chicken in the pan, bring it to a simmer and cook until the chicken turns white.
Add the tomato puree and black cardamom pod. Return to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the butter and cream and stir until dissolved. Add salt to taste.
Serve with steamed jasmine or basmati rice and garnish with some chopped fresh cilantro. 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!
More more delicious Indian food be sure to try our:
- Tandoori Chicken
- Chicken Tikka Masala
- Egg Curry
- Saag Gosht
- Chicken Biryani
- Chicken Xacuti
- Red Lentil Dal
- Balti Chicken
- Pakistani Chickpea & Pistachio Fudge
- Mango Chutney
- Curry Powder
- Garam Masala
PIN ME!
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)
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 black cardamom pod (if you can find it. It isn't necessary but it adds such a wonderful 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. We 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) or you can skip all of these options and simply cook it along with the other ingredients in step 2 (though 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 chicken and all the marinade. (If you chose not to grill, roast or pan-fry the chicken, bring it to a simmer now and let it cook until it turns white.) Add the tomato puree and black cardamom pod. Return to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the butter and cream and stir until dissolved. Add salt to taste. Remove 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
Image of tandoor courtesy timtom.ch, creative commons CC licensing
Shirley Lindberg says
would coconut milk be good in this instead of regular cream.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Shirley, it will of course change the flavor but yes, you can use coconut cream if you prefer.
LaLigaGav says
yeah that’s one serious recipe. Hats off to you.
Hema says
My family love your recipe. Easy to understand and tasty result
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad, Hema, thank you!
Sarah says
I ended up making this with 1.5kgs of chicken breast so I did a massive batch.
I’ve been looking for a great Butter Chicken recipe and here it is!. I tweaked it just a little though.
I doubled the amount as I was making more and I added ground coriander and a pinch of cumin to the marinade.
I also added the same spices to the sauce whilst cooking it slowly for more punch.
Put the chicken on skewers and cooked it on the bbq 🤤🤤😍
That was a bit different. The sauce was quite think so I added some chicken stock and more double the cream.
It was an absolute hit! Butter Chicken is my fiancé’s favourite and he is a chef and he thought it was great.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Sarah, thanks so much for the feedback!
Lori Krahn says
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.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, Lori, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
Addie says
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”!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Addie, I’m so glad it was a hit, thank you!
Addie says
Thank you, Kimberly, that was a real “duh: on my part; when I read through the recipe again I understood it better. 🤪
Addie says
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?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
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! :)
Cliff Oakley says
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?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
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.
Sarah says
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!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks so much, Sarah! Agreed, Tikka Masala is fantastic and the UK produces some of the best Indian food in general!
lauren booth says
I’m not a big fan of the texture of nuts, do you notice the texture of the almonds in it?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
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.
Kanzi Kamel says
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?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
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.
Alisha says
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
Pat says
Thank you Kimberly. I like your site very much and will be making some of your recipes in the next few weeks.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks so much, Pat. Happy cooking and I hope you enjoy the recipes!
Pat says
Can powdered (or ground) cardamom be substituted for the pod? If so, how much ground cardamom would you use?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Pat, this calls for 1/2 teaspoon of ground green cardamom and one whole black cardamom pod. If you have the black cardamom in powder form that’s probably between 1/4 and 1/2 teaspoon (black cardamom pods are quite large, much larger than the green cardamom pods).
Anonymous says
How do you reheat it the next day?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Either gently on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Rose Anson says
Made this on Friday night instead of a takeaway. Must say it was absolutely spot on with the instructions and ingredients and tasted wonderful. Husband now thinks I’m a domestic goddess. Thank you so much for your lovely recipes. Cooked the Greek mousaka on Saturday. and it was a hit too. So I’m now doing the slow cooked chicken teriyaki tonight. I’m on a roll! I’m cooking it in the Aga, so I will adapt to suit.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, Rose, I’m so thrilled to hear that, thank you!