Butter Chicken

Butter chicken is a dish I can eat with anything and at any time of the day. When there was no naan or rice around I would dip any type of bread in that creamy butter chicken sauce and all my cravings would be satisfied. So I finally decided to make it for myself and it could not have turned out any better!

Butter Chicken

A butter chicken recipe I finally landed on after doing hours of research. This was the method that gave me the best results without being too difficult.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian

Ingredients
  

Chicken Marinade

  • ½ kg chicken (I used a mix of thighs and breast)
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
  • ½ cup full fat greek yogurt

Butter Chicken Sauce

  • 2 tbsp neutral oil
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • ½ large red onion (diced)
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 tbsp minced ginger
  • ½ tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 can crushed tomatoes (400g)
  • cup cashews
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tbsp sugar

Instructions
 

  • Cut your chicken into 1½ inch pieces and mix with the marinade ingredients. Allow this to marinate for at least 1 hour but ideally overnight.
  • Heat up a large pan over med-high heat to sear the chicken on each side. Don't worry about the chicken being cooked through as they will be added back later.
  • Remove chicken from the pan then add 1½ tbsp of butter with 1 tbsp oil into the pan along with your diced red onions. Stir to deglaze the pan for 1 minute.
  • Add minced ginger, minced garlic, ground cumin, garam masala, chili powder, and turmeric powder. Stir for additional 1 minute.
  • Add whole can of crushed tomatoes, cashews, and 1/2 cup of water. Cover to simmer another 15 minutes or until the cashews have been softened.
  • Place the sauce into a blender and blend until smooth. Make sure not to overfill the blender because the mixture is hot.
  • Once smooth, pour back in the pan with 2½ tbsp of butter, 1 cup heavy cream, chicken, and sugar. Mix then cover to simmer an additional 10 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.
  • Serve with rice, garlic naan, and cilantro and yoghurt to garnish.

Notes

Tips
  • If at any point the butter chicken sauce looks too thick or too thin, just add water accordingly and adjust.
  • I like my butter chicken slightly sweet so I would also adjust your sugar and salt levels according to your taste at the very end.
 
Keyword butter chicken

6 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Just made it tonight! Easy, delish, and you can prep ahead! I think when I make it next I will add a little more spice so it kicks a little more, but this was bomb! Thank you for sharing!

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