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5 from 2 votes

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.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: butter chicken

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)
  • ⅓ 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.