If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #ChiliPepperMadness on Instagram so we can take a look. I always love to see all of your spicy inspirations. Thanks! – Mike H. It is rich and filling, comfort food at its finest, and you can easily make it from the comfort of your own kitchen. One of the best things about it is you can cook it up with ingredients easily found at your local grocery store. Just don’t let the aromas drive you mad with desire as they fill the house. And, even though it is a curry, it isn’t spicy hot, even though it does include a lot of piquant spices. If you love curry but you don’t love the heat, butter chicken is the dish for you. Don’t worry, though, my spicy food loving friends. You’ll love it, too. Butter chicken is filled with big, bold flavors. And, you can adjust with heat to your tongue’s desires. The curry sauce is often strained (though you can skip this step), making it smooth and velvety, then finished off with a bit of heavy cream to bring you a wonderful creamy chicken curry dish. I don’t think you can get any better than a good butter chicken. It is Indian food at its most wonderful. Butter chicken is the common name, but it is called “Murgh Makhani” in India. It is rather similar to another well known Indian dish, Chicken Tikka Masala. Let’s talk about how to make butter chicken, shall we?
FOR THE BUTTER CHICKEN MARINADE Boneless Chicken Thighs. You can also use chicken breast, or a combination. Garlic. Ginger. Spices. Garam masala, red chili powder (Kashmiri chili powder preferred, or paprika), turmeric, cumin, salt and black pepper. Yogurt. Use plain yogurt, not flavored. Lemon Juice. FOR THE BUTTER CHICKEN Vegetable Oil. Or use butter or ghee. Onion. Red Pepper. Spicy or mild, to your preference. Garlic. Ginger. Spices. Garam masala, cumin, red chili powder, salt and pepper, red pepper flakes. Also, use honey for a touch of sweet, if desired. Tomatoes. Use tomato sauce for a smoother butter sauce, or use diced. You can always process if desired. Heavy Cream. Or use ½ cup milk and ½ cup cream for a lighter version FOR SERVING. Fresh chopped herbs, extra red pepper flakes, cooked rice, warmed naan.
The Marinade. Next, prepare your marinade. Mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a large bowl. Marinate. Add the chopped chicken to the bowl. Mix it all together to completely coat the chicken. Develop the Flavor. Cover the chicken and set it in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 30 minutes. You can marinate overnight for greater flavor penetration. Ready to Cook. When you’re ready to cook, heat a large pan to medium heat and add the olive oil. Remove the chicken and set it aside. Vegetables. Add some butter to the same pan and let it melt. Add in 1 chopped onion and 1 chopped red pepper. Cook them 5 minutes to soften. Garlic. Add 3 cloves minced garlic and 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger and cook 1 minute, until they become fragrant. Seasonings. Add garam masala, cumin, red chili powder, salt and pepper, and red chili flakes (if using). Stir and cook for 1 minute. Tomatoes. Stir in 14 ounces tomato sauce and honey. You can use fresh or canned tomatoes, and later make a tomato puree. Using tomato sauce will give you a much smoother butter chicken sauce. OPTIONAL - Blend the Sauce. When the murgh makhani sauce is ready, transfer it to a blender or food processor and process until smooth. You can thin it out with a bit of water if you’d like. Strain. Strain the sauce back into the pan. The point is to make the sauce very smooth and heat through. Cream. Stir in 1 cup of heavy cream (or use milk for a lighter version). Chicken. Add the chicken back to the pan. Serve. Serve with cooked white rice. Basmati rice is great here. I love it with rice and naan. Garnish with fresh chopped herbs (parsley or cilantro), and spicy red chili flakes, if desired. Swirl on a bit of extra cream. It’s quite fun, actually, to make at home. I hope you have as much fun as I do. Key here is processing the sauce, then straining out the solids. You can skip this step if you’d like but you won’t achieve that silky smooth quality that butter chicken is known for. Canned tomatoes are completely acceptable with butter chicken. Heavy cream is a common component, but if you’re looking to make a lighter version, use either milk, yogurt, or sour cream instead of heavy cream. The name “Murgh Makhani” translates to “chicken with butter”. There is some butter in this recipe, but butter isn’t actually needed to make butter chicken. You can easily replace it with olive oil if you’d like, and you won’t lose any flavor or texture. You can also freeze it for 2-3 months. That’s it, my friends! I hope you enjoy this amazing butter chicken. It is incredibly delicious. Drop me a line if you have any questions.
Recommended Cookbook
If you enjoy Indian cooking, I recommend the following cookbook, which is teaching me a lot and has many wonderful recipes. It helped me adapt this recipe.
The Indian Cooking Course, by Monisha Bharadwaj (Author) (affiliate link, my friends!)
Mike Hultquist is the author of “The Spicy Food Lovers’ Cookbook” and “The Spicy Dehydrator Cookbook”. NOTE: This recipe was updated on 9/6/23 to include new information and photos. It was originally published on 4/12/19.
