Butter Chicken

One of the all-time favorite Indian takeout dishes can be easily made at home with just a few every-day ingredients. The famous Butter Chicken is one of the most popular dishes in Westernized Indian cuisine, with it’s delicious creamy sauce and tender spiced Chicken. It’s very mildly spiced, so it can be enjoyed by everyone and is so surprisingly easy to make. We’ll share with you our very simple method for making delicious homemade Butter Chicken!

Making a perfect Butter Chicken requires a two-step process

This dish is super-simple to make but does require two distinct cooking processes in order to achieve the wonderful flavors and aromas in the dish. The first step is to cook the Chicken separately from the sauce, before adding it to the sauce on the stovetop, which is the second step

To kick off the process you will need to marinade the Chicken in a deliciously spiced Yoghurt marinade. The spices added to the marinade are very typical and classic in Indian cooking, including Turmeric, Cumin, Coriander Powder, Chili Powder, and finally Garam Masala

Garam Masala is the real star of Indian cuisine. It is not its own spice, instead it is a blend of various spices including Pepper, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Cumin, Coriander, Cloves, and Nutmeg. It is readily found in the spice section of all grocery stores these days, and a worth addition to any home pantry

Adding Yoghurt to the marinade will guarantee super tender, juicy Chicken

Yoghurt has a unique ability to really infiltrate the Chicken, allowing it to become ridiculously tender. The longer you allow the Chicken to be marinated in Yoghurt, the more tender it will become. For that reason, we highly recommend preparing the Chicken and marinade the day prior. Combine all the marinade ingredients into a sealable container and refrigerate it overnight

This will ensure you have the most ridiculously tender Chicken when it’s time to cook. The Yoghurt and spices will also stick to the Chicken due to the cooking method, ensuring all of those delicious flavors make their way into the final Butter Chicken Sauce

The Chicken is then roasted in the Oven

Instead of throwing the marinated Chicken into a pot with a load of other ingredients, it is cooked separately in the Oven. There are two main reasons for this. The first is you can get a nice, light char to the Chicken by roasting it in the oven. This brings even more flavor to the dish which you wouldn’t achieve by simply pan frying it

The second reason is in my opinion the most important. By roasting the Chicken while it is still thoroughly coated in the marinade you can preserve that marinade for the Curry. The marinade will stick to the Chicken and continue to be absorbed as it is roasting. Almost all the marinade will stay intact, allowing it to be transferred to the Pot for the final step

If we were to simply pan fry the Chicken a lot of that marinade will end up sticking to the pan and ultimately burning. This means you’ll need to discard it, and all that deliciousness won’t make its way to the pan. So, while this step does add a little bit of time to the cook (about 20 minutes or so), it is well worth it for a more flavorful Butter Chicken Curry

Load up the pan with Butter (or Ghee) and then add the final ingredients

Once your Chicken is cooked you can melt a generous amount of Butter in a large pan then add in some Onions to caramelize. Once Caramelized, add the Spices and cook them down for a few minutes before adding Garlic, Ginger, Tomato Paste and Tomato Puree. That’s all then simmered before the Chicken is returned to the pan. Keep all the juices from the roasting that you can, it adds more flavor!

Cook that all down in the pot for about 10 – 15 minutes so the Chicken gets nicely incorporated into the Sauce. This step will also ensure your Chicken is fully cooked through. You can simmer it for longer if you like, but I’ve found it doesn’t necessarily need it

The final step is to add the Heavy Cream and, you guessed it, more Butter into the pan! Turn off the heat and mix in the Cream and Butter to form that beautiful, silky Curry that turns a light golden color. The traditional way to prepare Curries is to replace the Butter with Ghee, however Butter works perfectly fine. The dish is called Butter Chicken after all!

This is a great dish to prepare in advance for time-poor folks

If time is never your friend, then this is a great dish to prepare day(s) in advance. It’ll keep very well in the refrigerator once cooked and really doesn’t take much time at all to make. So, if you can get organized, this is a great meal to prepare on the weekend and refrigerate (or even freeze) for later enjoyment

You can simply whack it into the microwave for a few minutes and it’ll be ready to enjoy. The great thing about Curries is that their flavor will only intensify if they are cooked a few days in advance of eating them

Butter Chicken is best served with a few lovely sides

I love Butter Chicken with some accompaniments as they help to balance out the richness of the dish. You can top the Curry with fresh Cilantro for some brightness. Along with the Curry I like to serve it with some Pickled Onions. They offer a beautiful brightness and crunch to the dish. You can check out our awesome Pickled Onions recipe here

Finally, there’s nothing better to soak up a good curry than some carbs. You can either serve the Butter Chicken with some Steamed Rice or Naan. Traditionally I believe you are only meant to serve it with either Rice or Naan, but in our household we make both because why not? You can get some great quality Naan Bread from the grocery store. Just heat it up for a few minutes in the oven and it’s ready to eat

Butter Chicken Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. Chicken Thighs, cut into chunks
• 4 tbsp. Ghee or Unsalted Butter
• 1 Yellow Onion, diced
• 3 Garlic Cloves, finely diced
• 2 tsp. Ginger, grated
• 1 tbsp. Tomato Paste
• 1 tsp. Garam Masala
• 1 tsp. Turmeric
• 1 tsp. Coriander Powder
• 1 tsp. Cumin
• 700ml / 24 oz. Tomato Puree
• 300ml / 10 oz. Heavy Cream
  
  

Marinade Ingredients

• 3 heaped tbsp. Yoghurt (Greek or Plain)
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• 1 tsp. Cumin
• 1 tsp. Coriander Powder
• 1 tsp. Chili Powder
• 1 tsp. Garam Masala
• 1 tsp. Turmeric
• 2 Garlic Cloves, finely diced
• 2 tsp. Ginger, grated
• 2 tsp. Salt
  
  

Instructions

1. Mix the marinade ingredients and place them into a large bowl or Ziploc Bag. Add the Chicken, massage well and marinade in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight)
2. Place the Chicken pieces on a large sheet pan and roast in the Oven at 400F for 15 minutes, turning the pieces over halfway through
3. Melt half the Ghee / Butter to a large pot over medium heat then add Onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add the Garam Masala, Turmeric, Cumin, Coriander Powder, Salt, Garlic, and Ginger and cook for a further 2 minutes
4. Add the Tomato Paste and Tomato Puree and bring to a simmer. Add the cooked Chicken pieces and cook for 10 minutes over low heat
5. Stir in the Heavy Cream and remaining Butter then remove from heat. Garnish with chopped Cilantro and serve with Steamed Rice or Naan Bread
   
   

That is our beautiful and easy to make homemade Butter Chicken Recipe. It is a hearty and delicious dish that we guarantee will be enjoyed by all

For more delicious Dinners that are easy to make for weeknight meals, why not check out a few of these great recipes of ours:

• Salmon Caesar Salad
• Chicken Teriyaki on Rice
• Honey Soy Hanger Steak
• Sweet and Sour Red Curry with Chicken
  
  

Happy Cooking!