This Indian butter chicken is one of the most famous dishes in Indian restaurants worldwide. People commonly enjoy creamy butter chicken with nan or basmati rice. To make butter chicken, we marinate chicken pieces in yogurt and fry them in butter. Finally, we add the chicken to smooth and silky tomato and cashew sauce to create an authentic butter chicken flavor.
Origin of the Authentic Butter Chicken
Another name for butter chicken is murgh makhani, or chicken with butter. During the 1940s, Kundan Lal Gujral, the owner of a restaurant called Moti Mahal in Delhi, created butter chicken. The restaurant would usually end up with leftover tandoori chicken. Tandoori chicken is chicken grilled in a tandoori oven. And butter chicken was a way to use up this leftover grilled chicken.
The grilled chicken was cut into small pieces and cooked in a rich tomato and butter gravy. Although Kundan Lal Gujral made the original butter chicken with tandoori chicken, people make it in so many different types of chicken today. It does not matter what kind of chicken you use; the rich and flavorful sauce makes it heavenly.
I like to make my butter chicken with fried chicken because it has a softer texture. The chicken pieces are so tender they almost melt in your mouth. You should try this recipe if you have never made homemade butter chicken.
Cuisine: Indian
Course: Side Dish
Prep Time: 15 -30 min
Cook time: 30 minutes
Servs: 5-7
Marination for Butter Chicken
- 2 Lb chicken breast cut into cubes
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon of coriander powder
- 1 tablespoon of Kashmiri chili powder
- 1 teaspoon of ginger garlic paste
- 3 tablespoons plain yogurt
- 1/2 of a lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
How to Marinate Butter Chicken?
To begin, cut the chicken into cubes. Then mix all the marinating ingredients into the chicken. You can always reduce the chili you use to make it less spicy. It should be noted that I use Kashmiri chili powder because it is mild in spice compared to other chili powders and gives the butter chicken its color. Finally, cover and set aside 20-30 min. It is even better if you can marinate overnight in the refrigerator. The longer you marinate, the softer the chicken gets.
How to Fry the chicken
- First, add two tablespoons of butter and two tablespoons of oil to the pan. Alternatively, you can also use ghee instead of butter.
- When the oil starts to heat up, add the chicken, and mix it. Then cover the chicken with a lid and cook for about 10 minutes.
- After ten minutes, remove the lid and turn over the chicken.
- If there is too much water, you can stir occasionally and cook until the water goes down and until the chicken is soft.
- Finally, please take out the cooked chicken, and add it to a bowl.
What are the ingredients to make the butter chicken sauce?
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 green chilies split into halves
- 1/2 cup cashew
- 3 medium tomatoes
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 2 tablespoons kashmiri chili powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
What are the ingredients to make butter chicken sauce?
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 green chilies split into halves
- 1/2 cup cashew
- 3 medium tomatoes
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 2 tablespoons Kashmiri chili powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
How to make the Creamy Butter Chicken Sauce
- First, add two tablespoons of butter to the same pan and let it melt. Next, and in onion, green chilies, cashew, tomatoes, water, and salt into the pan and sauté. After a while, Add in cilantro halfway through cooking. Then cover and cook until the onion and tomatoes are soft or until the water goes down.
- When you see all ingredients are soft, stir everything together. Then add garam masala, Kashmiri chili powder, and sugar. Immediately mix everything for a few minutes. Finally, remove this tomato mix from the stove and allow it to cool down.
- Later, after the tomato mix cools down. Add the mixture to a blender. You can add 1/2 cup of water into the blender and puree everything into a smooth paste.
How to combine the chicken with the sauce?
Start by adding two tablespoons of butter to the same pan. When the butter melts, pour tomato paste from the blender into the pan. At the same time, it would be best to wash the leftover paste stuck to the blender into the pan with about half a cup of water. Be sure to use only a little water; less water keeps the sauce thick.
Once the sauce starts to heat up, you can add the cooked chicken. Continue to cook for 5-6 minutes or until the oil appears on top. Soon after the curry boils, a darker color will appear on the surface of the sauce. This color change is oil coming up to the surface of the curry. Now you know the butter chicken is ready. At this time, you can mix the butter chicken with a wooden spoon. Next, stir in 5 tablespoons of heavy cream and simmer for a few minutes. Finally, Garnish the butter chicken with cilantro.
Now my butter chicken is ready, and you can serve it to adults, children, or even people from different cultural backgrounds. The best combination for butter chicken is nan bread or basmati rice. However, don’t limit it to just these two combinations. Butter chicken is so tasty that you can eat it with bread, chappati, or your favorite rice.
