A home butter chicken recipe: yogurt-marinated chicken charred under the broiler, then simmered in a silky tomato, butter and cream sauce with kasuri methi.
Butter chicken, or murgh makhani, is tandoori chicken simmered in a mild, buttery tomato sauce. It is the dish many people try first in an Indian restaurant, and often the one they keep coming back to.
Its invention is usually credited to the Moti Mahal restaurant in Delhi soon after Partition, as a way to use leftover tandoori chicken. The family behind Delhi’s Daryaganj restaurant says its founder co-created the dish, and since 2024 the two families have been arguing over the credit in the Delhi High Court.
Butter chicken or chicken tikka masala?
They look alike, but butter chicken is the smoother, richer and milder of the two, built on butter, cream and tomato. Chicken tikka masala usually has onions and more spice in its sauce. Both are on our menu.
Three things that make it taste right
- Char the chicken. Without a tandoor, a hot broiler or grill gives you the smoky, blackened edges.
- Kashmiri chilli. It gives the sauce its deep orange-red colour without much heat.
- Kasuri methi. Dried fenugreek leaves give the sauce its unmistakable restaurant aroma. Crush them in your palms to release the flavour.
Make it ahead
The sauce tastes even better the next day. Keep it in the fridge for up to three days and add the chicken and cream when you reheat it.
Recipe
Butter chicken, the weeknight way
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1½ lb (700 g) boneless chicken thighs, in large bite-size pieces
- ½ cup thick yogurt
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1½ tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp oil
Sauce
- 3 tbsp butter, plus 1 tbsp to finish
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1 can (14 oz / 400 g) crushed tomatoes, or 1¾ cups tomato purée
- 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
- 2 tbsp cashews, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes and blended to a paste
- 1 tsp salt
- 1–2 tsp sugar or honey
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), crushed between your palms
- ½ tsp garam masala
Method
- Marinate. Mix the yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, chilli powder, garam masala, salt, lemon juice and oil. Coat the chicken and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
- Char. Heat the broiler with a rack about 4 inches from the heat. Spread the chicken on a foil-lined tray and broil for 10–12 minutes, turning once, until charred at the edges and cooked to 165°F (74°C). The char is where the tandoor flavour comes from.
- Start the sauce. Melt 3 tbsp butter in a heavy pan over medium heat. Fry the ginger-garlic paste for a minute, then add the tomatoes, chilli powder and salt. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce darkens and butter glistens at the edges.
- Make it silky. Blend the sauce smooth with a stick blender (or strain it). Return to the heat, stir in the cashew paste, sugar and water and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Simmer the chicken. Add the chicken and any juices from the tray and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
- Finish. Stir in the cream, kasuri methi, garam masala and the last tablespoon of butter. Taste for salt and sweetness, and serve with naan or rice.
Home-style recipe from the Biryani Pot Indian Bar & Grill Journal. It is not our restaurant's own recipe; for that, visit us.