When I eat at an Indian restaurant, the dish I always want to order is Butter Chicken! It’s my favorite flavor combo. I love the spice, the jumble of flavors, the creaminess and the touch of coconut milk.
What is butter chicken?
Butter Chicken is called "murgh makhani" in India. It's a curry of marinated chicken pieces in a spiced tomato, butter and cream sauce. It originated in India as a curry and is one of the most popular curries at Indian restaurants all over the globe. Indian butter chicken is similar to chicken tikka masala.
How to make butter chicken
While in India a couple of years ago, our local friend Flora in Mumbai shared her recipe and method for making this classic Indian entree. We love Flora’s Butter Chicken! It's velvety smooth and bursting with flavor. It's delicious served over rice or with a side of Naan bread, or both!
Is butter chicken spicy?
Kashmiri chili powder adds spice to the recipe without extra heat. If you can’t find this spice, you can substitute with a small amount of cayenne pepper. Cayenne pepper is more similar to Kashmiri chili than traditional American chili powder. Garam Masala powder is also a flavor highlight. To make it more or less spicy, just decrease or increase the amount of chili you add to the recipe.
Cream or coconut milk?
Some butter chicken recipes call for cream, others use coconut milk. We like adding both coconut milk and cream. A touch of coconut gives depth and a slight sweetness while cream gives good flavor and velvety texture.
Butter chicken vs tikka masala
Just what is the difference between butter chicken and tikka masala? Both recipes are curries from India and both use chicken and a tomato based sauce.
- Butter chicken features small pieces of boneless chicken cooked together in a creamy, spiced tomato sauce in a pan. The recipe is finished with butter and it's a creamy curry with more cream and less tomato taste than Tikka masala.
- Tikka masala is actually an English invention. "Masala" means mixed spice sauce. Small pieces of boneless chicken are also marinated and baked together in a tandoor oven. The tomato taste and color tends to be stronger in Tikka masala, and it's not as creamy.
Butter Chicken is excellent served with naan bread or over rice. Indian Cuisine is known for its bounty of fresh ingredients and this recipe is no exception. The fresh tomatoes, garlic, ginger, and other spices elevate the marinade and sauce.
Enjoy!
Dianna
You Might Also Like These Other Delicious Entrees!
- Chicken Tikka Masala Mac and Cheese
- Roasted Curry Cauliflower Bites
- Quinoa Stuffed Avocado
- Sheet Pan Fajitas
- Jambalaya Pasta
Tried this recipe and loved it? Comment and Rate it! Also send us a picture, WE WANT TO SEE!
Butter Chicken
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 pounds chicken cut into large chunks
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 Tablespoon red Kashmiri chili powder or ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
Sauce Ingredients
- 1 small red onion roughly chopped
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 6-7 Roma tomatoes roughly chopped
- ½ cup raw cashew nuts roasted work fine also
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon garam masala powder
- 1 Tablespoon red Kashmiri chili powder or ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated
- 13.5 ounce can coconut milk unsweetened
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup cream reserve 1 Tablespoon to garnish
- 4 Tablespoon butter
Instructions
For Chicken
- Place chicken pieces in medium bowl, add garlic, chili powder, fresh ginger and salt to chicken and gently combine. Set aside to marinate 15 minutes.
- Heat oil in a large frying pan to medium heat. Place marinated chicken pieces in frying pan and stir fry chicken pieces until they are cooked through. Place in a clean bowl.
Sauce
- Pour 1 Tablespoon oil in a sauce pan, or you can use the pan you used for the chicken. Heat to medium and sauté onions. Add Tomatoes, cashew nuts, garlic and salt. Stir over heat until blended.
- Add Garam Masala, Kashmiri Chili powder and ginger. Continue stirring. Add water and coconut milk. Stir.
- Simmer 15-20 minutes. Use an immersion blender (or you can pour mixture into your standing blender) and puree until smooth. (Some people like to pour the sauce through a strainer to remove any tomatoes seeds and skin. We don't worry about this and still have a velvety smooth sauce.)
- Add chicken pieces to sauce. Add butter and cream. Stir and let simmer 5- 7 minutes.
- Pour into serving bowl. Swirl a Tablespoon of cream over top. Serve over rice or with Naan bread.
Nutrition
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originally post December 18, 2018
Christina Rich
So delicious!
admin
Thanks Christina!
- Dianna