Indian butter chicken is a flavorful chicken and sauce dish featuring tomatoes, garlic, onions, cashews, ginger, butter and coconut milk, and seasoned with Garam Masala and Kashmiri chili powder to serve over rice or with naan bread.
Place chicken pieces in a medium bowl. Press fresh garlic; divide and add part to chicken; save part for sauce.
Add Kashmiri chili powder to the bowl.
Peel off the skin and grate fresh ginger; divide between marinade and sauce.
Add fresh ginger and salt, then gently combine ingredients. Set aside to marinade at least 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.
Chop red onion and press fresh garlic.
Dice fresh tomatoes.
Soak raw or roasted cashews in water to create a creamy texture. To soak cashews: You can soak them overnight by placing in a large bowl, and pouring 2-3 cups water over them. They will absorb the water. You can do a speed method by putting nuts in a saucepan, cover with water, then bring to a boil. When there is at a full rolling boil, turn off heat, cover and let the cashews soak 15 minutes.
For butter chicken sauce, Pour 1 Tablespoon oil in a large skillet.Heat to medium and sauté onions and garlic.
Add tomatoes, cashew nuts, and salt.
Stir over heat until blended.
Add Garam Masala, Kashmiri chili powder, and ginger. Continue stirring.
Add water and coconut milk.
Stir and simmer 15-20 minutes.
Use an immersion blender (or you can pour mixture into your standing blender) and puree until smooth.
Add chicken pieces to butter chicken sauce.
Add butter and cream. Stir and simmer 5- 7 minutes.
Serve over rice and garnish with cilantro.
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Notes
Kashrmiri Chili. You can find Kashmiri chili online and at Indian grocery stores. If you can't find it, substitute with a small amount of paprika and cayenne pepper. Cayenne is more similar to Kashmiri chili than traditional American chili powder. To substitute, make a mixture of paprika and cayenne pepper (3 parts smoked paprika to 1 part cayenne pepper.) You can use this blend 1:1 as a substitute for Kashmiri chili powder.
To make it vegetarian. For vegetarians - add paneer (Indian cottage cheese) or tofu respectively to make a meat-free version of the butter chicken recipe.
Use chicken breast. You can use boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs in the butter chicken recipe, but we prefer bite-sized chunks of chicken breast.
You can use canned tomatoes. You can roasted canned tomatoes in Indian butter chicken to save the time. They add to the deep red color of this recipe.
You can also substitute chickpeas for the chicken. Drain and rinse 2 (15 ounce) cans of chickpeas to substitute for the 2 pounds of chicken. Add them when you add the coconut milk. Their chewiness can mimic the texture of chicken and they will take on all the flavors.