Easy Homemade Indian Butter Chicken

Indian Butter Chicken is a great and quick recipe, perfect for busy days and weeknight dinners. It is also a great dish to make if you’re looking to explore Indian cuisine, and add a little spice to your weekly menu rotation!

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A few years ago, and for reasons I can’t remember, it dawned on me one morning that I had never tried Indian food, never once. I hadn’t eaten it at a restaurant and I certainly hadn’t tried making it at home.

To be perfectly honest I found this realization a bit strange for a few different reasons, the number one being that I can’t remember what caused me to have it.

And two it was strange in all my years of cooking, all my hours of religiously watching cooking shows, that through all the cookbooks I had read and cooking blogs, I had scrolled through, making Indian food had never once crossed my mind.

I knew this was a problem I needed to fix, and as soon as possible. And I cannot tell you how happy I am that I decided to add Indian food to my diet. As soon as I started looking into Indian cooking I was amazed by the rich culture, flavor, and depth of Indian food. Indian food has now become one of my favorite thing to eat and a comfort food of mine.

It’s something I often mind myself craving and I’m always on the lookout for new recipes to try! The recipe below is my favorite Indian dish to make thus far and one we eat pretty regularly!

What is butter chicken?

Indian Butter Chicken, also known as murgh makhani is a popular Indian dish that originates at a restaurant in New Delhi in the 1950s. Today there are many different types and versions of this popular dish, from authentic Indian recipes to the quick and easy stovetop versions to everything in between.

Butter chicken is a dish made with cooked chicken breasts, in a creamy sauce, filled with rich flavor and lots of traditional Indian spices.

This recipe of mine is easy and simple to make and lands somewhere between easy and doing justice to the original recipe. I toned down the spice to make it more palatable to a larger audience and found a way to make it using only dried spices and seasoning. (so that cooking from scratch was never easier.)

All well still retain the rich and flavorful butter chicken sauce and depth. Perhaps this isn’t the most authentic Indian recipe out there, but it is still a great recipe and an easy introduction to Indian cuisine and cooking. And if I do say so myself, something I would highly recommend trying!

It is also a nice break from the usual Indian curries and recipes we often eat.

Indian butter chicken

For the chicken

• Raw chicken breasts
• Garlic
• Dried ginger –you can also use fresh ginger, but I usually use dry.
• Garam Masala
• Chili Powder
• Tumeric
• Sea Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Cumin
• Sour cream
• Lemon juice

Sauce Ingredients

• Butter
• Chopped Garlic
• Chopped Onion
• Ginger fresh or dried
• Garam Masala
• Cumin
• Chili Powder
• Sea salt and Freshly ground black pepper
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Canned diced tomatoes
• Heavy cream –you can also use a full-fat coconut milk

For serving

• Naan bread
• Basmati rice
• Roast broccoli

How to Make Indian Butter Chicken

Cut the raw chicken into bite-sized pieces and place them in a medium bowl. Add the remaining chicken ingredients and mix well. Set the bowl aside and allow the chicken to marinate for 30min. If you are in a rush this step can defiantly be skipped and you can cook the chicken imminently if needed.

In a hot skillet(I love to use my deep cast iron pan for this recipe!) cook the chicken until cooked thru, it will cook for a bit longer later on but I would recommend cooking it until it is completely done. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

In the same pan melt the butter, add the chopped onion, and cook into it is translucent. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant. Add the remaining spices, stir, and cook for 2-3 mins until fragrant. The dish should have a warm and spicy smell.

Add the canned tomatoes and bring to a gentle simmer. Continue simmering, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes have broken down and released their juices, 10-15 min.

Blend the sauce until smooth and creamy(it doesn’t have to be completely blended, but you don’t have any noticeable chunks of onion or tomato.) This can be done by either blending the mixture in batches in a blending or food processor. Or you can transfer the mixture into a deep bowl, and blend with an immersion blender. If you are using a deep pan as I do, then you can use your immersion blender and blend the mixture right in the pan. Just be sure to remove the pan from the heat before you blend it.

Return the mixture to the pan and bring it back up to a simmer. Add the heavy cream and mix well. Finally, return the chicken to the pan and cook until heated thru 5-10 min.

Serve over a bed of rice or with fresh naan, or both! And Enjoy. You can so also serve your butter chicken topped with a drizzle of cream, chopped fresh cilantro, or a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.

Notes

Any leftover chicken can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

If you are in pinch you can use plain greek yogurt in place of sour cream. Chicken thighs can also be subbed in place of chicken breasts.

You can find my recipe for home garam masala HERE. Garam Masala can also be found at most local shops or at your local Indian grocery store. It can so be purchased online. Though I would highly recommend making your own, as it is super easy to make and makes this delicious dish just that much better!