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–+ servings
Easy Butter Chicken in a white bowl
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5 from 3 votes

Butter Chicken

Rich and Creamy Butter Chicken cooked with aromatic spices
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: butter chicken, butter chicken curry, easy butter chicken, indian food
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 500 gram chicken breasts or thighs cut into cubes or strips
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 tbsp greek yogurt
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp ginger/garlic paste
  • 1 tspn ground cumin
  • 1 tspn ground coriander
  • 2 tspn kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1 tspn garam masala
  • 1/2 tspn turmeric

Sauce

  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 bay leaf
  • 1 large onion roughly chopped
  • 1 tsp ginger/garlic paste
  • 1/4 cup cashew nuts (optional)
  • 2 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp ground fennel/soomph
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 cup tomato puree/passata
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 tsp dried methi leaves (optional)
  • 3/4 cup fresh cream
  • 2-3 tsp sugar
  • salt

Instructions

  • Marinate the chicken with all of the ingredients listed under chicken, lemon juice, yogurt, ginger/garlic paste, turmeric, cumin, coriander, garam masala and chilli powder,oil. Refrigerate for 30 minutes
  • Heat a large pan and fry the chicken in little batches, just until it slightly brown on the edges. Remove and set aside
  • In the same pan heat the butter with a few drops of oil. Add the onion, bay leaf and cashew nuts and fry until onion is translucent
  • Add the chilli powder and garam masala and cook for a minute. Add the tomato puree. Season with salt and add the sugar. Adjust sugar according to your taste
  • Simmer on low heat until the sauce reduces and the butter separates. Add water and simmer for a minute. Remove the bay leaf. Transfer the sauce into a glass bowl as it will be hot. Use a stick blender and blend until the sauce is smooth. You can put it through a sieve if you want extra smooth but not necessary
  • Add the sauce back to the pot together with the fresh cream. Add the chicken and mix well. Crush the dried methi leaves with your fingertips and add it to the curry.
  • Bring to the boil and turn the heat off. Garnish with coriander
  • Serve with rice or naan bread or both

Notes

  1. 500 grams of chicken amounts to about 4 medium sized chicken breasts
  2. You can use fresh tomatoes instead of passata
  3. If you have a grill you can cook your chicken on the grill instead of frying it in a pan
  4. The dried methi leaves is not absolutely necessary so you can leave it out if you don't have any
  5. Butter Chicken from the restaurants is always slightly sweet, my kids prefer this so I add more sugar. You can reduce the amount of sugar according to your taste