Liven up your curry night with this recipe for easy butter chicken (aka Murgh Makhani). It’s mild enough for the whole family to enjoy but still packed with tons of flavour thanks to my special yoghurt and spice-infused marinade. The sauce is so good you’ll be eating it by the spoonful!
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Incredible butter chicken
Butter chicken is one of the most popular dishes to come out of India, and you will find it on the menu in every Indian restaurant in the UK.
If you are a fan of curry, I think you are going to love this incredible butter chicken.
It has a distinctive tangy flavour thanks to the chicken being marinated for at least an hour in thick Greek yoghurt which has been blended with spices such as coriander, garam masala, cumin and turmeric along with aromatics like ginger and garlic. Once marinated, the chicken is fried in butter and then simmered with onions in a mild tomato-based sauce enriched with cream until the sauce thickens and the chicken is cooked to tender perfection.
Butter chicken curry is mild enough to be enjoyed by the whole family but still has enough flavour to satisfy the most discerning palate. And of course, if you want to make it a little bit hotter, you can always add extra chilli to spice it up a bit.
You do need an hour or two to marinate the chicken, but once that’s been done you can have this easy butter chicken on the table in just over half an hour.
What you will need
Equipment
You will need a large dish or bowl to hold the chicken and the marinade, and a wok or a large frying pan with a lid to make the butter chicken.
Ingredients
**You can get the complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making this easy butter chicken on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
This butter chicken recipe will feed 4 people.
Chicken – I like to use skinless chicken breast fillets, but you could also use skinless thigh fillets. The chicken should be cut up into bite-sized pieces.
Thick Greek yoghurt – use unflavoured yoghurt. Substitute with natural yoghurt.
Lemon juice – to add a touch of sourness – you can use freshly squeezed lemon juice or bottled lemon juice. Substitute with white spirit vinegar.
Spices – Turmeric, garam masala, cayenne pepper, cumin, coriander and cardamom. The cayenne pepper provides the heat and you can all more or less to your own taste. I used cayenne pepper, but you could substitute this with chilli paste.
Onion – peeled and coarsely chopped. Aim to get about one-inch pieces of onion.
Garlic and ginger – you can use either freshly minced garlic and ginger, or for convenience, you can use minced garlic and ginger from a jar.
Cream – single or pouring cream. If you only have heavy or double cream, substitute with half cream and half milk.
Passata – this is made from tomatoes that have been peeled and deseeded and pushed through a sieve. It has a very thick, pourable consistency. In the UK you can buy this in cartons or in bottles in any supermarket. In the US it is sometimes called tomato puree.
Butter – it may seem like a lot of butter to put into one recipe, but this dish is called butter chicken for a reason. Don’t be tempted to substitute this for brick margarine – it won’t have the same taste at all.
Sugar and salt – for seasoning. I always like to add a teaspoon of sugar when I’m cooking with tomatoes as I find it helps bring out the flavour of the tomatoes.
Sunflower oil – to add to the butter to prevent it from burning while frying the chicken.
What to do
Marinate and fry the chicken
Prepare the marinade by mixing all the ingredients (except the chicken) in a large bowl.
Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Place the chicken into the marinade, and mix well to ensure that the chicken is well submerged. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic film and leave it in the refrigerator for at least an hour (or longer if you have the time).
Melt the butter and oil in a large frying pan and fry the chicken until it is white on the inside (cut a piece in half to test).
Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate, leaving the butter in the pan.
Reserve any remaining marinade – this will be added to the sauce.
Tips for frying the chicken
- Let the marinade drip off the chicken before placing it in the frying pan. Any remaining marinade will be added to the sauce.
- Keep the heat relatively high so the chicken cooks quickly, but not so high that the chicken burns before it has turned white.
- Fry the chicken in batches – don’t overcrowd the pan or you run the risk of the chicken releasing moisture and stewing rather than frying. This will lead to tough chicken!
- Stir the chicken as it fries so that it cooks evenly on all sides.
- Don’t worry if the chicken doesn’t turn brown. The marinade will prevent the chicken from browning. The chicken will be done when it is no longer pink on the inside.
- You may also find that the yoghurt seems to curdle slightly in the butter. Don’t worry, this will sort itself out when we make the sauce.
Make the butter sauce
Once the chicken has been fried, we can turn our attention to the sauce. This will be made in the same that that was used for frying the chicken.
Add the onions, garlic and ginger to the pan that the chicken was cooked in. There should still be enough butter/oil mixture in the pan left over from frying the chicken.
Stir the onions as they are cooking, and fry them until they turn translucent (about 5 minutes). If the onions start to brown, turn down the heat. I like to turn the heat down as low as it will go and cover the pan with a lid so that the onions steam in their own juices.
Add the tomato passata, the salt and sugar, the cream and all the remaining marinade to the softened onions. Stir well and then add the chicken along with any juices that have accumulated on the plate.
Adjust the heat to a simmer, cover the pan with a lid and leave for 20 minutes.
To thicken the sauce make a slurry of 1 tablespoon of cornflour or cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water and drizzle it slowly into the sauce during the final 2 minutes of the cooking time. Stir until the desired consistency is reached. You may not need all of the cornflour.
Garnish with chopped coriander.
What to serve with butter chicken
I like to serve murgh makhani with white rice (see this post for how to cook rice in the microwave) and my easy 2-ingredient garlic butter naan bread.
If you want to serve with sides, why not try a dish of peas, or a sambal made by mixing finely chopped tomatoes and onions with a pinch of salt and sugar and a tablespoon or two (depending on how many tomatoes and onions you have) of balsamic vinegar.
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FAQ
Murgh Makhani is the Anglicised version of the Hindu words makhan, which means butter, and murga, which means chicken. It was originally developed by an Indian chef in Delhi in the early 1950s.
To save time you can prepare the chicken in the marinade and leave it in the refrigerator overnight.
Cooked butter chicken can also be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove.
Yes, butter chicken can be frozen for up to 3 months. To use, let it defrost in the refrigerator and reheat it either in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove.
Do not freeze if you made the dish from previously frozen chicken.
Save for later
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Other recipes
If this recipe for butter chicken is not quite what you are looking for why not browse through some of my other curry recipes instead?
- Chicken tikka masala – Chicken tikka masala is one of the less spicy dishes that you will find on any Indian restaurant menu. But just because it’s a mild curry doesn’t mean it has to lose out on flavour.
- Easy beef madras – Easy Beef Madras curry made with lots of spices, yoghurt and coconut milk. Make it as spicy or as mild as you like by adjusting the chilli.
- Tandoori lamb chops – Tandoori lamb chops are made from succulent lamb marinated in a spicy yoghurt and lemon marinade and fried to perfection.
- Kashmiri chicken and prawn curry with lychees – Kashmiri chicken and prawn curry is a mild, fragrant curry, sweetened by the addition of fresh lychees. Yoghurt provides a hint of a tang, and flaked almonds add a delightful crunch.
- Spicy ground beef curry and rice – this is my stand-by recipe for ground beef when I want something other than the standard spag bol.
And don’t forget the delicious Indian side dishes:
- Beef samosas with peas and potatoes
- Potato and onion bhajis
- Samosas with cheese and sweetcorn filling
- Saag aloo (spinach and potato curry)
The recipe
Easy butter chicken (Murgh Makhani)
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- 1 Pyrex bowl for marinating
- 1 Wok or
- 1 Large frying pan with lid
Ingredients
Chicken and marinade
- 1 pound / 450 grams skinless boneless chicken breasts or thighs
- 1 cup / 240 ml thick Greek yoghurt unflavoured
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons garam masla
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper adjust to your own taste or substitute with chilli paste.
Butter sauce
- 1 large onion coarsely chopped
- 1 cup / 240 ml tomato passata
- 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
- ½ teaspoon crushed ginger
- ½ cup / 120 ml single or pouring cream
- 3 ounces / 85 grams butter
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar optional
- 1 tablespoon cornflour optional (for thickening)
Instructions
Chicken and marinade
- Prepare the marinade by mixing all the ingredients (except the chicken) in a large bowl.1 cup / 240 ml thick Greek yoghurt, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 teaspoons garam masla, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 2 teaspoons ground coriander, 1 teaspoon ground turmeric, 1 teaspoon ground cardamom, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and mix it into the marinade. Make sure the chicken is well submerged.1 pound / 450 grams skinless boneless chicken breasts or thighs
- Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic film and leave it in the refrigerator for at least an hour (or longer if you have the time).
- When you are ready to fry the chicken, melt the butter and oil in a large frying pan and fry the chicken until it is white on the inside (cut a piece in half to test).3 ounces / 85 grams butter, 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate, leaving the butter in the pan.
- Reserve all the remaining marinade to add to the sauce.
Butter sauce
- Bring the same pan to a medium heat and add the chopped onions, garlic and ginger. There should still be enough butter/oil mixture in the pan leftover from frying the chicken.1 large onion, 1 teaspoon crushed garlic, ½ teaspoon crushed ginger
- Stir the onions as they are cooking, and fry them until they turn translucent (about 5 minutes). If the onions start to brown, turn down the heat. I like to turn the heat down as low as it will go and cover the pan with a lid so that the onions steam in their own juices.
- Once the onions are softened, add the tomato passata, the salt and sugar, the cream and all the remaining marinade. Stir well and then add the chicken along with any juices that have accumulated on the plate.1 cup / 240 ml tomato passata, ½ cup / 120 ml single or pouring cream, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar
- Adjust the heat to a simmer, cover the pan with a lid and leave for 20 minutes.
- The sauce should be thick enough, however, if you would like to thicken it further, make a slurry of 1 tablespoon of cornflour or cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water and drizzle it slowly into the sauce during the final 2 minutes of the cooking time. Keep stirring until the desired consistency is reached. You may not need all of the slurry.1 tablespoon cornflour
- Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with rice and naan bread.
Notes
- Let the marinade drip off the chicken before placing it in the frying pan. Any remaining marinade will be added to the sauce.
- Keep the heat quite high so that the chicken cooks quickly, but not so high that the chicken burns before it has turned white.
- Fry the chicken in batches – don’t overcrowd the pan or you run the risk of the chicken releasing moisture and stewing rather than frying. This will lead to tough chicken!
- Stir the chicken as it fries so that it cooks evenly on all sides.
- Don’t worry if the chicken doesn’t turn brown. The marinade will prevent the chicken from browning. The chicken will be done when it is no longer pink on the inside.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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