Easy Authentic Indian Butter Chicken
Otherwise know as Chicken Makhani, Butter Chicken is a popular Indian dish. It's made with chicken marinated in a refreshing yogurt dressing and then soaked in a seasoned, creamy tomato sauce. Serve over rice with a side warmed naan to soak up the extra sauce.
Servings 4 Servings
Calories 1245kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
15-MINUTE MARINADE
- 4 boneless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces, placed in large ziplock bag
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 lemon
OVERNIGHT MARINADE
- ¾ teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves
- ⅛ ground tumeric
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- ½ teaspoon garlic paste
- ½ teaspoon ginger paste
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
SAUCE
- ½ cup butter
- ½ onion diced
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 green chili diced a jalapeno will work
- ½ teaspoon minced ginger or ginger powder
- dash cinnamon
- dash ground cloves or two whole cloves and remove them later
- dash cardamom
- dash coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground fenugreek leaves
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 14 oz tomato puree
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ cup cashew butter
- ½ tablespoon sugar
- salt to taste
- ½ cup heavy cream
To serve
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- 4 pieces naan warmed
Instructions
- Marinate chicken. In a large ziplock bag, marinate chicken pieces in lemon juice, chili power and salt. Refrigerate for 15-20 mins. Add the overnight marinade ingredients and refrigerate overnight.
- Cook chicken: Melt butter in a large pot (I used my dutch oven) and add onion, garlic, green chili (or jalapeño) and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, corriander, fenugreek leaves and garam masala then add chicken, marinade and all. Cook over medium heat, stirring continuously, until chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 10-12 minutes or so depending on the size of your chunks of chicken.
- Make the sauce. Once chicken is thoroughly cooked, stir in tomato puree, chili powder, cashew butter, sugar, salt, and cream.
- Simmer and serve. Simmer for 5 minutes then serve over rice with a side of warm naan.
Video
Notes
- Marinate for a minimum of 45 minutes if you don't have time to let it sit overnight.
- Feel free to adjust the spices to your liking.
Nutrition
Calories: 1245kcal | Carbohydrates: 104g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 75g | Saturated Fat: 31g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 24g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 217mg | Sodium: 1792mg | Potassium: 930mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 2505IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 201mg | Iron: 4mg
