Butter Chicken, also known as Chicken Makhani, is among the most well-known Indian dishes around the world. The founders of the Moti Mahal Restaurant in New Delhi are credited with creating this recipe. The story is that they made a spicy, buttery, tomato sauce to use up leftover Tandoori Chicken and the rest is history.
In the United States, Butter Chicken is on the menu at most lunch buffets and, therefore, most patrons of Indian restaurants are familiar with it. It is often confused with Chicken Tikka Masala, its Anglo cousin, that incidentally is the British national dish. Both dishes have similar recipes – the key difference being that Butter Chicken is a Tomato-based sauce, which is strained and smooth, whereas Chicken Tikka Masala is an Onion-Tomato-based sauce. A subtle, yet key, difference between the dishes.
Growing up in India, we never made Butter Chicken at home, and it was always one of the dishes we ordered when we had our family dinners at a restaurant. Over the years, I’ve made multiple attempts at cooking this dish. I believe this recipe is the closest to a restaurant style Butter Chicken.
Some tips for this recipe – adjust the quantity of Butter and Heavy Cream to your taste for richness. Also, the heat in the sauce is added by the Kashmiri Red Chili powder, Green Chilies and Garam Masala. To make a milder dish, leave out the Green Chilies, replace the Kashmiri Red Chili Powder partly or wholly with Paprika, and adjust the amount of Garam Masala.
NOTE: Refer to the Makhani Sauce recipe for details on cooking the sauce. The quantity of chicken in the Butter Chicken recipe is for the quantity of the sauce produced by the Makhani Sauce recipe.
Preparation time: 15 minutes (includes making the sauce)
Cooking time: 75 minutes (includes making the sauce)
Yield: 4-6 servings
Ingredients
2 pounds Chicken Breast (cut into 1″ cubes)
Makhani Sauce (see recipe)
Chopped Cilantro for garnish
Marinade for Chicken
1 cup Yogurt (preferably full fat)
1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1 tbsp Oil
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
Preparation
In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the marinade.
Add the Chicken to the marinade and mix well so that all the Chicken pieces are coated with the marinade.
Let it marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes; for best results, marinate overnight.
Cooking Butter Chicken
Step 1
Spread the chicken on a lined baking sheet; poke some slits in the aluminum foil so that the water released by the Chicken can drip into the pan. Bake at 350 F for around 20 minutes, until fully cooked, and then broil for 3-5 minutes to slightly char the edges to add some smokiness to the flavor. Cut up any of the larger pieces as needed, so the pieces are bite-sized and relatively uniform in size.
Step 2
Cook or if prepared in advance, heat the Makhani Sauce in a pan, add the Chicken and mix well.
The Butter Chicken is ready. Garnish with finely chopped Cilantro and serve with Naan or rice.
Curry on!
- 2 pounds Chicken Breast (cut into 1″ cubes)
- Makhani Sauce (see recipe)
- Chopped Cilantro for garnish
- Marinade for Chicken
- 1 cup Yogurt (preferably full fat)
- 1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
- 1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
- ½ tsp Turmeric
- ½ tsp Garam Masala
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the marinade. Add the Chicken to the marinade and mix well so that all the Chicken pieces are coated with the marinade. Let it marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes; for best results, marinate overnight.
- Spread the chicken on a lined baking sheet; poke some slits in the aluminum foil so that the water released by the Chicken can drip into the pan. Bake at 350 F for around 20 minutes, until fully cooked. Cut up any of the larger pieces as needed, so the pieces are relatively uniform in size.
- Cook or if prepared in advance, heat the Makhani Sauce in a pan, add the Chicken and mix well.
- The Butter Chicken is ready. Garnish with finely chopped Cilantro and serve with Naan or rice.
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