Say hello to your new weeknight dinner comfort – Easy Butter Chicken or Murgh Makhani, ready in less than 30 minutes!
Butter Chicken, or Murgh Makhani, is a well-loved Indian dish because it suits so many tastebuds! It’s one of the Indian dishes that’s not spicy – though you can make it spicy – and has a sweet and tangy tomato-based gravy with a hit of richness of cream.
Butter Chicken is one of those first few dishes that I learnt how to make. As a total beginner in the kitchen then, making this famous curry was slightly intimidating. Years on, butter chicken has become one of my easy “close-eyes” sort of dishes, and I finessed the recipe to make it as effortless as possible, but does not discount on flavour.
Not an authentic recipe, but quick and easy; this is what I gravitate to all the time.
Why You’ll Love This Butter Chicken
- Speedy Comfort: Perfect for busy weeknights when you crave something rich and flavourful but don’t have hours to spend in the kitchen.
- Simple yet satisfying: this recipe requires minimal effort without sacrificing on taste.
- Crowdpleaser: This is that one dish that everyone will LOVE! Omit the chilli powder to remove any hints of spice!
Key Ingredients for Butter Chicken
Boneless chicken thighs
Curry dishes generally fare better when stewed for long, which is why bone-in chicken is typically preferred. Butter Chicken is one of the rare curries that work great with boneless chicken! I almost exclusively use boneless chicken, thighs are great for extra juiciness and tenderness. Boneless cuts means quicker cooking, but bone-in chicken can also be used if preferred. If you are using bone-in chicken, you have the option of stewing it along with the tomato gravy at the reducing step.
Spices and Marinade
- Garam masala: The primary spice blend that imparts warmth and complexity to the butter chicken! The brand does not matter.
- Chilli Powder & Turmeric Powder: Optional, but these two additions will add a bit of heat and a earthy layer to the chicken.
- Yoghurt: Yoghurt to help tenderise the chicken and add a lovely tang to the chicken! Any plain unsweetened yoghurt will work – no need to spend on Greek!
- Garlic & Ginger Paste: Finely minced garlic and grated ginger will work too.
- Salt & Pepper
- Additional Spices: The real-deal Murgh Makhani requires additional cumin powder, coriander seeds and a pinch of cinnamon powder – which I always have in my pantry, but I almost always never use for my butter chicken because this shortcut misses out none of the flavour. Another option is to add curry powder to the marinade! This is going to add even more flavour to the chicken, though not essential.
Gravy
- Onions: The essential aromatics for the gravy base. This can be finely minced, or blended into a paste for smoother gravy. Optional, but I also like to blend in garlic and ginger! Extra flavour!
- Tomato Passata: The essential component of the gravy base! Cooked down to create a luscious sauce with the signature tang. You can also use canned chopped tomatoes straight out of the can! Option to blend the canned tomatoes for a smoother gravy. Another option for an even speedier butter chicken is to use ready-made tomato pasta sauce! This has already been cooked down, so you can skip the stewing step.
- Tomato Paste: Otherwise known as tomato puree. Not to be confused with tomato ketchup, tomato paste is a concentrated, thick paste. Great to add a deeper layer of tomato flavour! I would say it’s optional – I’ve made plenty of emergency butter chickens without tomato paste, with amazing results.
- Heavy cream or alternatives: Adds creaminess to the dish. Coconut cream or evaporated milk can be substituted for a lighter option.
Ghee or Butter
Butter Chicken gets its name from, you guessed it, the butter. You don’t actually need a lot of butter to taste it… although I say the more butter the better! As a final step, I like to add a dollop of butter on top, and let it melt into the butter chicken, though this step is optional.
Instead of butter, I also like to use ghee, which is clarified butter. If using ghee, do not add a final touch of the ghee. Ghee is much stronger tasting than butter, and not really a pleasant finisher.
Key Steps to Making Butter Chicken
1. Marinate Chicken
Combine the chicken pieces with yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, garam masala, the other spices, lemon juice, and salt and paper to taste. Give it a mix to combine. Let marinate for 10 minutes, overnight is best to allow the flavours to meld.
2. Pan Fry The Chicken
In your cooking pot, add oil and place over medium heat. Add the marinated chicken and pan fry for about 2-3 minutes on each side, just until the surface is seared. There is no need to cook the chicken all the way through at this stage. This will help to lock in the flavours, and allow the chicken to cook quicker later on.
Once seared, remove chicken from the pot.
3. Prepare the Gravy
In the same pot, add onions and butter. Saute until all of the butter melts and onions are fragrant, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot to lift any remaining spices from the chicken.
Add tomato passata or pureed tomatoes, heavy cream, salt and sugar to taste. If there are any leftover marinade from the chicken, pour it all in!
NOTE: I use to add the heavy cream as the very last step – I find that it’s not necessary! Add everything in at one go.
Stir to combine and let this come up to a boil. If your tomato is extra tart, let it cook longer until the raw flavours is cooked off.
4. Add Back the Chicken and Simmer
Once the tomato sauce comes to a boil, add back the chicken. Stir to combine.
Let the chicken stew for about 10 minutes or so, or until the chicken cooks through.
5. Serve and Enjoy!
Garnish with a dollop of ghee or butter for extra richness, and chopped coriander for freshness. Pair with rice, naan, or your favorite sides.
FAQs
Why does my Butter Chicken taste too sour?
Butter Chicken has a slight tang to it, but it should not be unpleasant. If you find that the sauce is too tart, the tomatoes need to be cooked down even more. With tomatoes, you want to cook it and reduce it as much as possible in order for it to lose the raw, sour, tomato flavour. Think of it as if you were making bolognese or ragu from scratch – the tomatoes need to be cooked off for longer!
A couple of ways you can work around this:
- Use more onions: As onions cook, it releases sweetness to balance out the sour flavours.
- Use good quality canned tomatoes: generally San Marzano tomatoes tend to have a good balance of sweet and acidity. I used regular *discount* canned tomatoes in this recipe… and most recipes! Canned tomatoes are a staple in my pantry so I like to buy in bulk.
- Use ready-made tomato pasta sauce: This is by far my FAVOURITE foolproof hack. Tomato pasta sauce have already been cooked off and ready to be served. Use the ones with the least amount of added flavour (such as herbs) for best results.
- Add more sugar: I don’t like to add more sugar than I need.
- Add more cream: Adding too much however can make it too thick and pale.
Are there alternatives to heavy cream?
Heavy cream is typically used for butter chicken. You can however substitute with Coconut Cream – which is my go-to since it’s what I always have in my pantry – and it’s also MUCH cheaper in this part of the world!
Another option is to use evaporated milk, although note that evaporated milk is runnier than cream.
What to Serve this Butter Chicken with:
- Naan bread – my easy, foolproof recipe for soft and fluffy naan here!
- Raita | easy, quick Indian yoghurt salad
- Nasi Minyak or Ghee Butter Rice
More recipes like this:
If you enjoyed this recipe, you might like these:
- Easy Chicken Curry
- Cheesy Curry Baked Rice
- Ayam Masak Merah | Tomato Stew Chicken
- Opor Ayam | Indonesian White Curry
Editor’s Note: Recipe was last updated on 30 Apr 2024. It’s updated for efficiency, with unnecessary steps and ingredients removed to get you a quicker and flavourful Butter Chicken!
Easy Butter Chicken | Murgh Makhani
Recipe by ShaCourse: Recipes
Ingredients
- Chicken Marinade
400g boneless chicken thighs or breasts,cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tbspsplain yogurt
1 tbspgarlic, minced
1tbspginger, grated
1tbspgaram masala
1tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
- Butter Chicken Gravy
1tbsp neutral-tasting oil
2 tbsps butter or ghee
1large onion, chopped or 1/4 cup onion paste
1 tbspgarlic,minced (optional)
1tbspginger,minced (optional)
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 cups Tomato Passata or 400g (or 1 can) crushed tomatoes, pureed
1cupof heavy cream or coconut cream
1tbspsugar
2 tsps salt(or to taste)
- To Serve
handful of cilantro, to garnish
1-2 tbsp of butter, to top
Directions
- Combine the marinade ingredients with the chicken. Set aside to marinade for 5 minutes, overnight would be best.
- Heat oil in pan or pot, and place over medium-high heat, pan fry the marinated chicken for 2-3 minutes on each side to get a sear on the chicken. The chicken need not cook fully, we are just getting some browning on the chicken. Remove from pan and keep to one side.
- In the same pan, and add butter or ghee. Add onions next. If using, add garlic, ginger and tomato paste as well. Stir to combine. With a spatula, scrape the bottom of the pan to combine any spiced browned bits with the butter.
- Once fragrant, pour in the tomato passata or canned chopped tomatoes, heavy cream, tomato paste, salt and sugar. Let it come to a boil. If tomatoes taste too tart or raw, lower the heat to let simmer for 10 to 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Add back the chicken. Stir to combine. Lower the heat and let simmer for 10 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked.
- Turn off the heat. Before serving, garnish with cilantro and top with butter. Serve!
