Butter Chicken Recipe (Indian Chicken Makhani)
By Swasthi on November 22, 2023, Comments, Jump to Recipe
Make the best Butter Chicken at home with this authentic Indian recipe. This Murgh Makhani is flavor-packed, creamy, delicious and tastes just like your favorite Indian restaurant version. All you need is a bowl of Basmati rice or some Naans to mop up the luxurious sauce.
This 10 year old recipe on my blog has been upgraded with plenty of tips & tricks, substitutes and notes to make one of the most flavorful & succulent Butter Chicken.
About Butter Chicken
Butter Chicken also known as Chicken Makhani is a classic Indian dish that’s made by simmering marinated & grilled chicken (Tandoori chicken) in a spicy, aromatic, buttery and creamy tomato gravy. This lip-smacking and delicious dish is hugely popular among the Indian food lovers across the world.
It is believed that Butter Chicken was invented during 1930 to 1935, by Kundan Lal Jaggi & Kundan Lal Gujral, the owners/partners of a restaurant named Moti Mahal in Delhi, India. The restaurant would usually have large orders of tandoori chicken but sometimes ended up with leftovers which were dry.
Butter Chicken was a way to use up the leftover dry Tandoori Chicken. The large pieces of grilled chicken were diced and simmered in a rich creamy and buttery tomato gravy. That’s how Murgh Makhani – Chicken Makhani came into existence.
Butter Chicken Vs Chicken Tikka Masala
Though Butter Chicken and Chicken Tikka Masala have a lot of similarities, they both differ in taste, texture and flavor. Chicken tikka masala is spicy, hot and the tikka masala gravy has onions included in it. But the original Butter chicken is low on the heat & spice quotient and does not include onions in the gravy.
However there are so many versions that use onions to impart natural sweeter tones and balance the sour taste of tomatoes.
More importantly Butter Chicken is cooked in butter whereas chicken tikka masala is cooked in oil. Butter Chicken has a smooth, rich and silky gravy/sauce but tikka masala has a texture from the chopped and caramelized onions.
How Is Butter Chicken Made?
The original & authentic Butter Chicken is made with tandoori grilled chicken. Firstly, bone-in chicken is marinated overnight with thick Hung curd (yogurt), spices and herbs. This marinade imparts tons of flavors to the meat, tenderizes it naturally & helps to remain succulent after grilling.
Later the marinated chicken is grilled in a tandoor, a clay oven which imparts its characteristic smoky aroma. This is then diced and simmered in a spicy buttery and creamy tomato gravy.
Since we are not equipped with tandoor at home, the marinated chicken has to be either roasted in a pan or in an oven or grilled on open fire (barbeque). For this post I have done it in a pan. Feel free to grill/bake the chicken in oven or on open fire.
More Chicken Recipes
Chicken Bhuna
Chicken Jalfrezi
Chilli Chicken
Chicken Curry
Chicken Masala
If you are new to Indian cooking, do read the Ingredients & substitutes and pro tips sections below. For the old readers – you can also find the original earlier recipe after the recipe card below.
How to make Butter Chicken (Stepwise Photos)
Marinade
For this recipe you require 500 grams (1.1 lbs) boneless chicken. You can use thighs or breasts like the way I use. A lot of people prefer thighs for the flavor and additional fats. If using chicken breasts be prepared to leave it in the marinade for a minimum of 12 hours for best results.
1. Here are the other ingredients required to marinate the chicken:
- ¾ to 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ to ⅓ teaspoon salt
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (or paprika adjust to taste, reduce for kids)
- ¾ to 1 teaspoon garam masala (adjust to taste)
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi (optional, dried fenugreek leaves)
- ⅛ teaspoon turmeric (haldi)
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder (optional)
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder (optional)
- ¾ to 1 tablespoon oil
- ¾ tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- ⅓ cup Greek yogurt or hung curd (read my pro tips)
2. Make sure there is no excess moisture on your chicken. Pat dry with kitchen tissues/paper, if required. Add red chili powder, salt and lemon juice. Mix well, cover and rest for 20 mins.
3. Later add ginger garlic paste, garam masala, cumin powder, coriander powder, kasuri methi, turmeric and hung curd/ Greek yogurt. Mix well and cover. Let the chicken rest in the marinade for a minimum of 12 hours in the refrigerator. The longer you leave the more tender and juicer the chicken is going to be. You can leave this for a maximum of 48 hours.
Prepare for the sauce/gravy
4. When you are ready to make the sauce, prepare the following ingredients. Keep the chicken out of the refrigerator, as we don’t want to grill/ pan-fry the cold chicken.
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 cinnamon (2 inch piece, if using Ceylon cinnamon, feel free to use more)
- 4 green cardamoms
- 4 cloves
- ¾ tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- 1 to 2 green chilies (deseed,slit or chop, avoid for kids)
- 1 to 2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder or paprika (adjust to suit your taste and color)
- 1 to 1½ teaspoon garam masala (adjust to taste, divided)
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder (optional)
- 1 to 1½ teaspoon coriander powder (optional)
- ½ tablespoon kasuri methi crushed
5. I have updated this recipe to use onions. It is optional but helps to cut down the sour taste of the tomatoes, especially if you are using canned tomatoes or passata. Sauté 1½ cups (130 grams) sliced onions (1 medium onion) in 1 tablespoon oil until slightly golden, for 7 to 8 minutes. Cool down and add them to the blender.
6. To the same blender jar add 600 grams diced fresh tomatoes (4 large, makes 3 cups puree) or 1 cup passata, 28 cashews and half cup water. Grind to a smooth puree. Alternately, If you do not have a powerful blender, you may soak the cashews in ½ cup hot water for 30 mins and then puree them separately in a small coffee grinder like the way I did.
7. To make the cashew cream, I grind the cashews first to a powder and then add ¼ cup water and grind again. Pour another ¼ cup water and grind again. Puree them very smooth.
I leave the pureeing part for you to decide. Choose the method that works for you, depending on the kind of grinder/blender you own – together or separately but smoother the better.
Make Butter Chicken Sauce
8. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a pan. Add cinnamon, cloves and cardamoms. Once they begin to sizzle, add ginger garlic paste, green chilies (leave out for kids) and fry on a medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes till the raw smell goes away.
9. Do not burn.
10. Turn off the heat. Stir in the red chilli powder, garam masala, cumin powder and coriander powder.
11. Pour the puree. If your puree is not smooth strain it to the pan.
12. Use a sturdy spoon to strain and discard the residue.
13. Mix well and bring this to a boil on a medium high heat. Be careful as this can easily splatter.
14. Cover partially and let boil on a medium heat, stirring often, until thick. This takes about 12 to 15 mins, depending on the kind of cookware and stove.
15. This is how it should look, at this stage stir in the cashew cream or puree if you made it separately.
16. Pour 1½ cups hot water and mix well.
17. Simmer this, partially covered for 10 mins or until the sauce thickens & traces of fats/butter are visible on top of the sauce. Meanwhile proceed with the next step.
Grill the chicken on the stove top or Bake in the oven
18. Make sure your chicken is not too cold.
Option 1: To use oven, preheat the oven to 240 C or 460 F for at least 15 minutes. Skew the chicken on to soaked wooden skewers or place on a greased tray and bake for 20 to 22 minutes, depending on the size of chicken pieces. In between you will have to turn to the other side.
Option 2: To pan-fry/grill chicken on griddle/tawa. Add one tablespoon oil/butter or ghee and place the chicken pieces spacing them apart. Fry on a medium heat for 2 mins. Ignore the moisture oozing out of the chicken. Turn the chicken pieces to the other side, don’t burn and do not overcook.
19. Cook till the chicken is just done and all the moisture evaporates. Optional – If you want browned chicken, increase the flame to high and roast until they turn golden or light brown on both the sides. Be careful as this can easily burn the masala & dry out your chicken. This way roast the chicken pieces in 2 to 3 batches, depending on the size of your skillet. Avoid browning in a non-stick pan.
Make Chicken Makhani
20. After 10 minutes, the sauce should have been thick and traces of fats visible on the sauce.
21. Add chicken to the butter chicken gravy.
22. Pour ½ cup more hot water if the sauce is too thick and simmer for about 5 to 7 minutes till it becomes tender. This is the time the sauce actually develops the flavors. The cook time may vary here. This additional half cup water is not mentioned in the recipe and is optional depending on how long you cook. But I always use.
23. Add ½ to ¾ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar and ½ tablespoon kasuri methi. Stir well and taste test. If required add more garam masala & another tablespoon butter for additional flavor.
24. Stir in ¼ to ⅓ cup heavy cream. Or Take a few tablespoons of the hot gravy to a small bowl and stir in the cream. Mix and then pour the cream to the butter chicken. This prevents cream from splitting.
Serving Suggestions
Butter Chicken is best served with Jeera rice , Turmeric Rice, plain fluffy Basmati Rice, Tandoori Roti, Naan or Paratha. To extend your menu, you may try Kachumber salad or onion salad, Jeera aloo or Paneer Tikka.
Ingredients & Substitutes
Tomatoes: Fresh ripe & pulpy/meaty tomatoes are best for this recipe. However you may use 1 cup (8 oz) passata or canned tomato puree. Avoid using sour tangy tomatoes.
Cashews impart a delicate flavor & acts as a thickener. It gives that rich, smooth and silky richness to the sauce. You can use almonds or almond flour as a substitute but flavors are different. To use almonds, soak them in hot water for 2 hours, peel and grind to a smooth paste/ puree. If using almond flour, grind it with water to a smooth paste.
Garam Masala is a spice blend used in Indian cooking. To make a good butter chicken you need a really good garam masala else your dish can end up being bland without any flavors. You can make your own from this Garam masala recipe or use store bought. But be sure to use an aromatic masala and adjust the quantity because every brand is different.
Kashmiri Red chili powder is pure Indian chilli powder (ground dried red chilies). It is a medium hot chili powder which also imparts brighter color to your dish. You may substitute it with Byadgi chili powder or a mix of smoked paprika & cayenne pepper (1:1).
If you don’t eat spicy foods, you may reduce the amount of red chili powder. The sauce will have a lighter color like seen in my old pictures.
Coriander and cumin powder: My original recipe never had cumin and coriander powders since they are already included in my garam masala. I have added it for extra flavor in the new version.
Kasuri methi is dried fenugreek leaves. There is no substitute for this and you may leave out if you don’t have but you will surely miss those magical flavors.
Greek yogurt/ Hung curd: Marinade requires thick strained yogurt like this Hung curd or Greek yogurt. Using regular yogurt (with whey) will easily let out too much moisture while grilling the chicken & all the spice marinade goes over to the pan. This makes your chicken taste bland. If your yogurt is runny, you may strain it following this Hung curd recipe.
Pro Tips
- Marination is the key to get flavorful, tender & succulent pieces of chicken.
- Yogurt in the marinade tenderizes the chicken so do not skip it.
- Makhani recipe never uses onion. However using them helps to balance the tang/sour taste of tomatoes, especially if you are using passata or canned tomatoes.
- The rich taste in the gravy comes from the cashews (or almonds) & cream.
- You can make the gravy ahead and refrigerate. Just grill the marinated chicken when needed and heat up the gravy. Then add the grilled chicken.
My previous original version was with lesser amount of red chilli powder (1 tsp). I upgraded the sauce with double the amount of whole spices & cumin + coriander powder for depth of flavors. Note that butter chicken is a mild curry and adding too much ground spices will alter the flavors. This is a picture of the butter chicken with lesser ground spices.
Related Recipes
Recipe Card
Butter Chicken Recipe first published in October 2012. Updated on 28th oct 2023 to include onions as an optional ingredient. This helps to cut down the sour taste of canned tomatoes or passata.
Butter Chicken Recipe (Indian Chicken Makhani)
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
First Marination
- ½ kg (1.1 lbs) boneless chicken (read notes)
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (or paprika adjust to taste, reduce for kids)
- ¼ to ⅓ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- ¾ to 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Second Marination
- ⅓ cup Greek yogurt (hung curd/thick curd, refer notes)
- ¾ tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- ⅛ teaspoon turmeric (haldi)
- ¾ to 1 teaspoon garam masala (adjust to taste)
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder (optional)
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder (optional)
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi (optional, dried fenugreek leaves)
- ¾ to 1 tablespoon oil
For sauce
- 2 to 3 tablespoons butter or ghee (divided)
- 2 inch cinnamon piece
- 2 to 4 green cardamoms
- 2 to 4 cloves
- 1½ cups (130 grams) onions sliced (optional, *updated)
- 3 cups (600 grams, 24 oz) fresh tomato puree (or 1 cup passata/canned tomato puree)
- ¾ tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- 1 to 2 green chilies (deseed, slit or chop, optional)
- 28 (42 grams) whole raw cashews (soaked in hot water if required, read notes)
- ½ cup water to blend (more if required)
- 1 to 2 teaspoons Kashmiri chili powder (reduce for kids, adjust to taste)
- 1 to 1½ teaspoons garam masala (divided, adjust to taste)
- 1 to 1½ teaspoon coriander powder (optional, adjust to taste)
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder (optional, adjust to taste)
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- 1 teaspoon sugar (to balance the flavors)
- ½ tablespoon Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
- 1½ cups hot water to make gravy
- ⅓ cup (80 to 100 ml) heavy cream or whipping cream (divided)
- 2 tablespoons coriander leaves (fine chopped to garnish)
Instructions
- Marinate chicken with lemon juice, chili powder and salt. Cover and rest for 20 minutes. Next add yogurt, kasuri methi, oil, turmeric, ginger garlic paste, coriander powder, cumin powder and garam masala powder.
- Marinate and rest for a minimum of 30 minutes, or overnight for best results. Cover and refrigerate.
- Optional – If using onion, sauté in 1 tablespoon oil until lightly golden, for 7 minutes. Cool down.
- To a blender, add tomatoes, sautéed onions, cashews and water. Blend to a smooth puree. If you want you can also blend the cashews separately with water to a smooth cream.
Make the sauce
- Remove the chicken from the refrigerator, to bring it close to room temperature.
- Melt butter in a pan & add all the whole spices – cinnamon, cloves and cardamoms.
- When they begin to sizzle, stir in the ginger garlic paste & green chilies. Fry on a low heat, for a minute or 2, till it turns fragrant but not burnt.
- Turn off the heat and stir in red chili powder, garam masala, cumin and coriander powder.
- Stir in the tomato cashew puree. If it is not smooth, strain it to the pan.
- Mix well and cover partially. Bring it to a boil on a medium high heat, reduce the heat to low or medium. Cook until the puree turns thick, keep stirring occasionally.
- Pour hot water and simmer for 10 mins, until the sauce thickens & traces of fats are visible on top of the sauce.
Grill or roast chicken
- Spread one tbsp. butter or ghee in a griddle/pan and heat it well. Place the marinated chicken pieces, spacing them a little apart.
- Fry on a medium heat for 2 mins and turn them. Don’t burn and do not overcook. Cook till the chicken is just cooked and all the marinade dries up. It is not necessary to fully cook the chicken at this stage.
- This way roast the chicken pieces in 2 to 3 batches, depending on the size of your skillet.
How to make Butter Chicken
- Add chicken to the butter chicken gravy. Pour more hot water (about ½ cup, not in the recipe) if the sauce is too thick. Cover and simmer for about 5 to 7 minutes till it becomes tender.
- Stir in salt, sugar and kasuri methi. Taste test and optionally add more garam masala & another tablespoon butter for additional flavour (both are optional).
- Turn off and stir in the heavy cream. Garnish Butter Chicken with chopped coriander leaves and some cream. Serve with Turmeric rice, steamed Basmati Rice, Butter naan or Cumin Rice.
Notes
- Read my pro tips and Ingredients section in the post.
- Use good quality ripe sweet tomatoes. Avoid using sour/tangy tomatoes.
- Using onions is optional and you may use them to cut down the sour taste of the tomatoes.
- The quantity & type of tomatoes and ground spices determine the color of your butter chicken gravy.
- Butter chicken is a mild curry, using a lot of spices alters the flavor and taste of the sauce.
- If using almonds, soak them in hot water for a few hours and remove the skin. Grind them with half cup water. You can also use ¼ cup blanched almond flour, grind it with half cup water until really smooth.
Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.
For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.
Video
Watch Butter Chicken Video
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
First published version of Murgh Makhani
Ingredients
½ kg chicken (or 1 lb.) (Preferably boneless)
¾ tablespoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon Red chili powder or paprika
Second marination
¾ teaspoon kasuri methi Optional (dried fenugreek leaves)
⅛ teaspoon turmeric (haldi)
½ to ¾ teaspoon garam masala
¾ tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
½ cup Greek yogurt or hung curd (thick curd, refer notes)
for gravy
2 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
1 cinnamon (2 inch piece, dalchini)
2 green cardamoms (elaichi)
2 cloves (laung)
1 to 2 green chilies (slit or sliced, optional)
4 large tomatoes pureed (400 to 500 grams)
16 to 18 cashew nuts or blanched soaked almonds (refer notes)
1 teaspoon red chili powder or paprika (adjust to suit your taste and color)
½ to ¾ teaspoon garam masala
½ tablespoon kasuri methi crushed or powdered dried fenugreek leaves
¼ tablespoon sugar
salt as needed
80 to 100 ml chilled cream (heavy cream or whipping cream, refer the notes)
2 tbsp Coriander leaves for garnishing
Instructions
Preparation for chicken makhani
First marinate chicken with lemon juice, chili powder and salt for 20 minutes.
Next marinate again with yogurt, kasuri methi, oil, turmeric, ginger garlic paste, and garam masala powder.
Cover & rest in the refrigerator for atleast 12 hours. You can keep it as long as 48 hours. The longer the chicken rests in the marinade, the tender it will be after cooking.
Add the cashews to a blender jar along with tomatoes. Make a smooth puree.
If the puree is not smooth, then pass it through a filter. Set this aside.
Also make the ginger garlic paste.
Grilling or roasting chicken
Grill the chicken in an oven or stove top.
For stove top method, Add one tsp butter to a pan and add the marinade.
Fry on high flame till all the moisture evaporates.
To grill it in oven, preheat the oven to 240 C for at least 20 mins.
Grill it until the meat is cooked through & is tender. It may take about 20 to 30 mins depending on the size of your chicken chunks. Ensure chicken is tender at this stage.
How To Make Butter Chicken
Heat a pan with butter & saute cinnamon, cloves and cardamoms for a min.
Add ginger garlic paste, green chilies and fry till it turns fragrant.
Next pour the tomato cashew puree.
Add red chili powder, sugar and salt.
Mix and cook until the tomato puree becomes thick.
It also begins to leave the sides of the pan.
Pour 1 cup water. Add more or less water to suit your desired consistency.
Bring the mix to a boil and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes.
Add chicken and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Butter chicken should become soft and tender. Add garam masala and kasuri methi.
Stir and simmer for about 2 to 3 minutes. Pour chilled cream and switch off the stove.
Garnish butter chicken with coriander leaves and extra cream if desired. Serve with long grain rice or naan or paratha.
About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
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Comments
I made this Butter Chicken recipe for my family over the weekend, and it was a huge hit. We usually have to drive over an hour to eat at an authentic Indian restaurant, so I’ve tried many different butter chicken recipes in the past. However, none of them quite hit the spot in terms of flavor. In preparation for this recipe, I ordered a few Indian spices online that I didn’t have in my collection before – fungcreek, Indian red pepper, and green cardamoms. I split the preparation into two days, making the cashew/tomato mixture and marinating the chicken overnight before putting it all together the next day. The results were incredible! This Butter Chicken was restaurant-quality, and everyone agreed. We’ll definitely be making it regularly. Thank you!
I followed this recipe exactly except to use one third cup tomato paste and half cup heavy cream. Fresh tomatoes are hard to source where I live so opted to go with tomato paste. As recommended I used a yellow onion to mellow down the acidity from tomato. Used about a tablespoon of sugar. Each component of this dish has so much flavor and I think I found my favorite recipe. I honestly thought a meal of just this with basmati rice wouldn’t be enough but this was super satisfying. The butter chicken sauce is excellent and is going to my new list of favorites.
Dear Swasthi,
I am happy to try your recipe soon, yet there is a bit of confusion about the tomatoes.
You write that the ripe tomatoes make 3 cups of puree, but for passata, only one cup is needed? Which is true or how can both be true?
Hi Dani,
Yes both are true. I have been making this recipe for many many years with both fresh tomatoes and store bought passata (mutti brand). If using fresh, use 600 grams fresh sweet tomatoes or use 1 cup store bought passata like mutti (without citric acid). Also 1 kg fresh pulpy tomatoes yield about 350 ml of passata depending on the consistency and kind of tomatoes. So 600 grams tomatoes would yield around 210 ml. So to round off I use 1 cup – 240 ml. It is the correct tried and tested conversion for this recipe. Hope this helps
Amazing amazing recipe
Thank you so much Vibha
Hi Swasthi
Excellent recipe and i have tried it a few time, i have to make this for 16 people this weekend. just a question if i use ripe tomatoes for the puree, do i just cut then and add it to a blender to make the puree or do i have to cook the tomatoes first to make them softer?
thank you
Hi Willem,
Thank you! Yes you can just cut them, puree & strain. Don’t need to cook first.
Is there a substitution for the cashew in the recipe due to a tree nut allergy?
Hi,
You can omit the cashews but use yellow onions and double the heavy cream. Make sure you use sweet tomatoes else the sauce can taste too tangy without cashews. Would love to hear how it went for you.
I love Swasthi’s recipes and have been using them for a long time. This recipe is one of my top 3 favorites and my teenaged son LOVES it. I like to roast the almond flour and then mix with water, instead of using cashews. My son loves the aroma it makes when it’s being roasted and always starts roaming around the kitchen when the delicious smell starts to fill the house, LOL. Thank you, Swasthi!
You are welcome Tracy. So happy to read this and thank you for writing back! Your tip on almond flour is lovely and I am sure it’s going to help others. Thanks again!
Is there a substitute to yogurt & heavy cream? Can I use ghee for butter?
You can omit the yogurt and heavy cream. Or Use a few tablespoons cashew cream and little more oil in the marinade. You can use ghee instead of butter but it will have ghee flavor. Hope you enjoy!
Dear Swasthi,
We made this recipe twice with a spectacular outcome. Got lot of appreciations from friends & family. We put the butter chicken on our pizza and served with your rice pilau, stuffed baby eggplants, cucumber salad and raita. Thank you for sharing your recipes with us.
Melissa and John
You are welcome Melissa. That’s a fantastic meal and so happy to read this. Thanks for your time.
This is hands down the best butter chicken we have ever made! We made it twice already and this time to go on top of our pizza. Got really rave reviews from friends and it was a marvelous lunch with your rice pilau, stuffed eggplants, kachumber and raita. Keep up the great work!
Thank you so much John and Melissa for sharing back. We are glad your friends liked it.
Hello Swasthi, Greetings from Switzerland 🙂 My boyfriend and I are addicted to Indian food but unfortunately fellow Swiss are very careful with spices and chilis. So yesterday we tried your butter chicken and the butter naan recipe and … OMG! We’re overwhelmed by the amazing taste and the pretty looks of the food. We are hooked and will try so many more of your recipes. I already shared your website with my family as we all struggled to find really good and authentic indian recipes. Thank you for sharing all of you knowledge and your culture!
Hello Vanessa,
You are most welcome! That’s really nice to know you both loved it! Thank you so much for sharing back, that really makes me happy.
I’ve tried other butter chicken recipes and this one will be the only one I am going to use from onwards. I love the fact it does not use processed ingredients. Truly an Indian recipe! I have made 3x and storing for the rest of the week.
Thanks Darshani for trying.
OMG!!!! Last night we cooked this Indian Butter Chicken and it’s heaven on a meal plate!! I normally cook extra for another meal so I popped the chicken in the oven. It came out gorgeously tender, charred and is to die for! Thank you Swasthi for yet another winner!
Sanya, you are most welcome. That sounds really lovely. Thanks for trying and sharing back often.
I love the photos of your cooking. They bring real life to the recipes and make it easier to follow. I have made many butter chicken recipes and I can say there is a day night difference. Your recipe is amazing! My husband says this a flavor bomb! Thank you for sharing this authentic Indian butter chicken recipe. I will be making this again and again!
Cynthia, we are so glad the photos are helpful. Thanks for writing back to us.
This recipe sounds amazing and so authentic. At what temperature would you air fry the chicken? Also would using boneless chicken thighs be okay? Thank you for the reply
Hi June,
Thank you! Air fry at 400 F for 8 to 10 mins, depending on the size. Yes you can also use chicken thighs. It takes about 15 to 18 mins for the thighs in air fryer. Hope you enjoy the dish
This is a regular meal in my home and is on rotation. What better when it is husband and kids approved! I didn’t have heavy cream so left out but still it tastes delicious.
Glad to read Janz. Yes cashews are just enough to make the gravy tasty. So this can be made without cream. Thank you
Ever since I moved to the US 3 years ago, I have been highly dependent on your recipes. We have no Indian restaurants in the nearby places and have to drive too long to locate one. I try at least 2 to 3 recipes every week and this butter chicken is on my menu every other week. It turns out so good like all your other recipes. This time I made your soft naans as well to go with this. I’m more than happy. Thank you for creating this website Swasthi.
That’s really nice to read! Thanks for your time to write. We are so glad you are enjoying the recipes
I followed this butter chicken recipe exactly as written and each component of this dish is packed with so much flavor! I honestly thought this to be any other online recipe with a hit or a miss but I was wrong. This is super delicious and comforting. The makhani sauce is excellent and I think I will be using it on everything.
Thank you so much Tiffany. So glad to know you like this butter chicken
Hi, I want to try this, but I’m just confused because the recipe card says 600 grams tomato puree and the recipe above that with the pictures says 600 grams diced tomatoes. Could you please clarify which you used?
Hi Deeti,
It is one and the same. Just that I have reworded it. I have mentioned – 600 grams diced fresh tomatoes (4 large, makes 3 cups puree). 600 grams weight is after preparation, removing the core & dicing 4 large tomatoes. After pureeing it is still 600 grams. You just need to weigh the diced tomatoes. I am unable to elaborate that in the recipe card because it looks too cluttered. Hope this clears.
5000+ 5 star reviews cannot be wrong, so i tried this recipe. It was amazing and easy. The instructions are really helpful. I think about this recipe at least once a week.
Thank you so much Amber! So happy you like it
Even my 8 year old loved this recipe!
That’s nice to know Jacqueline. Thank you for sharing back