The Best Butter Chicken Recipe

Indian butter chicken with rice in a white bowl.

The Best Butter Chicken Recipe

THE BEST BUTTER CHICKEN RECIPE. The only one you'll ever need from now on. It's creamy, buttery, spicy and oh so easy to make. This butter chicken is so good you'll be drinking the sauce and licking the pan. Oh... and your family will ask you to make this every night from now on!

4.34 from 3 votes

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Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 25

Total Time: 35

Servings:

Calories: 516kcal

Author: Deborah Rainford

Ingredients

5 Tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
2 large white onions, brown are fine*See Notes
2 inch piece fresh ginger
6 garlic cloves, grated or chopped
For the Spice mix* See Notes
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground fenugreek
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon chilli powder
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
400 g/ 14oz can chopped tomatoes
5 Tablespoons full fat Greek yogurt* See Notes
750 g/ 1 ½ pounds chicken thighs, boneless skinless* See Notes
2 Tablespoons Tandoori Masala
1 teaspoon sugar
⅓ cup butter

Instructions

Dice the chicken and rub with the Tandoori Masala. Set aside. Put 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large shallow roasting pan set over a medium high heat. When hot, add the onions, garlic and ginger and fry for 8 -10 minutes until the onions are soft and just starting to turn brown.
Turn the heat down, add the spice mix, tomato paste, the tinned chopped tomatoes, and the Greek yogurt. Stir well and cook for a further 5 minutes. Blend with mixture with a hand blender until smooth.
In a separate non stick frying pan, set over a medium-high heat fry for 6 minutes or until the chicken starts to turn golden brown.
Add the chicken to the blended sauce. Return to a low heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Add some water to adjust consistency if necessary. Add the sugar and butter and season to taste. Mix thoroughly to create a thick and creamy sauce.

Notes

If you can’t find white onions, brown ones are absolutely fine. They’re just not as sweet as the white and have less moisture, so you may need to add a little extra sugar at the end and a little more water.

Make the spice mix before beginning the cooking process. All the spices can be measured into one bowl.

Use full-fat Greek yogurt so the sauce doesn’t split.

You can use chicken breast in place of the thighs and turkey will work perfectly here too.

Nutrition

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