Butter Chicken
A decadent, velvety North Indian curry featuring tender tandoori-style chicken simmered in a spiced tomato and butter-enriched cream sauce.
Origin & history
Butter Chicken, or Murgh Makhani, was developed in the 1950s at the Moti Mahal restaurant in Delhi. It was created as a way to repurpose leftover tandoori chicken by simmering it in a rich, buttery tomato gravy, eventually becoming a global icon of Indian cuisine.
Ingredients
Quantities recalculate automatically.
Marinade
Sauce
The method
Step by step
- 01
Marinate
4 hrCombine the chicken with yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, and spices. Allow to marinate for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, to ensure the meat is tender and flavorful.
Use Greek yogurt for a thicker marinade.
- 02
Cook Chicken
20 minRoast the chicken in a hot oven or grill until charred and cooked through. This mimics the traditional tandoor oven effect.
Do not overcook the chicken as it will finish in the sauce.
- 03
Prepare Sauce
15 minSauté aromatics in butter, add tomato puree and spices, and simmer until the oil separates. Stir in the cream and fenugreek leaves to finish the velvety sauce.
Rub the fenugreek leaves between your palms to release the aroma.
Chef tips
- — Always use full-fat dairy for the best texture.
- — Don't skip the fenugreek; it is the signature flavor.
Common mistakes
- — Using tomato paste instead of puree
- — Overcooking the chicken
Substitutions
- Fenugreek leaves → Maple syrup/celery leaf mixNot identical, but mimics the bitter-sweet profile.
Storage & serving
Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Serve hot with garlic naan or basmati rice.
Food safety
Ensure chicken reaches an internal temperature of 75C (165F). Keep dairy-based sauces refrigerated below 5C.
From the community
Reviews
0 ratings
No published reviews yet. If you cook this dish, yours will be the first.
Cooked this dish?
Sign in to rate the recipe, leave notes for other cooks and keep it in your cookbook.