Butter Chicken Recipe
Butter chicken is one of India's most popular chicken recipes, a mild curry with a tomato-onion-cream base and boneless chicken pieces cooked in it
Ingredients
- 350 grams boneless, skinless chicken breast or thigh cubed
- 1 cup onions minced
- 3/4 cup tomato pureed
- 1 tbsp canned tomato paste or sauce
- 2-3 tbsp butter or ghee
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 to 1 tsp chilli powder use Kashmiri chilli powder for better colour and less heat
- 1 tsp of garam masala
- 1 large pinch of kasuri methi / dried fenugreek leaves
- 1 cup of milk
- 3 tbsp of cream or pureed cashew paste soak and grind cashew nuts if using that
- 1-2 tsp salt adjust to taste
- 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
- 1 small bunch of coriander leaves / cilantro for ganish
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a pan and add the minced onions. Fry until golden brown
- Add the ginger, garlic, coriander powder, chilli powder, turmeric, and salt.
- Fry for a minute until fragrant
- Add the pureed tomato and tomato paste and cook for 3-4 mins until the mixture bubbles uniformly
- Add in the kasuri methi, milk, and the cubed chicken along with some salt
- Cook covered for 8-10 mins until the chicken is soft. The chicken will let out more water, just check once or twice in between and give the curry a stir. Keep the heat on low
- When the chicken is cooked soft, open the lid and cook for a further minute or two. If the gravy is too thick, add some water at this stage
- When done, add the garam masala and the cream or cashew paste. Give it a good stir, but don't boil
- Adjust salt, garnish with the coriander leaves, and remove from heat
- Serve hot with tawa naan, vegetable pulao, or jeera rice
Notes
- If you have extra time, marinate the chicken pieces in ginger, garlic, turmeric, and chilli powder and lightly pan fry it until half-cooked. Then proceed with the rest of the recipe for Butter Chicken above
- Adjust all ingredients to your liking. I tend to add more ginger than the recipe states and find I like the extra heat
- The tomato paste is an odd ingredient that you may not readily have in your pantry. But it's worth grabbing a can because it adds more sourness and colour to the finished curry
- Add a minced green chilli for extra heat and a nice flavour
- The kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves add a smoky dimension to the butter chicken. Try not to skip that. You can add kasuri methi to other Indian dishes to use it up, like dal, paneer butter masala, etc
- If you find that your milk curdles while cooking, add it after the chicken is cooked. Also remember to use full fat cream and not low fat etc