🍛 Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)
Rich, creamy, mildly spiced—this is one of the most famous North Indian dishes, with tender chicken in a buttery tomato sauce.
🧾 Ingredients
🐔 Chicken marinade
- 500g boneless chicken (cut into cubes)
- ½ cup yogurt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
🍅 Butter gravy
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 onion (finely chopped or blended)
- 2–3 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 tbsp ginger (minced)
- 2 cups tomato puree
- 1 tsp red chili powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp sugar (balances acidity)
- Salt to taste
- ½ cup cream (fresh or cooking cream)
- ½ tsp garam masala
- Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), crushed (optional but key)
👩🍳 Instructions
1. Marinate chicken
Mix chicken with all marinade ingredients.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (overnight is best).
2. Cook chicken
- Grill, pan-fry, or bake until lightly browned and cooked
- Set aside (it will finish cooking in sauce later)
3. Make butter gravy
In a pan:
- Heat butter + oil
- Add onion, sauté until soft
- Add ginger-garlic, cook until fragrant
- Add tomato puree and cook 8–10 minutes until thick and deep red
4. Spice it up
Add:
- chili powder
- coriander powder
- cumin powder
- salt
- sugar
Cook until oil separates slightly from the sauce.
5. Blend (for restaurant texture)
Optional but recommended:
- Blend sauce until smooth
- Return to pan
6. Finish the dish
Add:
- cooked chicken
- cream
- garam masala
- crushed kasuri methi
- extra butter
Simmer 5–7 minutes.
🍽️ Serve with
- naan 🫓
- basmati rice 🍚
- roti or paratha
🍛 Result
You get a rich, silky Butter chicken with a creamy tomato base, mild spices, and tender chicken pieces coated in buttery gravy.
⭐ Pro tips
- Don’t skip kasuri methi—it gives authentic restaurant flavor
- Cream goes in at the end to keep it smooth
- Slight smokiness (charred chicken) boosts flavor a lot
