Butter chicken (murgh makhani)

Name: Butter chicken (murgh makhani)
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 700 g boneless chicken thighs (or breast), cut into bite-sized pieces; 150 ml thick plain yoghurt; 1 tbsp lemon juice; 1 tsp salt; 2 tsp garam masala (half for the marinade, half for the sauce); 1 tsp ground turmeric; 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder or sweet paprika; 3 garlic cloves, grated; 3 cm fresh ginger, grated; 50 g butter; 1 onion, finely chopped; 500 g passata; 150 ml single cream; 1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi), optional; 1 tsp honey or sugar

Time: 1 hr (about 40 min hands-on)Marinating: at least 1 hour, ideally overnight4 servingsapprox. 540 kcal / serving (estimated)approx. 46 g protein / serving

One of the best-known North Indian dishes: tandoori-style marinated roast chicken in a mild, buttery tomato and cream sauce. Not spicy, so it suits children too.

Butter chicken (murgh makhani) (illustration)

Open in Receptnaptár — serving calculator, cook mode, save

📱 Keep the screen awake while cooking

Method

Tap a step once you've finished it.

Mix the chicken with the yoghurt, lemon juice, salt, turmeric, chilli powder, half the garam masala and half the garlic and ginger; cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight.
Shake most of the marinade off the chicken and roast on the top shelf of a 230 °C oven for 12-15 minutes (or brown in batches in a hot pan) until charred in places at the edges.
In a saucepan, cook the onion in half the butter over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes until soft and golden, then add the remaining garlic and ginger and fry for 1 minute.
Add the passata and the remaining garam masala and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until thickened and the fat starts to bead on the surface.
Blend the sauce completely smooth with a stick blender and return it to the heat.
Stir in the cream, honey, the rest of the butter and the fenugreek leaves crushed between your palms.
Add the roasted chicken with its juices and simmer gently for 8-10 minutes until cooked through. Serve with rice or naan.

A Receptnaptár original recipe. Calories and protein are estimated.

Tips

Thighs stay juicier than breast; with breast, 5-6 minutes in the last step is enough.
Kasuri methi gives the restaurant flavour; it is sold in Indian shops. Without it the dish is still good, just less distinctive.
The sauce can be made a day ahead; warm the chicken in it before serving.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between butter chicken and chicken tikka masala?

Butter chicken has a buttery, creamy, mild sauce with the tomato blended smooth; tikka masala has more fried onion and spice (cumin seeds, coriander, green chilli), with a bolder, less creamy sauce.

Similar recipes

Chicken jalfrezi (chicken with peppers and onions in a spiced sauce) · Indian
Kadhai chicken (skillet chicken with peppers and tomato) · Indian
Tandoori chicken · Indian
Chicken do pyaza (double onion chicken curry) · Indian
Poulet à la moutarde (chicken in mustard sauce) · French
Pozole verde (green pozole with chicken) · Mexican

More indian ideas

How to use it · Privacy (in Hungarian) · Legal notice (in Hungarian) · Editorial principles (in Hungarian) · Cookie settings

Language: Magyar · Español · Deutsch