Making Restaurant Style Butter Chicken or Murgh Makhani has never been easier. This recipe is authentic, and the flavours are mind blowing. Serve it with butter naan and rice!
I have really high standards when it comes to my favourites. And Butter Chicken tops the list. So it annoys me when butter chicken is too sweet or too oily or just doesn’t have a punch of flavour that makes you want to dive into the sauce.
For a lot of people, making butter chicken at home might translate into long hours spent in the kitchen. That’s not true at all. This recipe takes a little under an hour from start to finish, and we are not using a ton of butter or cream to give it that luxurious, creamy taste either. How? I’m going to show you.
Best cut of meat + marination
I recommend using either skinless bone-in chicken or boneless, skinless chicken thighs for this recipe. The chicken is first marinated, then pan fried and then cooked in the gravy to get maximum flavour. And boneless chicken breasts will not retain their juiciness through this process. I love using boneless, skinless chicken thighs because you can cut the meat into bite sized pieces and they stay juicy right to the end. A quick yogurt marination for this butter chicken ensures that the flavour seeps in, and adds to the juiciness. You don’t need a long marination here, just 15-20 minutes is enough.
Here’s a pro tip: If you’d like, use cooked chicken tikka or tandoori chicken and skip the whole process of marinating and pan frying the chicken. I do this when I have leftover tandoori chicken from the previous night
Creaminess in the Butter Chicken Sauce or Gravy
You don’t need a lot of butter or cream for butter chicken. I use a total of 1 tablespoon butter and 3-4 tablespoons cream in the entire recipe. I love adding cashews in the sauce instead which add flavour and creaminess without all that extra fat that can sometimes get too much and make you feel bloaty. The cashew cooks with the tomatoes and softens which makes them really easy to blend later.
Tip: If you don’t have cashews, feel free to substitute with blanched almonds (almonds soaked in water and skin taken off). Cashews and almonds naturally add creaminess to the gravy.
Naturally orange gravy
I have to forewarn you about this. If you’ve always had reddish butter chicken gravy, it’s because of food colour. The butter chicken gravy is naturally orange-ish because of the tomatoes and the spices.
The Essential Ingredient
Most times, I’ll give you substitutes for ingredients that might not always be in your pantry, but an essential ingredient in butter chicken is kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves. Butter chicken has a beautiful finish and that’s because of kasuri methi. It adds a mild smokiness and just rounds of the flavours. Its easily available at Indian grocery stores or you can find it on Amazon. Try not to skip this. A little goes a long way and if stored in an airtight container, it retains freshness and flavour for a while. And is added to so many Indian dishes. So if you make Indian food on the regular, get yourself a stash!
Smoking Butter Chicken
Authentic murgh makhani will always have a smoky undertone, which traditionally comes from cooking the chicken in a tandoor or clay oven. But since we are trying to recreate that flavour in our kitchen, we’ll smoke the dish right at the end with a piece of charcoal or lump coal. The process is outlined in the recipe below.
This recipe makes lots of sauce or gravy, so you can always reserve some for later. Use the same makhani gravy to add tofu, paneer, cauliflower etc. That gravy is sooo good!
Serve these with Butter Chicken
- Instant No Yeast Naan
- Soft Rotis if you want something light to pair with the rich gravy
- Dal Makhani
- Vegetable Raita
- Vegetable Jalfrezi
- Coconut Rice
- Jeera Rice
Watch how to make Butter Chicken Recipe Video
This recipe was first published on May 25, 2016. It has been updated with new pictures and a video and minor tweaks to the recipe to make it better.
Easy Restaurant Style Butter Chicken Masala (Murgh Makhani)
Prep Time: 10 minutes- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 6-8 Servings 1x
Category: Mains
Cuisine: North Indian, Punjabi, Indian
Print Recipe
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This restaurant style butter chicken masala (murgh makhani) recipe is incredibly easy and takes under an hour! It’s authentic, no fuss and perfect when you want Indian curry in a hurry.
Ingredients
- 1 kg/ 2 pounds skinless, boneless Chicken Thighs, cut into 1.5 inch pieces (or use bone-in Chicken pieces)
- 1 tablespoon Oil
For the Marinade
- 1/2 cup Hung Curd (or Greek Yogurt)
- 1 tablespoon Kashmiri Chilli Powder (sub with 1/2 tbsp paprika + 1/2 tbsp cayenne)
- 1 tablespoon Coriander Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Ginger Garlic Paste
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
For the Gravy
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 1 tablespoon Butter
- 1 inch piece Cinnamon
- 2 Green Cardamom Pods
- 3 Cloves
- 5 Kashmiri Red Chillies
- 6 Garlic Cloves
- 1 Onion, roughly chopped
- 7 – 8 Tomatoes, roughly chopped (or 1 (15-ounce) can canned diced tomatoes)
- 1/4 cup Cashew Nuts
- 1/2 teaspoon Chilli Powder
- 2 tablespoons Ketchup
- 1 tablespoons Kasuri Methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
- Salt to taste
- 3–4 tablespoons Fresh Cream
Instructions
- Start by mixing all the ingredients under marinade and adding the chicken to it. Mix well, cover and set aside for 15-30 minutes while you make the gravy.
- For the gravy, heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet or pan. Add cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, whole red chilies and garlic. Saute for a minute or so till fragrant. Add onions and saute on high heat for 2-3 minutes till pink and translucent. Add tomatoes and cashew nuts. Mix once, reduce the flame to a simmer and cover and cook for 10-15 minutes till the tomatoes start breaking down and becoming slightly pulpy.
- Switch off the flame. Transfer to a blender or liquidiser, and blend till smooth. The trick to blending hot foods is to cover the lid with a thick towel and pulsing instead of blending at one go. This ensures that the lid doesn’t explode.
- In another pan, heat a tablespoon of oil. Add the chicken pieces and sear them on each side for 2-3 minutes on high heat, till theres a char on them. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
- Transfer the puree back to the pan, add chilli powder, ketchup, salt and 1/4 cup water. Bring this to a boil. Reduce the flame to low, and cover and cook for 20-25 minutes. Add the chicken pieces and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the kasuri methi and fresh cream.
- To smoke the chicken, place a small steel bowl (please don’t use plastic) in the middle of the butter chicken while it’s still in the pan. Heat a piece of charcoal or lump coal on an open flame till red hot and then place it in the bowl. Pour a teaspoon of oil or ghee over it, and as soon as it starts smoking, cover the pan with a lid. Smoke for 3-4 minutes. Remove the bowl and serve with naan or rice.
Notes
- Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken pieces work best. The pieces should be cut into 1.5 inch size. You can also use skinless, bone-in chicken thats cut into medium sized pieces
- Tomatoes: Substitute fresh tomatoes with a 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes. Or use 1 1/2 cups Tomato Puree or Tomato Passata
- Garam Masala: I use homemade garam masala, but you can substitute it with any store bought garam masala. Please note that garam masala is different from curry powder
- Butter: I love adding butter to this dish, but you can substitute it with ghee
- Sweetness from Ketchup: I think a really mild sweetness in butter chicken is actually nice and it balances the sourness from tomatoes. But feel free to reduce or increase the amount of ketchup based on what you like.
- History of Butter Chicken: It is said that butter chicken was invented by Kundan Lal Gujral of the famous Moti Mahal chain of restaurants, who added leftover cooked tandoori chicken to a tomato gravy, in an attempt to use it and the rest is history. The dish became really famous. It is called Murgh Makhani on their menu. So if there is a debate, you know that butter chicken is definitely an Indian dish, unlike its counterpart Chicken Tikka Masala which was invented in the UK and is spicier and slightly different.
I absolutely love this recipe, Richa. Butter chicken is an absolute joy and to be able to make it at home is such a thrill. This recipe is for keeps.
★★★★★
Amazing Butter chicken at home…easy to follow steps!😊
★★★★★
Thank you so much for leaving a comment Bani! So happy you enjoyed it!
Can I freeze leftover gravy?
For sure!
It turned out so good. And really easy to make. A definite must try!
★★★★★
Thanks so much Pooja! So glad you enjoyed this recipe
This recipe was absolutely bang on! The effort was totally worth it and my family finished it off in 15 mins. It gives you exact restaurant like flavour esp if you do the charcoal smoking process. Amazing recipe Richa! 🙂
★★★★★
Thanks so much Senjuti! So glad you enjoyed this recipe
I tried this recipe today and I can clearly say it matches some of the best and famous butter chicken I have eaten…
Very detailed, explained so well as always and turns out yummy!
★★★★★
Thanks so much Timsi! So glad you enjoyed this recipe
Tried this recipe with lachcha parantha, the taste was mindblowing, by far this butter chicken is the best I have ever eaten.
★★★★★
Wohooo! Thanks so much Barkha! So glad you enjoyed this recipe
Amazing recipe. Everyone loved it at home… I am a fan of butter chicken and now I found a perfect recipe to make it at home !!!
★★★★★
Thanks so much Meeta! So glad you enjoyed this recipe
Tried your recipe… it tastes really good.👍🏻🤗 Didn’t hv ketchup… but yet the taste is amazing. Thanks for sharing🤗
Thank you so much Roxann! So glad you enjoyed this recipe
This is the perfect recipe for Butter chicken. Tried several ones but this won and stood out above all. Perfect spice, creamy texture. My favorite one!
★★★★★
Thank you so much Jitesh! So glad you enjoyed this recipe
Perfect recipe! Followed it to the T and got rewarded with a better than the restaurant kind butter chicken!
★★★★★
Thank you so much Saumya! So glad you enjoyed this recipe
Butter chicken is my absolute favourite. I’ve always thought that it’s one of those recipes that you’d have to spend hours in the kitchen. Thanks to Richa, you don’t have to do a take away of butter chicken any more. This recipe is easy and definitely goes by the description. My family loved it…sister licked her plate clean and dad approved (considering I’ve always shied away from the kitchen). Thank you Richa ☺️
★★★★★
Wohooo! Thanks so much Giselle! So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Best butter chicken recipe I have made after multiple tries. Really easy and delicious!
★★★★★
Thanks Anvita! Sooo happy you liked it
Wow! This butter chicken recipe is perfect! My husband and I are pretty picky about our butter chicken. We have our favorite takeout place and have also wanted to replicate the recipe. We’ve tried a number of recipes and none of them ever held up until discovering this one! The creaminess and flavor is spot on! I had to improvise and substitute nutmeg/cinnamon for cardamom and skipped the fenugreek leaves since I didn’t have those and it was still perfect! Thanks for sharing!!
★★★★★
Thank you so so much Emily! So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I hope you’ll stock some kasuri methi (fenugreek leaves) soon, because they make this even better. Plus you can use them in a lot of Indian dishes
Butter chicken is my favourite. But not all restaurants get it right. I tried my hand at Butter Chicken once last year but was left disappointed. I came across this recipe and was I glad I did. It was perfect…approved by the fam and also noted that it tasted like it was from a restaurant. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us 🙂
★★★★★
Thank you so so much Giselle! So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Tried this recipe last night. The result was a delicious tasting Butter Chicken which curbed all my cravings! 😊
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Thank you so so much Palash! So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Made this with chick peas instead of chicken as I was making it on my veggie day, but it was still deliciously flavourful! Tasted and looked like authentic restaurant butter chicken sauce. Loved the thick creamyness of it as well. Def going to make it with seared chicken next!
★★★★★
Sounds fantastic! Thank you so much Subi. So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
My search for the perfect butter chicken recipe is over. Thanks Richa
★★★★★
So glad you liked this recipe!
Tried this out today and it was delicious!! My family is a fan 😍
★★★★★
Thank you so much for leaving a comment Shivangi! So glad your family liked it.
Tastes just like restaurant butter chicken!! And so easy!!!
★★★★★
Yaassss! So glad you liked it!
Hi…no onions used…..I want to make it today….and curious to know
tried this recipe many times its very good
Thank you sooo much Praveena!
Hi Richa! Fantastic recipe as usual!! Wanted to ask can we use Malai instead of cream ? Thanks
Sure thing, malai would work so well.
Just made it ! Outstanding and authentic taste .
Very nice recipe..my family loved it
★★★★★
Made this butter chicken recipe today. It turned great. Everyone loved it. Thank you for sharing this recipe
★★★★★
Thanks! So glad you liked it!
Just tried Butter chicken with your recipe …Taste was amazing.. everyone liked it..and finished with licking fingers.. Thank you very much for great recipe…
★★★★★
I’m so glad this one was a hit! Thanks for your feedback
One of the best recipes ever !!!
Sooo creamy.. Would prefer boneless Chicken instead..
Perfectly sumptuous.
Satisfying taste.. Loved it.. 🙂 jus give a shot 😀 …
★★★★★
Sooo glad you liked it! And you can always swap bone-in chicken for boneless if that’s what you prefer
This is another classic version of a butter chicken recipe I’ve ever tried or tasted. Everyone loves it! I feel like a pro when people eat it and compliment me on how amazing it tastes. Thank you, Richa. This is just like you order one at the restaurant (even better I must say) You just make everything so easy for us ❤️ Fan for life.
★★★★★
You are too sweet! Thanks Priyanka!
Love lovevlove this recipe! Came to my rescue on rainy evening when home folks wanted something nice and i didnt want to spend too long in the kitchen. Thanks a ton!
★★★★★
So glad you liked it Sandhya!! Thanks for leaving a comment here.
I’ve made this several times and loved the outcome every single one of those times. I just have a couple of queries. Your separate make-ahead makhani gravy recipe is slightly different in that-
1. It has poppy seeds – any reason for why this isn’t included here? Is butter chicken better off without the poppy seeds?
2. This recipe says to fish out the cinnamon before blending and there, it says all whole spices. Does this make any difference?
P.S. My sincerest apologies if these questions are silly!
★★★★★
Hey James, these questions are not silly at all. The fact is poppy seeds are a great addition, but I was trying to reduce the number of ingredients in this recipe to simplify it further and after testing it with and without poppy seeds, I realised that in this particular case (probably because there is chicken) I couldn’t taste the difference. About the cinnamon, thats a typing error. I’ll update the recipe – thanks for pointing that out. And I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Loved it!
★★★★★
Thanks Saima!
Awesome Awesome Awesome…Fingerlicking good. Yummy butterchicken..My husband loved it. Thankyou.
BETTER THAN RESTAURANT FOOD.
★★★★★
Yaaay! So so glad Merrin!
Amazing recipe! You’re recipe is a hit in my family!!
Tried butter chicken for the first time and so glad I did. Turned out really well. Thank you!
Glad you liked it Fanzan!
I tried this recipe last weekend & by far this is the best homemade butter chicken recipe I have ever tried. Though I I would suggest you to strain the gravy after blending,it definitely makes a huge difference as you get an extremely smooth & creamy gravy. The colour & taste of the gravy was just perfect. Thanks a ton for sharing this awesome recipe. Oh btw authentic butter chicken is available at dhaba restaurant in Bangalore & this is very close to that one in colour & taste!!
Thank you so much Sarah! The straining tip definitely helps, but we prefer not to. With a good blender, you’ll realise that its a step you can skip.
Amazing recipe. really yummy. My husband loved it.
Thanks for simple and sumptuous recipe.
Thanks Neha!
Hey.. This recipe worked super awesome for me.. Damn easy and yummmy. I have become your fan.👌
Thanks so much Neha!
I followed this recipie religiously and I am not sure what I did wrong but it was not nice 🙁 and the texture didn’t turn out smooth even though I blended it for ages, it was like a thick baby food, I was so excited for this as well 😩 please help me find where I went so wrong!
Hey Emily. I’m so sorry this didn’t work well for you. It really depends on your blender mostly, but since the tomato gravy is already cooked – any blender should be able to handle it. Sometimes if the gravy is too thick, adding a splash or two of water helps loosen it up. Next time you try it, can you please try adding a little water while blending? You can start with a few tablespoons and then add more if you need it.
Hi, is there a substitute for the ketchup as I don’t like it.
You can skip it and add half a teaspoon of sugar to the curry
Holy crap, I have made this twice this week. This recipe is incredible. So simple but amazing. I had to skip the kasuri methi because I couldn’t find it anywhere but still awesome without it.
Thank you thank you thank you!!!!!
Sooooo HAPPY you liked it! Thank you! Kasuri methi is basically dried fenugreek leaves and it adds an amazing flavour. You can order it on amazon.
Hi Richa..in case we use paneer, should we marinate the paneer cubes the same way as the chicken?
No theres no need to marinate the paneer cubes.
Tried the recipe . Yummmy really turned out well. Thanks
Thank YOU! So glad you liked it!
This looks delicious,! Are the cashews added whole/chopped or ground pls.
Either way works. I just add them whole, because they are anyway cooked and then blended.
It’s a fabulous recipe.thanks a lot for sharing.
Glad you liked it!
delicious butter chicken recipe…I feel this is the best and exact butter chicken recipe I have come across so far and I can’t wait to make it as your pics make me drool here…Lovely and awesome…thanks for this perfect murgh makhani
Thank you! So glad you liked it
Hi is that the dried red chilies?
Yes that’s dried red chilies.
How did you make that extremely flaky-delicious looking paratha?
Haha I make a killer lachha paratha. I guess I’ll post a recipe soon 🙂
I tried this last week and came out so delicious! The sauce is too die for! I am going to make it again with paneer this time.
I’m so happy you liked it Rupina! It’ll be fantastic with paneer too 🙂
I hope you try it out Pete 🙂
Thank you for the quick reply!
Hey Pete! No cumin in this one. It’s buttery, slightly richer recipe and a little different from chicken tikka masala.
Hi! Is there supposed to be any cumin the recipe? I noticed your “no-oil” version has 1 Tbsp in the marinade. Thanks!
Everyone I know who is from north india has complained about north indian food in Bangalore. I am surprised no one has seen the gap and taken the opportunity to fix it or maybe there are just not enough places. This butter chicken looks so good and I agree Kasoori methi can not be skipped!
I tried this at home this weekend and it turned out FANTASTIC!! I had been craving butter chicken for 5 years…the last time i had it was in college in the US. Thank you!!
Hi Richa
I like the part which says But like everything else on this blog, this is a cheats version . Lets have some more cheats
Thank you Indu and gpilneeraj 🙂
mmmm, looks so creamy and delicious!
yummy