History and Origins
Butter Chicken is not a dish our grandmothers made. In fact, it didn’t exist until the 1950’s, when Kundan Lal Gujral first created it at Moti Mahal restaurant in Delhi. (Others have claimed Butter Chicken’s invention, but I found Moti Mahal’s to be the most plausible.) Enter your email below and get it sent straight to your inbox. Plus, get recipes & tips every week!
History And Origins Recipe Testing + Butter Chicken Truths Butter Chicken vs Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients Step-by-Step Photos- Read For Tips! Butter Chicken Recipe Video Ratings
Murgh Makhani, as it was originally called, was born of necessity. Those days, without refrigeration, tandoori chicken would dry up in proximity to the hot tandoors. Kundan Lal thought to make use of it by serving it up in a butter gravy, not knowing his creation would one day become the poster dish of Indian cuisine. (Source) More Restaurant-Famous Chicken Dishes: Tandoori Chicken, Chicken Jalfrezi, Chicken 65, Chicken Biryani, Chicken Korma, and Chicken Karahi
Where it is Today
Short answer: Everywhere!
North Indian, Punjabi, and Pakistani Restaurants: Customer demand drives restaurant owners worldwide to feature it on their menu, which in turn continues to fuel its popularity. Usually, restaurants make it with a base gravy and/or makhani sauce, which they toss with chicken before topping it all with cream. Homes: Since Butter Chicken is an inherently industrialized, ‘restaurant-style’ dish, it’s a challenge to make a homemade one that tastes similar to restaurants. There is no homestyle, just-like-grandma’s Butter Chicken recipe to fall back on (grandma didn’t make it remember?). Premade masala seasonings, simmer sauces, and frozen meals are widespread. And the number of recipes, much like this one, continues to climb up.
Recipe Testing
And while this is ‘yet another Butter Chicken recipe’, it comes after much toil and deliberation. While recipe testing, two questions guided each of my decisions, and there were many, many decisions: “How can I make it simpler? and “How can I make it more restaurant-style?”. Here is what I learned about achieving a truly restaurant-style Butter Chicken at home:
Butter Chicken Truths
Other Butter Chicken recipes I’ve tried: Dishoom’s “Chicken Ruby”, Two Sleevers’ Viral Butter Chicken, Get Curried’s Youtube Recipe, and others.Books I’ve consulted: On the Butter Chicken Trail (Moti Mahal’s official cookbook), written by Kundan Lal’s grandson Monish Gujral, Anita Jaisinghani’s Masala, Colleen Taylor Sen’s Feasts and Fasts: A History of Food in India, and others.
Butter Chicken vs Chicken Tikka Masala
Given restaurants’ priority on efficiency, most are likely using the same gravies and sauces for both. Here’s what I’ve concluded after speaking with several Houston restaurant owners and perusing various cookbooks, including Moti Mahal’s cookbook, which deems Chicken Tikka Masala a ‘derivative of Butter Chicken’.
Ingredients
Here are notes on some of the ingredients. Each of the ingredients and their quantities is intentional. If you have any questions about the ingredients or their substitutes, please free to ask in the comments.
For the Marinade
On using store-bought Tandoori Masala: My Instant Pot Butter Chicken recipe, which I published 6 years ago, requires a full 1-2 tbsp of store-bought Tandoori Masala for its marinade. Somewhere along the way, I developed an aversion to large quantities of some Tandoori Masala powders and found them quite noticeable in the final product. For this recipe, I tried marinating the chicken in 1 tbsp of store-bought Tandoori Masala and yet again, didn’t enjoy the flavor as much as I do the with the DIY blend I created for this recipe. I’d suggest using a small quantity to enhance the flavors (1/4-1/2 tsp) rather than using it entirely in place of the ground spices in the marinade.
Plain, whole-milk yogurt, preferably Greek: South Asian Kebab recipes often called for ‘hung’ or strained yogurt, essentially Greek yogurt. The thicker yogurt coats the meat better (not as runny) and has a stronger flavor. Using too much adds unnecessary tang to the sauce. Ground Spices aka a quick Tandoori Marinade: Mild Kashmiri chili powder or paprika for color, red chili powder or cayenne pepper, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, and garam masala. Lemon or lime juice: Tenderizes and balances out the spices with vibrant flavor. Garlic paste (optional): I have never seen a Butter Chicken marinade without garlic, but I kept it optional since there is plenty of garlic within the sauce. I don’t care to add garlic/ginger to my Chicken Biryani marinade either.
Chicken
Boneless Chicken: I’ve most often tested this recipe with chicken breast to ensure it stays tender. Feel free to use chicken thighs or tenders (the little strips of meat attached to the underside of the chicken breastbone). Quantity: You may increase chicken up to 600g without making changes to the marinade, save for an extra dash of salt.
For the Butter Chicken Masala
Whole peeled tomatoes: Canned whole tomatoes are my top choice for making butter chicken. They lend uniformity in flavor while keeping the sauce fresh and vibrant. Substitutes: Fresh Tomatoes: Use 3 ripe tomatoes (~300g). Boil for about 20 minutes, until they’re soft and the skin comes off easily. This helps mute the tart flavors and intensify the tomatoey flavors. Remove the skin, then purée and use as directed. Tomato purée: Not to be confused with tomato sauce or crushed tomato. Sub ⅔ cup (170g) store-bought tomato purée. Salted butter or ghee: For cooking the chicken and adding flavor while you’re at it. Onion: A small amount adds body to sauce. I use a food processor to chop the aromatics up. You’ll be needing it to purée the tomatoes and the masala, so I suggest putting it to use. Use the pulse function to chop the onion, but be careful not to blend or it’ll release water and become harder to brown. Ground Spices: Kashmiri chili powder or paprika (again, for color), cumin powder, coriander powder, and red chili powder or cayenne for heat. Tomato paste: Deepens the tomatoey flavors and adds color.
After Blending
Water: For thinning out the sauce. Sugar: Offsets the tart flavors and adds complexity to the sauce. The amount I’ve given may seem like a lot, but it only makes it subtly sweet. Feel free to adjust to taste, but I find you’ll need at least 4 tsp. Heavy whipping cream: Essential to give it that signature creamy mouthfeel, but too much will dilute the flavors. Substitutes: Half and half, lactose-free or dairy-free soy or coconut cream with varied results. Salted butter: A knob at the end to give it a rich finish. Dried fenugreek leaves (sukhi or Kasuri methi): An essential for authentic Butter Chicken. Available at Indo-Pak grocery stores or online, not at general grocery stores. If you can’t find it, omit and substitute with more cilantro. Crush the methi between the palms of your hands to help extract its flavor. Cilantro: I love a good helping of cilantro to create texture and add fresh, contrasting flavor.
How to make Butter Chicken – Read for Tips!
Marinate Chicken
Prepare Tomatoes
Blend these in a food processor or blender and set aside.
Cook Chicken
Type of pan: For ease, I recommend using a nonstick pan. The chicken sears better, and you don’t have to worry about the butter browning too much. That said, this recipe is designed to work just as well with a stainless steel pan – adding oil along with butter helps prevent the butter from browning too much. Note: If you’re using ghee, you don’t need the accompanying oil to sear the chicken. (Ghee has a higher smoke point so it won’t brown.)
Prepare Masala
Blend Masala
Simmer Together
Add Finishing Ingredients
What to Serve with Butter Chicken
Basmati rice and Naan (buttered or garlic) are the classic restaurant pairings. As you probably know, South Asians generally don’t make their own naan, but usually buy it frozen. Smoking the Chicken: For safety reasons, I’ve always hesitated to share instructions for smoking via the South Asian dhungar/charcoal method. So a little disclaimer – Ideally, you should get a chimney starter or ignite coal outdoors. But if you’re only burning one all-natural hardwood lump charcoal or briquette in a well-ventilated area, here’s how you’d do it: Tip – I’ve found that you’ll need to light the charcoal chunk, especially if using a briquette, for a longer than you think you need to. Not cooking it long enough will give a raw charcoal scent instead of the smoky scent that we want.
How to Store and Re-heat
Store in the fridge for 2-3 days. You can also freeze for up to 6 weeks. If making ahead, please don’t add the cream until right before serving. Ideally, reheat on the stovetop. Pour a splash of water and allow it to come to a simmer, then add the leftover butter chicken and cook on med-high heat until heated through. Microwaving is also perfectly acceptable here. Overall, I find the leftovers reheat well.
Did you try this Butter Chicken? If you have a minute, please consider leaving a comment telling me how it was! If you’re on Instagram, please tag me so I can see your creations. I truly love hearing from you. Thank you!
