Description
Butter chicken is basically a North Indian dish, popular type of chicken curry sauce, which is seen in almost all Indian restaurant menus. Chicken cooked in creamy rich sauce made with cashews, almonds, tomatoes and butter, also known as Chicken Makhani.| Ingredients-1 | |
|---|---|
| 3 nos | Chicken breast (boneless |
| 3 tbsp | Yogurt / curd (preferably thick) |
| ½ tsp | Ginger garlic paste |
| 2 tbsp | Lemon juice |
| 3 pinch | Turmeric powder |
| ½ tsp | Red chilli powder |
| ½ tsp | Coriander /dhania powder |
| ¼ tsp | Garam masala powder |
| ½ tsp | Salt |
| 3 pinch | Orange red food colour |
| Ingredients-2 | |
|---|---|
| 8 nos | Cashews |
| 5 nos | Almonds |
| 1 cup | Half & half milk |
| Ingredients-3 | |
|---|---|
| 2 nos | Onions (finely chopped) |
| 5 nos | Tomatoes (ripe and juicy) |
| 1 tsp | Ginger garlic paste |
| 2 nos | Green chillies |
| 3 tbsp | Kasturi methi |
| 1 no | Bay leaf |
| 4 nos | Cloves |
| 3 nos | Cardamon |
| 2 nos | Cinnamon stick (small) |
| ¼ tsp | Fenugreek seeds |
| ½ tsp | Cumin seeds |
| ¼ tsp | Turmeric powder |
| 1 tsp | Red chilli powder |
| 2 tsp | Coriander /dhania powder |
| 3 tbsp | Butter |
| 3 tbsp | Honey |
| 1 tsp | Salt |
| 3 stks | Coriander leaves (for garnishing) |
| 2 tsp | Oil |
| 4 pinch | Orange red food colour |
| Ingredients-4 | |
|---|---|
| 1 no | Baking tray |
| 5 nos | Bamboo skewers |
Instructions
Wash and cut chicken into bite size cubes. Marinate chicken pieces with yogurt, lemon juice, ginger garlic paste, turmeric, red chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala, orange red food color and salt. At least 3 to 4 hours marination is a must, overnight marination and refrigeration would be perfect for this recipe. Thread them onto bamboo skewers and place them on an oven proof tray. Preheat oven to 400 F and bake chicken for 30 minutes. Blanch the almonds and then soak them together with cashews in half & half milk. Blend them to form a thick liquid and keep aside.
Meanwhile lets work on the gravy. Heat butter and oil in a pan and toast the cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, bay leaves, cloves, cardamon and cinnamon. Fry onions, green chillies and kasturi methi till they turn dark brown and then add ginger garlic paste and fry for a while. Add blanched tomatoes or canned whole tomatoes (5 to 6 nos) and cook till they turn soft and mushy. Now add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and coriander powder, cover and cook the gravy until the oil separates. Check on the chicken, when it looks dark and lightly crispy on the outside, remove them from skewers and add to the gravy. Add the half and half milk, ground cashew almond, honey and orange red food colour. Mix well to combine. Cover again and cook for another 5 minutes on low flame. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with Naan.
Notes
Half & half milk —- this is a combination of 1/2 milk and 1/2 cream, suits well for the recipe rather than using heavy whipping cream. Fresh cream can also be used if available.
Blanching Almonds — Soak almonds in hot boiling water for a couple of minutes and rinse them in cold water, this would loosen the outer layer, just rub to slip the skin off.
Blanching tomatoes—– Wash and drop tomatoes in boiling water for a minute then drop them in ice water, the skin will peel right off.
Canned whole tomatoes are used in this recipe.
Kasturi Methi—- Dry fenugreek leaves.
Yield: Serves 4 adults. (approx)
58 Comments
Hi Mullai,
I tried this recipe on Sunday itself, but forgot to post comment. It was awesome, same taste as restaurant. Thank you so much for such good recipes….
Mullai Can I use , Kashmiri Red Chilli powder Instead? Will it yield the same result? Let me know
Kashmiri chilli powder is ok, this one looks colouful but not spicy enough, so adjust the level with some green chilies.
good one, prepared this dish with “Chicken Substitute” from Morning Star – Chickin Strips and it was just too good. Thanks for the detailed recipe.
hi if day say 2 onions,r day small, meduim or large
Dear Mullai
I have only a microwave at home, is it possible to bake chicken in that ? If not…pls suggest an alternate way.
Thanks,
Gowri
I tried this recipe last week with Mutton moghlai and Mattar Paneer — It Was tooooooooooooooooooooooo good…….i had some guests, every body enjoyed.
hi i will try this recipe thank u
regards,
k4sify
Hi Mullai, i tried your recipe and it came out very well. My husband like it very much. Keep it up and bring more tasty reicpes.
Regards Anju
Hi mullai i tried this recipe it came out very well. same like restarant taste thanks a lot.I saw somany food site but u r site is outstanding from other site. keep it up mullai thank u.
Hi Dear! Thanks for ur recipe.It was so awsome.My hubby did appreciate me.Thanks a lot. Nisha
Nisha, I see you blushing!! thanks for your feedback.
Hi Mullai,
I am making butter chicken for the first time. Can you please tell me how many people will this serve, so that I can adjust the chicken quantity to my requirement.
Hey Mullai…..The dish was really awesome….
Hello Mullai,
Could you or any of the members please explain something for me.
In the above recipe, the word ‘nos’ is used often in the ingredient list…would someone please tell me what the word ‘nos’ means?
Thanks so much,
Barbara
Hi Barbara,
‘nos’ means numbers
Hi abi,
Thank you so much for your kind response.
I've seen many recipes with the word 'no' or 'nos' in the ingredient list and because I'm used to seeing it written as "1 onion, sliced" , I thought it might mean the "size" as in small, medium or large …however, that synopsis didn't fit in all occasions, which left me baffled as to it's true meaning.
I found this site quite by accident just a few days ago and finally managed to register successfully last night. I'm delighted to be a member and look forward to many happy hours perusing the recipes and reviews of others.
Thank you again abi and thank you too Mullai, for a wonderful site.
Barbara
am sure this tastes as yum as it looks! wat i was thinkin was that u can also completely puree the tomatoes and the onions .. that wud give it a more creamy texture dont u think.
Mullai,
I had tried this last weekend for some guest dinner. No douby why its the best. I followed the same procedure , only couldn’t get Kasthuri Methi in time , But everything was same . It was SO SO SO SO Excellent. It was a rich dish. I had made this and Navaratna Kurma for Chappathi. Kids loved it.
Thanks
Jaya Lakshmi
This dish is really sim ple and easy…thankyou!!!!
can u state the amount of chicken in lbs. I do not know what size.
also i put in 2 medium size onions. it looked like a lot.
please reply
David,
Each chicken breast fillet should weigh about 4 oz or 112 grams. So use 3/4 pounds or 1/2 pound of meat is fine too.
yest i made butter chicken for some guests at my home.it cameout….huh!.. searching for words to put it here…..it was superbbbbbbbbb!thanks.
hi mullai,
All ur recepies R excellent and awesome. Thanks a lot.
Pls let me know where i get Bamboo skewers in US. u mentioned half
& half milk.. is it 2% reduced milk. can we serve this gravy for plain rice or briyini.
Thanks
Deepa
Deepa,
You get bamboo skewers in all American grocery stores, check the grilling aisle, they usually hang them over the sides of the aisles. 2% milk is different from Half and half. This is half cream and milk, would give rich gravy. You can also use regular 2%, but consistency will look very thin.
cant you use yoghurt instead of the cream or milk.?
hi mullai,
tried ur receipe for 1st time. it turned out so yummy. i changed the quantity according to the amount of chicken. it was very good receipe. i am so happy that i am able to make this dish as resturant style. thanks and keep up ur good job… take care
I’ve a couple of questions Mrs.Mullai. Can I use ghee instead of butter? Not only for this dish, even generally??? If NO, what difference does it make? The next question is when I use the skewrs in the oven, should I be keeping the skewer on a tray directly or on the wirerack which is placed over a tray? Thanks.
Dear Kirthika, Ghee would an execellant choice tastewise for any curry or saucy preparations. Butter would be a good choice for baking biscuits and breads. Coming to difference…. Ghee is one step more than clarified butter. Clarifiying is the process of breaking down the milk solids and water from butter, which follows in few minutes after you melt the butter and boil. This is not ghee but one good substitute (this is what happens in this recipe). When the milk solids carmalizes to golden, you get to see the 100% pure ghee, which is one step above clarified butter. Coming to your second question, the right process is to place the skewers on a wirerack placed over a tray. But unfortunately I don't have a wire rack and ended up, placing them directly over the tray. Ofcourse, chicken might release water, which needs to be drained after the first 10 minutes. Hope I've made everything clear.
Thanks,
Mullai.
hai mullai,
i have one doubt …..i never used whipping cream.
can you suggest which one(brand) i have to buy for this recipe..
Lakshmi,
This recipe does not include any whipping cream, I've used half & half milk. Any brand is fine and you can also try with heavy cream too.
hi,
I m a person who like to cook variety dishes. I have a collection of recepies. This is the first time im visiting ur site. Its amazing dear. I think im very late to see this site. I like paneer, Chicken, Veg very much. I want to know can i make biscuit in the Microwave? i have black & Decker covection microwave oven. Pls send some recepies which i can try.
thakink u.
I heard that we can use microwave to roast with aluminum foil… Can we…
Manoo,
You cannot use aluminum foil in a microwave. Moreover for this recipe, using a microwave is not a good idea, sure to spoil the dish. Do it over the stove or convection oven.
Still I wanted to check with you. Thank god. Didnt blow up the hse. Btw, We have an oven in our new place. I have not tried anything on it. At home, I never cared to learn how to use it. Have to figure it out now without blowing up the house as its works in gas. The oven or whatever that is, is in the gas cooker. Let me try when I get break.
Hi Mullai,
I tried this dish two times,the first time I did not have any bamboo skewers and I did not bake the chicken instead just cooked it along with the gravy.It tasted good.But today I made it exactly the way you have posted ,using bamboo skewers and baked the chicken in the oven.Wow amazing difference!!!The taste is great!Thanks a ton.To enjoy the actual taste of this recipe I feel its really necessary to follow every step you posted without skipping any over convenience or availability.Thanks a lot for posting such a wonderful recipe.
Dear Ramya,
Good to hear that you have figured the right way. Great feedback, not that I'm being proud or anything, but its neccessary to follow certain important steps to get the special taste that you are looking for. Moreover I'm sharing recipes which I'm familiar with and if you follow them exactly as posted, it would be easy for me to answer or fix when there's a problem. Thanks again.
Hi Mullai Madam,
I tried this recipe when i invited my husbands friends to home for lunch. it came very well. it was very rich dish during the lunch. everyone liked it so much, they all appreciated me including my husband. THANK YOU SO MUCH. the recipe was simple , easy @ clear to understand. Expecting Ginger Chicken Soon from u.Thanks. Bye.
Hi Mullai, Your site is excellent, especially for beginners like me.I tried this recipe,it turned out great.Thanks a lot. RamyaKalyan
hai mullai recipe looks good. i want to know how to make without using oven to get same taste. please suggest.
I tried this recipe couple of months ago. It came out really well. Thank you for the recipe. The dish was exactly the way we eat in Restaurants.
Hi mam,
I also wanted to ask you abt baking. Coz I have seen someone asking wat to do if she doesnt have a microwave oven. So thought you have used microwave. like toasting chicken in aluminum foil.
Manoo,
Conventional or toaster oven works for this recipe. If you don't have one, just brown the chicken on a regular iron skillet with little oil and add it to the gravy, taste may differ though.
May I know which one you have used to bake chicken. Oven or Microwave oven. Thank you
You cannot bake chicken using Microwave, I have used regular oven, any table top toaster oven works fine too.
Hi Mullai
i tried this recipe and it came out excellent (just as we had it in a restaurant) and even more tastier. the quantities were perfect. thank u for a very very delicious recipe.
i am looking for a Ginger Chicken recipe. Will u please post it Mullai. Thank u once again for a lovely recipe
binu
Hi Binu,
Thanks for trying, very glad it worked perfect. BTW Gingerrrrrr Chicken….. give me time to explore and when I succeed , you will see it here.
Hi,
Can you explain me if i do not have a microwavw how can i bake the chicke?
Rucha,
There are a couple of choices
1. Easiest of all, buy Tandoori chicken from any restaurant , scramble it and add it to the gravy.
2. Grill chicken at home using an electric grill. If you are lucky enough to have a classic Indian earthen charcoal grill, trying grilling it.
3. If nothing works directly add the chicken to the gravy, taste may differ though.
Hope this helps.
hai mullai keep it up. ur explainations to what needed are very clear and nice to make the dish. even though i m a male i love cooking in my leaisure time and i tried many on my own but with ur guide i prepared 110% fully enriched dishes. thank u
Hii,
I just happened to see this video on YouTube accidently and came to your site.
I must say you have wonderful recipes and so i decided to try your butter chicken recipe.
It was the best chicken dish i ever made…yummy!!! and now am a big fan of ur site.
Keep up the good work and a special thanks for adding the video…am going to try all your recipes now….
Thanks a lot
Molly.
Hai,Yesterday i tried this recipe.Its comes very well.Now i am fan of ur web site.Daily i am searching for new recipes in ur site.Thank u soooo much.
Hey there i m a newly wed and live with my inlaws
i cant cook if my life depended on it….and everyone has been waiting for me to cook something decent.
so i tried ur recipe for butter chicken and it turned out amazing
thank you so much!
i hate it when i find a recipe and it taste like crap
thanks for helping me impress my inlaws and my husband!
keep up the good work and keep the recipe’s coming
cant wait to try another recipe
melina
Hi, I tried this day before yesterday and I think this was the best chicken (not just butter) I ever cooked..It was simply delicious. My wife have also tried your other recipes too. Keep it up!.
Cheers,
Akhil
Hi Mullai
Yesterday i tried this recipe for chapathi.really so yummy! exactly like we get in restaurant.
Thank you so much.
Hi Flora, very glad to hear this.
I will be making this dish tomorrow and have kept chicken for overnight marination.
Will let you know how it came out~
Thanks so much for the wonderful recipe!
-Richa
thanks a lot for this excellent dish…. and special thanks for addin video…