I love a good butter chicken and this version is my current favourite.
I originally featured a butter chicken recipe on this page back in 2014. It wasn’t until visiting the page recently that I realised how much it needed updating!
So here I have for you my updated butter chicken recipe.
This is a recipe I learned while travelling in India and it will feature in my next cookbook ‘The Curry Guy BBQ’. That is scheduled to be published in April 2022.
As you’ve found it here though, you can try my favourite butter chicken recipe now!
Truly the best butter chicken I have ever tried!
Why I cook this butter chicken on the barbecue?
You could of course cook this famous curry indoors but for me it’s all about that deliciously marinated and grilled chicken.
I like to cook butter chicken outside because I can grill the chicken at about the same time I cook the sauce. It just makes a lot of sense really.
Butter chicken is made with tandoori chicken on the bone and the leftover marinade becomes part of the sauce. This version is about as authentic as they come.
What is so different about this butter chicken?
I my cookbooks ‘The Curry Guy’ and ‘The Curry Guy Bible’ I featured a more commonly seen version of butter chicken.
This version goes back to the original, with the chicken marinated in mustard oil and a good amount of chaat masala.
If you haven’t tried butter chicken with these two key ingredients, it’s time to change that.
We’re talking curry heaven here!
Which cooking products?
You can use whatever you have. I use a Kadai Fire bowl with a tripod stand and karahi.
I always use top quality, restaurant grade charcoal from Big K Products. In this case I used briquettes but I also highly recommend their lump wood charcoal for this style of cooking.
I think of the fuel I use to cook as one of the ingredients. A good quality charcoal will enhance the flavour. Never use low quality charcoal that has been treated with lighting chemicals.
Yes, it makes it faster to light up your barbecue at times but your food won’t be nearly as good. Another tip is to use
Make this recipe your own…
You will see in the ingredients that I recommend either Kashmiri chilli powder or paprika.
This is a personal thing. I prefer a spicier curry so I use Kashmiri chilli powder in my butter chicken. You could make it less spicy with paprika or a combination of the two.
Some people prefer not to use mustard oil. I have given instructions how to use it but if you would prefer, you could substitute ghee.
Butter chicken is usually cooked with chicken on the bone for better flavour. This time around I was cooking for a few that liked their chicken off the bone so I prepare a bit of both.
Step by step preparation photos…
First marinade. Rub the ingredients into the chicken and set aside while you make the second marinade.
Whisk the remaining marinade ingredients together and rub this into the chicken. Allow to marinate for an hour or overnight for best results.
I recommend scraping as much of the marinade off as possible before grilling. The reserve marinade it great in the sauce.
It is best to weave the chicken onto the skewer rather than pushing the skewer straight through. Cook over direct heat until cooked through.
This is also a great way to make chicken tikka. No butter chicken sauce required!
The marinade for the chicken is one of my all time favourites.
So if you just want to serve some tandoori chicken on its own or wrap it into a naan or chapati, go for it.
You will love the flavour.
The tandoori chicken served without the butter chicken sauce.
With the chicken cooked, heat up your pan and add half of the butter and the oil.
Stir in the blended onions and fry for about 5 minutes.
Stri in the blended tomatoes and cashews. Bring to a simmer and then add the garlic and ginger paste.
Let this all come to a simmer and be sure to stir well.
Add the retained marinade, the ground spices and the kasoori methi. Then stir in the cooked tandoori chicken.
If you like a bit of cream, go ahead and add it now with the remaining butter. This is butter chicken after all!
Season with salt to taste and serve.
Dig in!
If you like this butter chicken, you might like to try some of these Indian curry favourites too…
Chicken biryani
Chicken Karahi
Katsu Chicken Curry
Chicken Lababdar
Simple staff chicken curry
Butter Chicken Made Easy
Ingredients
- 1 x 2k (4 lb.) chicken, skinned, cut into small pieces and scored
- FOR THE TANDOORI CHICKEN
- Juice of one large lemon
- 2 level tsp salt
- 2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
- ¾ cup mustard oil, heated to smoking point and then cooled to room temperature
- ¾ cup plain Greek Yogurt, whisked until smooth
- 1 ½ Tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 generous tsp chaat masala
- FOR THE SAUCE
- 2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil
- 100g butter
- 2 large red onions, blended with a little water until smooth
- 800g tinned chopped tomatoes, blended until smooth
- 20 raw cashews, blended with the tomatoes
- The retained marinade from the chicken
- 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder or paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ¾ cup double cream, whisked
- 1 tbsp kasoori methi
- Salt to taste
- ½ tsp garam masala
Instructions
- Place the chicken in a large mixing bowl and add the lemon
juice, salt and garlic and ginger paste. Set aside while you prepare the
remaining marinade. Whisk the mustard oil, yoghurt and ground spices together until smooth. The yoghurt might look like it has curdled a bit but it will all be fine in the end. - Pour over the chicken. Mix well with one hand to ensure the
chicken is nicely coated and allow to marinate for one hour or overnight. The longer the better. - When ready to cook, prepare your barbecue for direct heat cooking and rub as much marinade off the chicken as you can, retaining the marinade for the sauce.
- Skewer the chicken onto metal skewers. You could also cook the chicken on a lightly greased cooking grate. When your coals are white hot and it is uncomfortably hot to hold your hand at cooking level for more than two seconds, you’re ready to get cooking.
- Place your chicken skewers over the fire and cook
until nicely charred on the underside. This should take about five minutes. Rotate the skewers to cook the other side, again for about 5 minutes. - If serving the chicken without the sauce, you should baste it with melted ghee and continue cooking until cooked through. Transfer to a plate to serve or rest while you make the butter sauce.
- Place a karahi or large pan on the grate over the hottest part of the fire. Add the oil and half of the butter and bring to a sizzle. Then pour in the blended onions and fry for about 6 or 7 minutes, stirring regularly.
- With the onions fried, stir in the garlic and ginger paste along with the chilli powder or paprika, cumin and ground coriander and fry for a further 30 seconds.
- Add the blended tomatoes and cashews and stir well to combine and then add the cooked chicken and reserved marinade and remaining butter. Bring to a simmer and stir in the cream. To finish add the kasoori methi by rubbing it between your fingers. Season with salt to taste and sprinkle with the garam masala.
The free range chicken used in this recipe was supplied by my friends at Swaledale Butchers. They offer an amazing service with a huge selection of top quality meats that can be delivered right to your door.
Thank you so much for this recipe! As an American I have struggled to find good Indian cuisine recipes that are easy to follow and taste like the great food I get in restaurants. I have tried several different recipes for things like butter chicken and have been dissatisfied. This one works amazing and the finished product taste as good if not better than my favorite restaurant’s. I used chicken breasts, fennel in lieu of anise, and canned whole plum tomatoes. I also took all of the seeds out of the tomatoes because I have found this to be an important step in any recipe because the seeds are very bitter. I also blended the curry sauce in a blender just prior to adding the chicken. Next time I will use the curry leaves and anise in the recipe, I just didn’t have any on hand this time. I cannot wait to try your other recipes on this sight! Cheers!
Hi Dan,
Could I use yogurt instead of cream?
Thank you! Excited to try this out.
Lisa.
Sure you can Lisa. A lot better for your too. Just add the yogurt one tablespoon at a time though while stirring or it will curdle.
Dan
making this tomorrow i have the meat marinating now , i can’t wait. i made the complete madras curry i found on this page it was mind blowing
Thank you Tania
I hope you loved the recipe. It’s one of my favourites.
Dan
Dear Dan, I’m very excited about trying this recipe. I’m curious though= in the video you add the turmeric in with the chicken when you’re cooking it. The instructions say to do a separate pan with butter and turmeric, which way is better?
Hi Amalie
Both work well but the second way is better. That’s the written version.
Thanks
Dan
Hello Dan,
so excited when i saw this recipe cant wait to try it! just wondering the chicken thighs u use are they with or without bones? Thanks for answering
Hi Liz
Here in the UK, the meat is usually served off the bone. I cook it like that often especially when cooking for my kids who don’t like the bone. Cook it with the bone in and you will get a better flavour. That’s what I prefer.
Dan
Hello Dan,
Thanks for the reply! i also prefer with bone in as just that give the food more flavors. Will try this recipe next week and let u how i do.:) thx again for replying!
Thanks Liz.
Your book “How to make brittish indian restaurant style meals” still stands up as the best cookbook i’ve ever seen. Found it as a blog post back in 2008 i think and after losing my favourite saag recipe for years i finally found it on amazon. Really appreciate you’re work. This recipe is great too which comes as little surprise.
Hi Nick
Thank you very much for that. Really appreciated and I’m glad you like my recipes. I’ll keep them coming.
Cheers,
Dan
Hi Dan i have made a few of your recipes and was dying to try the Buttered chicken as all have turned out great but i think i went wrong somewhere as it seems to be very wet .. to much liquid and i haven’t even added the cream or butter yet . Will it be ok to simmer and reduce it down or will the flavors get to intense ?
Hi William
Yes, definitely reduce down until you are happy with the consistency. If your chicken is over cooking, remove it and simmer until it is right. Then add it back to the pan. You’ll get there!
Thanks,
Dan
Hi Dan
Can I use the base sauce for the butter chicken recipe?
Thanks
This recipe doesn’t call for it but there is absolutely no reason why you can’t use it. Frying the onions and tomatoes and then adding the water makes a sauce. The base sauce is just a smoother version of that.
Thanks,
Dan
How much of the recipe do I not need to do if I use the base sauce in the butter chicken?
Hi Madeline
There really aren’t any rules. You could make the whole recipe and then add some base sauce too. You could also leave out the frying of the onions and tomato and just use base sauce. Experiment a bit. You really can’t go wrong.
Thanks,
Dan
Hlp if you csn but my annoying family dont like seeds or whole spices in their cirry what do i do painstakingly fish them out of the sauce before
e serving or can i grind the spices and fry thrm onstead of frying whole spices? I despair.
Hi Sabrina
I do the same for my family. You can definitely grind the spices before adding them. It will be a different curry but still good. Hope this helps.
Dan
I made this for dinner tonight, and it was delicious and oh so easy! Next time I shall make a true trip to an ethnic store to pick up all of the lovely ingredients I was missing. Thank you so much for this recipe that left room for interpretation and also pleased the taste buds! Your recipe book will need to grace my shelves soon.
Hi Noelle
Thank you very much. I’m really happy ou liked the recipes. Much appreciated.
Dan
Hi
Thank you so much for all your hard work! During these globally challenging times I decided finally that now is the time to make at home my favorite cuisine, Indian food. Your recipes have been so fantastic and I love tinkering with the herbs as I want them. I have made several recipes of yours so far and they are all great! Tonight I made the Sri Lanka pork curry and reduced the sauce for a n extra long time as I did with your lamb preparation for Vindaloo and others and the outcome was sublime. You are awesome , thank you for adding to our home. I am getting the opportunity to now cook for my wife and she is so happy with the results. You rock!
Hi Dan
Thank you very much for your lovely e-mail. I am really glad you are enjoying my recipes so much and that your wife is too!
Dan
Excellent recipe! Finally my cooking tastes like the real thing.
Great to hear, thanks very much.
Dan
Could this recipe be made with chicken breast instead? I know thighs have better flavour but I just don’t like them!!
Also, is this recipe in one of your cook books?
Thanks 🙂
Hi
Yes you can certainly use chicken breast instead. This recipe is in my red @ Curry Guy ‘ book and also The Curry Guy Bible
Thanks
Dan
Can I turn the masala recipe from your easy curry cookbook into butted chicken easily?
Yes – you should be able to do that if you mix the 2 recipes up a bit, just have a play with the recipes.
Thanks
Dan
Great stuff. Thanks
I’m confused -after reading through the comments -it is mentioned that anise and curry leaves are ingredients -but they are not listed -can you please clarify
Thank you for your comment, they are added at any point to add flavour but I will change the recipe so it is clear when to add them.
Dan