Butter Chicken

A creamy, spicy and sweet curry with marinated chicken served with steamed rice.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Keyword butter chicken

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Total Time 35

Servings

Calories 551kcal

Author Emma Chapman

Ingredients

For the Chicken

1 pound chicken breasts
¼ teaspoon kashmiri chili powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garam masala
¼ teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon lemon juice
⅓ cup greek yogurt
1 tablespoon butter

For the curry

2 tablespoons butter
1 yellow onion
1 cinnamon stick
3 green cardamom pods
4 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons ginger
15 ounces tomato sauce one can
2 tablespoons tomato paste
⅛ teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon kashmiri chili powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated white sugar
2 teaspoons dried fenugreek leaves
½ cup heavy whipping cream
½ cup water
1 tablespoon cilantro
1 cup rice

Instructions

First marinate the chicken. Start by cutting the chicken into small, bite size pieces. Try to get all the pieces similar size so they will cook for the same amount of time.
Place in a mixing bowl and toss / stir with the kashmiri chili powder, salt, lemon juice, greek yogurt, garam masala and cumin. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
While the chicken marinates start the rice. I like to use a rice cooker.
Next make the gravy / curry. Finely chop the onions, mince the garlic, peel and mince the ginger.
In a large pot or dutch oven melt the butter. Cook the onions over medium / high heat for 3-4 minutes until very soft and brown.
Toss in the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods. Then add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute.
Reduce the heat to low and stir in the tomato sauce, tomato paste, kashmiri chili powder, garam masala, cumin, slat and sugar. Cover and allow to simmer while you cook the chicken.
Add the remaining butter to a large skillet and cook the chicken until it reaches 160°F internally (cooked through). If you don’t have a meat thermometer, I recommend it, but you can also cut open the largest/thickest piece to check it’s done. It should be white in color with no pink remaining.
Returning to the gravy / curry. Remove the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods. Add the dried fenugreek leaves.
Use an immersion blender (or you can pour into a blender and then return to the pot) puree the sauce.
Then stir in the cream and cooked chicken. I usually add 1/3 to 1/2 cup of water as well, as we like our sauce more on the thin side. But this is up to you.
Top with a chopped cilantro when serving.

Notes

I typically use boneless skinless chicken breasts in this recipe but other cuts of chicken can work just as well.
Kashmiri chili powder is worth seeking out and can be easily bought online. But, if you don’t have it you can substitute it for paprika and small amount of cayenne.
Green cardamom pods are not always easily found at the grocery stores I typically shop at, but they are easily found online. I LOVE the smell of these and will add a couple to the rice while it cooks. But, if you can’t find them you can simply omit them from this recipe.
Dried fenugreek leaves can easily be found online if you can’t find them in stores. If needed you can substitute celery leaves or simply omit them.

Nutrition