Butter Chicken

Dinner | Indian

Prep time: 25 min Cook time: 40 min Servings: 4

Butter chicken is a dish I like to make at home at least once a year, mainly when I feel like something comforting. It's an obvious favourite at the local Indian restaurant so why not try it a home.

The marinade is a blend of yogurt, lemon and a mix of warm spices, and the longer the chicken sits in it, the better. I usually start it 3 hours before the cook, or the day before if I can, because that char on the grill after a long marinate is where the depth of flavour starts. The yogurt tenderises the meat and the spices penetrate all the way through. You taste the difference.

What makes my version a bit different is getting the cashews into the sauce early. They cook down with the tomatoes, soak up all the fat and spice, then get blended completely smooth. That step gives the sauce real body without needing to cook it down for hours. Finish with butter and cream, add the grilled chicken, and it all comes together quickly from there. The whole thing tastes like it took all day when it didn’t. The garnish matters too. Kasoori methi stirred through at the end is what finishes it and gives it that restaurant quality layer that you can’t quite put your finger on.

Ingredient Notes

Kashmiri chilli powder: This is the spice that gives butter chicken its signature deep red colour without too much heat. It’s mild and slightly smoky, and quite different from regular chilli powder or cayenne. I’d track it down at an Indian grocer if you can. If you can’t find it, a mix of sweet paprika with a small pinch of cayenne gets you close, but the colour won’t be quite the same. Don’t substitute standard chilli powder directly as most versions are much hotter.

Kasoori methi: Dried fenugreek leaves, and worth seeking out for this recipe. They have a distinctive savoury, slightly bitter flavour that finishes the dish in a way that’s hard to replicate with anything else. A small amount goes a long way. You’ll find them at Indian grocery stores, usually very cheaply.

Cashews: The cashews go into the sauce raw and cook down with the tomatoes before everything gets blended. This is what gives the sauce its body and natural creaminess, thickening it without relying entirely on the cream to do that work. Use raw, unsalted cashews. Roasted cashews will add an unwanted toasty flavour and salted ones will throw the seasoning off. Blanched almonds work as a substitute if needed, though the sauce will be slightly lighter in body.

Equipment

Chopping board
Chef’s knife
Grater or microplane
Large mixing bowl
Heavy-based saucepan
Blender
BBQ grill or oven grill
Tongs
Ladle

Ingredients

8 chicken thigh fillets, sliced
steamed Basmati rice and or naan to serve
kasoori methi and coriander leaves, for garnish
Marinade
1 thumb size piece fresh ginger, finely grated
6 cloves garlic, finely grated
1 tsp ground turmeric
1½ tsp ground cumin
1½ tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
1 tsp sea salt
juice of 1 lemon
120ml greek yoghurt
Sauce
2 tbs peanut oil
100g unsalted butter
1 red onion, finely diced
4 cardamom pods
2 dried bay leaves
3 whole cloves
½ tsp ground turmeric
1½ tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp kashmiri chilli powder
1½ tsp ground coriander
sea salt, to season
60g cashews
250ml (1 cup) water
400g can crushed tomatoes (or 6 fresh ripe tomatoes)
100ml thickened cream
1 - 2 tbsp caster sugar, to taste

Directions

Marinate the chicken
Mix the ginger and garlic together and set half aside for the sauce. Mix the other half with the turmeric, cumin, coriander, garam masala, chilli and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the lemon juice and yoghurt.
Mix chicken into the marinade with your hands. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours, up to overnight.
Cook the sauce
Heat half the butter and oil in a heavy based saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and reserved garlic and ginger paste. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes until the onion starts to soften.
Add the cardamom, cloves and bay leaves and stir through to infuse the butter. Then add the turmeric, cumin, garam masala, chilli powder and coriander. Season with salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.
Stir in the cashews, and cook until starting to toast. Pour in the water and deglaze the pan, then add the tomatoes. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat and cook at a simmer for 20 minutes (add a little more water if the sauce becomes too dry).
After simmering the sauce for about 10 minutes, start cooking the chicken.
After simmering for 20 minutes, remove the hard spices and discard, then transfer the sauce to a blender and puree until smooth and creamy.
Return the sauce to the saucepan over a low heat. Stir through the remaining butter and the cream. Season to taste with the caster sugar.
Grill chicken and add to sauce
Preheat a BBQ grill to high heat. Cook the chicken slices for 5-6 minutes, turning to char well on both sides.
Remove the chicken from the grill and add it to the finished sauce. Stir through over low heat for a few minutes, until heated hot.
Serve the butter chicken over steamed rice, garnished with coriander and kasoori methi with some fresh naan bread on the side.

Recipe notes

Chef Tips

Char the chicken on the grill

This is where most of the depth in butter chicken comes from. The marinade needs direct high heat to caramelise and develop that slightly smoky, charred edge. If the grill isn’t hot enough or you crowd it, the chicken steams instead of chars and you lose that layer of flavour. Preheat the grill properly before the chicken goes on, cook in batches if needed, and don’t move the pieces too soon. You want colour on both sides before the chicken goes into the sauce.

Blend the sauce until it is completely smooth

The cashews and tomatoes need real time in the blender. A quick blitz is not enough. Run it for at least two minutes until the sauce is completely silky with no texture from the cashews. If your blender isn’t powerful enough, pass the sauce through a fine sieve after blending. A smooth sauce coats the chicken properly and has a completely different feel in the mouth to one that’s been under-blended. Take the extra time here.

Storage

Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. The flavour actually improves overnight as the chicken absorbs more of the sauce. Reheat gently over low heat, adding a splash of water if the sauce has thickened too much. It also freezes well for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat slowly over low heat.

FAQs

Can I make this ahead of time? Yes, and I’d encourage it. The sauce can be made a day ahead and the chicken marinated overnight. Combine them when you’re ready to serve. The sauce reheats well and the chicken absorbs more flavour the longer it sits in it. This is genuinely one of those dishes that is better the next day.

Can I cook the chicken without a BBQ? Yes. Place the marinated chicken under a high grill or broiler for 8 to 10 minutes, turning once, until charred and just cooked through. A cast iron griddle pan on the stovetop over high heat also works well. You just need direct high heat and good contact to get the char that makes the dish.

Can I make this dairy-free? Yes. Swap the yogurt in the marinade for a plain coconut yogurt, and replace the butter and cream with coconut cream. The sauce will be slightly lighter but still works. The flavour profile will shift a little toward coconut so keep that in mind, but it’s a solid dairy-free version.

Is it gluten free? The recipe itself contains no gluten ingredients, but check your spice blends. Garam masala and some chilli powders occasionally contain anti-caking agents derived from wheat, so flip the packet and look for a certified gluten free label if you need to be strict about it. The same goes for the yoghurt in the marinade.