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Do you know that butter chicken is one of the two most searched Indian food globally in 2020? Butter chicken, also known as murgh makhani, is a curry stew dish made of chicken pieces cooked in a buttery, tomato, and spiced cream sauce. It originated in the Indian subcontinent as a curry. Even since I first had it more than a decade ago in my favourite Indian restaurant in Singapore, this has been my all time favourite comfort food, when I feel cold, when I feel down or simply when I feel like it. I can never get sick of eating this flavourful dish, and I especially love it some warm soft naans.
What is butter chicken sauce made of?
The ingredients used are quite heavy on the spices, which includes garam masala, curry powder, paprika, black pepper. The sauce is made of mainly tomato paste or puree, intensified by aromatics and spices, and its rich texture comes from adding milk or cream.
I love using boneless and skinless chicken thighs for its texture. Fresh ginger, garlic and turmeric are grated for their aromatics. You got to be really careful with the fresh turmeric, it leaves a stubborn stain on light coloured table top, cabinet laminate, chopping board and fabric :((. The authentic recipe does not have vegetables, except for the onion, herbs and tomato paste or puree used in the dish.
Can you use yogurt instead of cream in Curry?
The traditional recipe calls for cream or yoghurt. I find yoghurt a tad sourish for curries. I’ve also used cooking cream and substituted with coconut cream and I prefer coconut cream simply because it makes the curry taste better and smoother.
What does butter chicken taste like?
The name butter chicken seems to imply there should be a very strong butter component to the dish but no, butter is used to saute the onion and chicken, but the dish has a mildly sweet flavour and very creamy texture, it’s packed full of flavours from the use of aromatics and spices.
Creamy Butter Chicken Recipe
Detailed Step-by-Step Video
Ingredients
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled, about 2-inch ginger
- 1 tsp fresh garlic, peeled, about 2 garlic
- 1 tsp fresh turmeric, peeled, about 2-inch turmeric
- 600 g chicken thighs, boneless and skinless, breast meat is ok too
- ½ red onion , peeled, about medium sized, yellow onion will do too
- 4-5 tbsp tomato paste
- 300 ml coconut milk
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1.5 tbsp unsalted butter
- Salt, season to taste
Spice mix
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika powder
- 1 tbsp garam masala powder
- 1 tbsp curry powder
Instructions
- Cut 600 g chicken thighs into smaller chunks.
- Peel and dice 1/2 red onion .Peel and grate 1 tsp fresh ginger, 1 tsp fresh garlic, 1 tsp fresh turmeric. Take note turmeric will stain.
- Sear chicken over medium-high heat in a large pan, without oil. When it's almost 60-70% cooked, remove chicken and set aside.
- Heat up 1 tbsp cooking oil over medium heat. Add 1.5 tbsp unsalted butter, then add onions and sauté until caramelised.
- Add grated ginger, garlic, turmeric and cook for a while until it's aromatic, take care not to let it get burnt.
- Add seared chicken and all the spices (1 tbsp curry powder, 1 tbsp garam masala powder, 1 tsp paprika powder, 1/4 tsp black pepper) and mix well, take note not to let the spices get burnt.
- Add 4-5 tbsp tomato paste and mix well. If it's too dry, you can add a few tablespoon of water.
- Add 300 ml coconut milk and let it simmer over low heat.
- Season with Salt. Optional to garnish with parsley and drizzle some coconut milk.
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