Finger Lickin’ Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)
Delicious restaurant-style butter chicken made right at home with simple ingredients. This recipe is exactly how they make butter chicken in restaurants – and I’ve had people tell me it’s actually better! Trust me when I say it’s finger-lickin’ good!
Finger-Lickin’ butter chicken! That’s a little too much fun to say.
Sharing one of my all time favorite Indian food recipes today.
Last week I had this intense craving for creamy and spicy homemade butter chicken. I mean, it was so crazy that I could practically taste the butter chicken in my mouth as I thought about it. My heart started racing, my hands started shaking — okay, it wasn’t quite that dramatic; but you get the idea. I dug down deep into the LSJ files (this is actually one of the first recipes I ever posted on the blog!) It was time to retake some of the pictures and reintroduce you to my finger-lickin’ butter chicken recipe.
Not only am I replacing some of my old (read: not so great) photography. But I also reworked the recipe to make the ingredient list a little shorter without compromising any of the flavors. I also took the liberty of making the instructions easier to follow I am sharing my tried and true tips on how you can get this on the table even quicker on weeknights!
I can’t say I take all the credit for this recipe. This recipe comes from my mom, who got it from her sister, who once upon a time worked at a very popular Indian restaurant. So there. It’s authentic, restaurant-style butter chicken, for reals. <– I just took the liberty of tweaking a few things to make this recipe attainable for us everyday people. I promise you all tweaks are simple and don’t compromise the flavor!
Trust me when I say this, I took my job very seriously and strive to provide you with the best restaurant-style butter chicken you’ve ever had!
Recipe Video – How to Make This in 63 Seconds:
So about that BUTTER chicken. Ironically enough my recipe doesn’t contain that much butter. Butter chicken is also called ‘Murgh Makani’ and when translated to English, it means Butter Chicken. And in fact, the butter in this recipe is actually clarified butter or ghee.
Nowadays, ghee is readily available in most mainstream grocery stores. You can definitely find it at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. And if you live in an area where your supermarket doesn’t stock it, you can always purchase it online here.
Ingredients for Homemade Butter Chicken:
- Chicken: Feel free to use boneless skinless chicken breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs for this recipe. I typically cut the chicken into 1½ inch pieces and then toss it in a marinade made with yogurt and spices.
- Seasonings: Butter chicken calls for an array of spices. To help curb the ingredient list, I use a sachet of tandoori masala. It’s usually available in powder/paste form in the international aisle. The one I use and LOVE can be found here. This helps cut down on the number of spices you’ll need. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll still need a little garam masala, cumin powder, coriander powder, and some red chili powder. You can also swap the red chili powder for cayenne but the flavor will be slightly different. I also find cayenne pepper to be hotter so I would suggest using slightly less than what’s called for. But you won’t need ground turmeric and a few others as the tandoori masala already contains these. Garam masala is South Asian spice mix that contains ingredients like cloves, black pepper, black cardamom, cinnamon, green cardamom, and several other spices.
- Fenugreek Leaves: In Urdu and Hindi fenugreek leaves are called kasuri methi. This is an ingredient you can easily find in almost any South Asian grocery store as it is used in many dishes. If your mainstream grocery store has an international aisle, they may carry it there as well.
- Fresh Ginger and Garlic: A lot of traditional Pakistani and Indian recipe call for freshly prepared ginger and garlic paste. Essentially, it’s just a combination of peeled knobs of ginger and a handful of cloves garlic broken down in a food processor with a little vinegar to help keep these ingredients fresh and some water. Some people also add a little oil for preservation, but this is optional. Nowadays, most South Asian grocery stores (as well as mainstream stores) sell prepared garlic and ginger paste. Feel free to make your own or purchase it for this recipe.
- Oil: You’ll need some oil to saute the onions and cook the butter chicken recipe. Feel free to use avocado oil, canola or even coconut oil for this.
- Yogurt: I like to use plain yogurt for this recipe. My mom has always taught me to beat the yogurt with the seasonings before adding the chicken pieces to ensure that the flavor disperses evenly throughout the chicken pieces.
- Ghee: We’ll use ghee (also called clarified butter) to prepare the butter chicken sauce for this recipe.
- Crushed Tomatoes: I use a can of crushed tomatoes for my butter chicken recipe. We’ll saute the onions season them with lots of spices and cook them with the tomatoes. The tomato puree will then be the base of the butter chicken sauce.
- Onions: You’ll need a large yellow onion that is sliced down the middle, peeled and then cut into thin slices. Like most south Asian recipes, this one too starts with sauteing the onions in a little ghee until they’re soft. A lot of recipes call for golden brown onions which add add sweetness to the dish when the onions are caramelized. My butter chicken recipe doesn’t take the onions that far. You want the onions to soften and turn translucent, but not brown.
- Heavy Cream: My family has always used heavy cream or heavy whipping cream for our homemade butter chicken recipe. If you are dairy-free full-fat coconut milk would make a good substitution as this is what many of my readers have mentioned using.
- Prepared Rice or Naan Bread: You’ll want to serve this up with my restaurant-style fluffy basmati rice or homemade naan. I’ve got a couple of different naan recipes that I’ve shared. You can make my high protein2-ingredient flatbread or my traditional naan recipe for this. I’ll even rub it down with a little garlic butter and garnish with chopped cilantro. Trust me, these naans are fantastic!
How to make the best butter chicken recipe
- Marinate the chicken for maximum flavor. Whisk the ginger garlic paste, yogurt, and seasoning together until the yogurt is smooth. Add the chicken piece and let this hang out. The longer you marinate the more flavorful the chicken. Ideally, you want to let it go for 12-24 hours, covered in the refrigerator, but even 20-60 minutes will do. The yogurt, ginger, and garlic really help make the chicken more tender. As always, I’m a fan of white-meat chicken, so I used boneless skinless chicken breasts, but you could go the dark meat route and use chicken thighs as well. Some may even tell you it’s more flavorful that way. I’m not one of those people!
- Make the butter chicken curry. To a Dutch oven or any heavy bottom pan, add the ghee and saute the onions over medium high heat until they are soft and translucent. Add the ginger and garlic paste and give it a few seconds to bloom in the oil. Add the seasonings – chili powder, cumin, and coriander and let the spices cook in the oil. Stir often to keep them from sticking and burning. If you find the spices are cooking too quickly, you can add a splash of water or even chicken broth if you’d like. Blend the sauce in a traditional blender or use an immersion blender to make this quick and easy.
- Make ahead option. At this point, you can refrigerate the butter chicken sauce once it’s cooled down in an airtight container. You can also add it to a freezer-safe container or zippable bag and freeze it. This makes weekday dinner so much quicker to get out on the table. Marinate the chicken on Sunday and pull it together in about 20 minutes on a Monday. That’s faster than ordering take-out and trust me, it tastes better too!
- Finish it up. Remove the marinated chicken from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking. This is so that the yogurt has a chance to come to room temperature. I find that if you add it cold from the fridge the temperature difference sometimes causes the yogurt to curdle. To another clean pot or if you used a traditional blender, to the same pot add the remaining oil and heat it over medium heat. Add the marinated chicken. You want to discard any additional marinade. Saute the chicken until it’s golden on add aides. Add the prepared butter chicken sauce to the pot and stir to combine. You want to let the chicken finish cooking before you and the heavy cream and 1/2 teaspoon garam masala. Once the sauce reaches a simmer, taste and adjust the salt as needed. Then crush the fenugreek leaves between the palms of your hands to release their flavor and add them to the butter chicken. Butter chicken over fluffy basmati rice, it’s what my dreams are made of. If you’re looking for an authentic murgh makhani recipe, I’ve got you!
FAQs about Murgh Makani:
Butter chicken sauce is made of sauteed onions, tomato puree, and lots of spices. It’s finished at the end with a smattering of heavy cream and some fenugreek leaves.
Butter chicken and Murgh Makani are the same thing. Literally translated ‘murgh’ means chicken, and ‘makhani’ means buttery (or butter.) It always makes me laugh when people argue that a recipe tasted more like murgh makhani than butter chicken.
Chicken tikka masala packs more of a punch when it comes to spices, and may or may not contain any butter. I reserve the ghee for my butter chicken and opt for oil when I’m making chicken tikka masala. Butter chicken also is a tad bit sweeter (because of the sauteed onions or the addition of sugar in many recipes) and milder when it comes to spices than chicken tikka masala.
You can make the of this recipe, blend it, and allow it to cool completely before popping it in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours. Like most Indian food, leftovers (or sauces prepared ahead) actually make the dish more flavorful. Many readers have also mentioned that they like to prepare the sauce and freeze it (without the heavy cream) to make butter chicken quicker on weeknights. This is something my family does as well!
If you like this butter chicken recipe, you might also like:
- chicken tikka masala
- 30-minute shrimp masala
- weeknight chana masala
- homemade palak paneer
- 30-minute brown lentil daal
Original recipe shared Feb 2016, updated with new post and images May 2023.
Finger Lickin' Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)
Delicious restaurant-style butter chicken made right at home with simple ingredients. This recipe is exactly how they make butter chicken in restaurants -- and i've had people tell me it's actually better! Trust me when I say it's finger lickin' good!
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade:
- 1 lb. boneless chicken breast, cut into 1 ½ inch cubes (see notes)
- 2 tablespoons tandoori masala (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon EACH: ginger paste and garlic paste (I used Gourmet Garden)
- ½ cup yogurt
- 1 tablespoon oil
Butter Chicken Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter) (see note)
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 1 ½ teaspoon EACH: ginger paste and garlic paste (I used Gourmet Garden)
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon chili powder (see notes)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- ¼ teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves (crushed between fingers)
Instructions
Chicken:
- In a medium bowl, combine the tandoori masala, ginger, garlic, and yogurt. Whisk until smooth, adjust seasonings to preference. Add the chicken and allow to marinate for at least 20 minutes and ideally for 12-24 hours, covered in the refrigerator.
Butter Chicken Sauce:
- Heat the ghee in a dutch oven or heavy bottom pot over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until they turn translucent and start to sweat, about 5-7 minutes, don't allow the onions to brown. Add ginger and garlic paste and let cook for 30 seconds, stirring so it doesn't burn. Add the can of crushed tomatoes along with the chili powder, coriander powder, and cumin powder and continue to cook for 5 minutes, if the mixture starts bubbling rapidly, add about ¼ cup of water and continue to cook.
- Remove from heat, add the mixture to a blender and blend until smooth, you may need to add a couple water to help it blend (up to ¼ cup). Depending on how powerful your blender is, you may want to blend the mixture in two batches. Remember to hold the lid of the blender down with a kitchen towel when blending, to avoid accidents.
- MAKE AHEAD OPTION: At this point you can cool and refrigerate the sauce for 24-48 hours (or freeze it for up to 3 months), it will help blend the flavors even more, just remember to bring the sauce back to room temperature (use the microwave) before proceeding with the recipe OR you can continue on with the recipe immediately.
Assembly:
- Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the dutch oven over medium heat. Add the marinated chicken (discard any excess marinade) and cook for about 5-6 minutes, stirring as required to brown all sides. Add the butter chicken sauce to the pot and heat everything through. Once it starts to bubble, add the cream and garam masala. When the sauce regains a simmer, add the crushed fenugreek leaves. Serve over basmati rice or with naan.
Notes
- Fan of dark meat chicken? You can replace the cubed chicken breasts with cubed boneless, skinless chicken thighs for more added flavor.
- GHEE: If you can't find it you replace it with 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil.
- TANDOORI MASALA: is available in powder/ paste form. I prefer the powder but some of my readers recommended Patak's brand tandoori paste. You'll need about 2-4 tablespoons of the paste (to preference).
- CHILI POWDER: optional! If you prefer milder food, you may want to leave it out as the tandoori masala already has heat. Traditionally, a spicy pepper similar to cayenne is used. If you can't find Indian or Pakistani chili powder (usually sold at Indian stores), replace it with cayenne. 1 teaspoon can be a lot so if you prefer a milder flavor, replace with 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon.
I’ve made this twice now and it is easy and delicious! I’m surprised that I made something so good! I bought a huge can of tomatoes (6.6 lbs), and made a giant batch today to freeze in portions. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
I’m making this tonight for dinner and looking forward to it! I marinated the chicken over night and was wondering one thing. Is the left over marinade discarded or is it all added when combining everything? Thanks in advance 🙂
Hi Phil! When you marinate the chicken right before cooking it there usually isn’t too much leftover marinade, so I toss it all in and cook it. But when you marinate it overnight, the mixture tends to become a little more watery and if that is the case for you, i’d discard the excess marinade. If it’s pretty thick (like yogurt), you can cook it along with the chicken! Hope that helps 🙂
Thanks Marzia for the recipe and the quick response I can’t wait to to try it. You’re the best!
Hi! I see no mention of how much salt should be added. I was wondering if you put any, and how much?
Hey there! Tandoori masala usually contains quite a bit of salt but can vary brand to brand. For best results, I suggest tasting at the very end and adjusting the salt to taste.
Can I make it the night before for crowd and just reheat the next day as pushed for time?
Yes, definitely! You may need additional cream/water to help thin the consistency a bit though.
Omg!!! I am so ready to make this tonight. Maybe I’ve finally found the *recipe*!!
I’ve tried over ten recipes before but to no avail 🙁
I think one of my biggest problems was the type of tomato sauce I used. What brand do you use? I’ve tried several, along with making my own.
Also can you share your recipe for garam masala? I bought a store bought one but I’m worried that might be effecting the flavor as well.
I made chicken recipie 1st tym in lyf
N wen i saw ur recipie….i was craving for such a beautiful butter chicken
I made it d same way..my love loved it……thanxx??it ws awesome
If using butter should one use? salted or unsalted?
Either will work.
Hi Marzia,
I ended up using unsalted butter and i must say this was an easy to follow recipe and the outcome was lovely. I had guests yesterday and they all loved it. I dint find fenugreek leaves so i used ground fennel and it was just as perfect. Will definitely make this again, am on the hunt for the fenugreek leaves. Thank you.
When you order in a restaurant, you always have the option of mild, medium, or hot… I don’t imagine they are making each dish from scratch but simply stirring in “the heat” on an order-by-order basis. Is this just Cayenne? or…..
Thanks!! Love the recipe, sooooooo delish.
Am i able to use Whole Fenugreek Seeds as a substitute for the dried fenugreek leaves?
Also is there any other suggestions for substitute for the dried fenugreek leaves?
No unfortunately the seeds are not a suitable substitute. I really can’t think of any substitutions for the flavor, you can simply omit it if you’d like but keep in mind that that ‘authentic’ butter chicken flavor will be lacking a bit.
The recipe for the marinade says you need a tbsp of oil. However the instructions don’t say to add that. Do I need the oil in the marinade? Thanks so much! Looking forward to having this tomorrow 🙂
The oil is used when you’re cooking the chicken in the ‘assembly’ portion.
Hi i was wondering how long does it cook after u added the 1/4 cup of water and turn off the heat after that? Thanks for answering 🙂
You’re cooking the mixture for a total of 5 minutes and you’d add the water if/when it bubbles within that time frame. Hope that clarifies it a bit 🙂
Do you have any tips for making this in a crock pot?
Unfortunately this recipe hasn’t been tested in a slow cooker so not too sure on how well it will work!
OMG!!! This recipe is amazing. I cooked for my boyfriend for the first time ever this past week. I made this recipe, tandoori lamb rack chops, rice, and raita. He told me he was beyond impressed, and so was I. This recipe is perfectly spiced. I used fresh ginger and garlic instead of paste, it was so authentic and amazing. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. 🙂
hi, I found your website today. I made this recipe with a few changes. It came out so devine.
I doubled the recipe but used 1 can tomato puree (400g). I marinated my 1.3kg chicken strips in sour milk (maas – curd) and used 3 tablespoon of Shans butter chicken spice. I fried my onion with a green pepper with 150g butter and added in the ginger & garlic, tumeric and spices for gravy and added in chicken and cooked it. then added in tomato puree with little water. cooked for 10 minutes and added in 1 cup fresh cream and garam masala. once thickened I added in kasturi methi (fenugreek leaves). I added in salt.
I absolutely love this butter chicken. This recipe is a keeper. This is my birthday supper today 🙂 I made roti’s to have.
Kind Regards
Yagishee Moodley
Durban, South Africa
This has been my go-to recipe for butter chicken, ever since I stumbled upon it a few months ago. I follow the recipe almost exact, except I have trouble finding fenugreek, so I just omit it completely. In my opinion, it doesn’t take away from the flavor at all, in fact I don’t even miss it! This recipe is so delicious, that anyone who’s been over and tried it says it’s the best butter chicken they’ve had, even better than the local Indian restaurants! Thanks so much for posting this! As a mother on a budget, I love that I can make this at a fraction of the cost of ordering take out, and still get my butter chicken fix in anytime I want! Love it!!
So happy to hear it! Thanks for commenting! 🙂
Hello Marzia. I’m feeling just a wee bit clever tonight, with my chicken marinading overnight and the sauce blended and chilling in the fridge. We have16 hungry teenage football players descending on our house tomorrow night and I can’t wait! I have quadrupled the recipe and things are looking and smelling fab. I just wanted to check (and you’re probably reading in disbelief!) but…once the chicken has finished marinading, the marinade is discarded isn’t? That is, it doesn’t get thrown in with the other sauce? Thanks for the recipe (I feel a long overdue success coming on!) Julie, NZ
Yup, that’s correct! Just toss out the remaining marinade. I find the yogurt (after marinating overnight) sometimes curdles if added in. Best to just toss it. Hope all the hungry teenagers enjoyed it! 🙂
I’m so glad I found this recipe!
The last recipe I found for Butter Chicken didn’t taste anything at all like what I find in the restaurant. But this one was AMAZING.
I have a thing for mixing and grinding my own whole spices instead of buying powder. So I made my own tandoori masala, which came out great.
I doubled the recipe but then found out I only had one can of crushed tomatoes. But a bit of quick thinking (and realizing the whole thing was going to be blended up anyway) led me to just add some tomato paste and water, and it seemed to come out ok. Do they use cans of crushed tomatoes in India?
The only other mistake I made was when I made my ghee — I just made clarified butter. But then afterwards I looked up how to make proper ghee and it’s so simple I should have just done it. Oh well.
I also got to buy dried fenugreek leaves, which were only available in a pretty large quantity, but they were so cheap I didn’t mind. I don’t have a lot of use for them, and I’m a little worried the rest will go stale and flavorless before I get to them.
But all in all, this recipe came out wonderfully! It was very close to my local Indian restaurant’s version, and got even closer when I added a bit more cream.
Regular tomatoes are usually used in India when making butter chicken. But I find the overall flavor of the butter chicken comes out richer with canned tomatoes. 🙂 Also, you can refrigerate the fenugreek leaves to prolong the shelf life. Glad to hear you enjoyed my take on it! Thanks for commenting!
Absolutely delish! I was a bit leary about not caramelizing the onions as I do with most Indian dishes but I’m so glad I followed your recipe. I used Patak’s Tandoori Paste to marinate the chicken. My family devoured it and I cannot wait to share with more family and friends!
I made this over the weekend and it was ridiculously good!!! I can’t believe I made Indian food and it truly tasted like the restaurant I go to. Just wow! Thank you so much!
Hi!
I’ve bought tandoori masala at an Indian grocery store, but its a brown-ish colour. I expected it to be red. When I mixed it with the rest of the marinade ingredients, the marinade turned a brown colour. Is this normal? I’m worried my butter chicken won’t have that nice orange/red colour? Am I overthinking this?
Hi Theresa! I’ve never seen a tandoori masala that was brown-ish in color. They usually look red or orange in color. But that being said, this specific brand may not have food coloring added to the mix. You can simply add in a drop or two of yellow and red food coloring to make that orange color if the color is important to you! No need to worry so much about the color though, it usually ends up a little brownish orangey after it all cooks down anyway! 🙂
Hi there, when you say yogurt…are you meaning greek plain yogurt? I am so excited to try this!
I just used plain yogurt (not Greek) but yes, Greek yogurt will work just fine for this recipe. 🙂
Thank you!! I just made this recipe and it’s great!
I was wondering what to do with the extra marinade sauce? I put it in with the chicken but was not sure if I should have ?
Made your Butter Chicken recipe.. it turned out yummy.. my relatives and family enjoyed the dish.. thanks for the great recipe..?
This was perfection! The recipe was easy to follow, and the ingredients were available at my local grocery store. Two kids, ages 4 and 10, ate every bite. Will definitely make this again often.
Hi,
I tried your recipe for the portions stated and it was very easy and fantastic. I am now about to attempt an increase in the proportions by 15X for a school fair!!!! Is there any advice in regards to the proportions of spices etc i.e. do you reduce for the bulk cook or just go with the same ratios. BTW I will cook the chicken once marinated on a rotisserie charcoal grill then add them to the mixture.
Kind regards
Sandy Tasmania Australia
Unfortunately i’ve never really made that much before so I really couldn’t say how much the recipe would need to be changed. Rotisserie chicken from a charcoal grill sounds amazing!
How long should I leave it to simmer at the end?I’m worried my chicken isn’t cooked through.
The chicken should mostly be cooked through (step #3) before adding in the butter chicken sauce. Once you add the sauce, you’re really just bringing it to a simmer before adding the cream and the garam masala. You can allow the chicken to simmer in the sauce until it cooks before proceeding with the remaining recipe if it’s not cooked though. It really shouldn’t take more than 1-2 minutes if the pieces are 1 ½ inches.
Hi, can I substitute garlic and ginger paste combo instead of the separate pastes? It would be more budget friendly for me if I bought the combo. Thanks!!
Absolutely!
Finally, thanks to your recipe posting I got the colour and flavour I was looking for with ease. The only thing I did different was use fresh ginger and garlic as I didn’t have the paste form. Another thing I did differently was fry in the pan was the garlic, ginger and onions for the sauce. Then I ground them up in a food processor to make things easier. There’s no need to grind up canned crushed tomatoes. Every other step I followed and it was perfection! This butter chicken recipe is a keeper, thank you so much for posting! Next time I’m going to try to add some sliced green peppers to the recipe and finely chopped almonds after I learn how to do it properly. I’ve had those ingredients included in the recipe that some restaurants add and it’s delicious as well.
Authentic restaurant style butter chicken! Thank you so much for posting it. I am Indian and I have always wanted a good recipe and now I finally have one that is amazing! My family loved it!
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Dear Marzia, firstly, congrats on your beautiful photography.That’s what attracted me to click on your recipe. I was astounded with your honest soul. i tried your BUTTER CHICKEN recipe, and having been in restaurant business for thirty years, i could tell you left nothing out, First honest recipe on internet. I applaud you Marzia. NAZ,