Authentic Butter Chicken - Murgh Makhani Restaurant Style - RecipeMagik (2024)

Authentic Butter Chicken or Murgh Makhani is a luscious, velvety, and creamy Indian chicken recipe. It is primarily a Tomato and Cashew Nut based sauce where Chicken Tikkas (Grilled Chicken Pieces) are smeared in and topped with Fresh Cream and Kasuri Methi (dried fenugreek leaves). Have you tried my Butter Chicken Meatballs? It's so easy and gets ready in just 30-minutes from scratch. Also, try my Slow Cooker Butter Chicken

Butter Chicken is also known as Murgh Makhani in India. Murgh meaning Chicken and Makhani meaning a buttery smooth sauce. This Authentic Butter Chicken is a mildly spicy and sweet Chicken Curry recipe. The slight punch of sweetness in the Butter Chicken or Murgh Makhani makes it unique from other Indian Chicken recipes such as the Authentic Chicken Curry or Coconut Chicken Curry or even the spicy favorite Chicken Tikka Masala or Chicken Korma Recipe || Shahi Chicken Korma or Chicken Jalfrezi (Slow Cooker or Stove Top) or Chicken Vindaloo in Instant Pot or Chicken Madras or Chicken Pasanda or Malabar Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk or Indian Spiced Spinach Chicken | Spinach Chicken | Murg Saagwala

I love Butter Chicken. I don't even remember the first time I ever had this recipe. I love the mildly sweet and spicy flavors of butter chicken. I love how creamy and velvety the sauce is and of course, it has my two favorite things - the grilled Chicken Pieces and of course the Makhani or the Buttery gravy.

If you know Indian food, it's generally very spicy or mostly spicy. However, this one is different. It's a very delicately prepared recipe where the sauce is strained to get a smooth and velvety texture that tastes perfect with some Naan Bread or Fried Rice or Coconut Rice or Jasmine Rice.

😋 Authentic Butter Chicken - Let's talk about the Taste

Butter Chicken has a mildly sweet and spicy taste. It's creamy, luscious, velvety, and oh so yummy! Butter Chicken has a flavor of blended Indian spices.

So there is no whole spice which'll come to your mouth while you are enjoying this. There is a simple yet sophisticated taste to Butter Chicken.

The velvety smooth gravy or the buttery sauce has a punch of the Tomatoes which is so beautifully blended with the spices, the onions, the Cashew Nuts, the Heavy Cream, and of course Butter.

Why is it called "Butter Chicken"?

The common misconception, especially in the states is that Butter Chicken is all about Butter. Well, no! Butter Chicken gets its name from the silky smooth sauce which is so carefully prepared and it feels like melting butter over a bed of grilled Chicken Pieces. So, yeah! that's how it gets the name Butter Chicken. It's the buttery feel to the sauce or the gravy and not the actual use or taste of butter in every bite.

🎥 A Video Tutorial For You 🙂

📝 How to make restaurant-style Butter Chicken or Murgh Makhani?

Below is a brief description of the recipe. You can jump to the recipe below for a detailed printable recipe. Also watch the video for a quick visual 🙂

First - Marinate the Chicken

Marinate the Chicken.

• So, you "marinate the Chicken" with some freshly squeezed Lemon Juice, Ginger and Garlic Paste, Turmeric, Red Chili Powder (OR Smoked Parika), Yogurt, and some Salt.
• You mix all of these spices with the Chicken and keep this covered in the refrigerator for at least 15-20 minutes.

Second - Make the Sauce

• Meanwhile for the sauce, roughly chop the Red Onions and Tomatoes.
• Heat a knob of butter in a skillet.
• As the Butter starts to melt, throw in the whole spices - Bay Leaf, Cinnamon, Green Cardamom Pods, Mace flower strands, and some Peppercorns.
• As the spices get fragrant, add the Onions, Garlic, and Tomatoes.
• Also, throw in the Cashew Nuts in it and mix well.
• Season it with some Red Chili Powder (Paprika), Garam Masala, Sugar, Salt, and Pepper.
• Mix all of these and cover cook for at least 15-20 minutes or until the tomatoes get mushy.

Third - Grill the Chicken

• So, while you are waiting for the Tomatoes to get cooked, you can get your Grill pan out and heat some vegetable oil in it.
• As the oil becomes smoking hot, place the chicken pieces into it, and allow it to get fried, both sides, until it develops nice charr.
• Charr the Chicken pieces until they form a nice brownish crust over them and look like they've been grilled.
• This is the third stage in the process of cooking Butter Chicken or Murgh Makhani.
• As the Chicken pieces get properly charred get them off the pan and keep them aside. Don't worry about the leftover oil. We'll add that to the curry later on. So, don't throw it away.

Fourth - Blend the Sauce

• So, by now your tomatoes will have got all mushy and cooked. So turn off the heat and allow it to cool down to room temperature for about 5-10 minutes.
• Then throw it all in a blender and blend to a smooth puree.
• After you've pureed it, take a strainer and strain this.
• You can use a spoon to get everything out of the strainer. What you'll be left with is a smooth and lump-free puree. You can discard the leftover.

Fifth - Add Heavy Cream

Trust me, this is the last step of this whole process of making restaurant-style Butter Chicken at home.

• So, you heat a knob of butter in a wok and add the blended sauce
• Mix it well and then add some Heavy Cream to it and mix well.
• As the heavy cream gets mixed with the Sauce you can add the Grilled Chicken Pieces to the curry and then cover cook for at least 15 minutes.
• After 15 minutes, your Butter Chicken will be ready.
• So you can garnish it with some Dried fenugreek leaves or Chopped Cilantro, and some more heavy cream and serve this with Naan bread or Fried Rice.

💪 Is Butter Chicken Healthy?

Yes! absolutely. It's just about 320-330 calories and will not give you heartburn or digestive trouble. Also, this is not at all spicy.

I understand why people keep away from Butter Chicken. It's because the most common misconception is that Butter Chicken is all about butter.

Well actually, it's not about butter. It's the silky smooth consistency of the sauce that makes it feel like melting butter over a bed of Chicken.

If you notice in my butter Chicken recipe I have used just 2 tablespoon of butter, which is just 100 calories. Besides that, I have used some 2 Tablespoons of Heavy Cream which is about 190 calories.

So, roughly this whole big bowl of Butter Chicken adds down to about 320-330 Calories which is just the amount of calories in a basic Chicken or Beef Casserole recipe. Also, this is the essential amount of calories we intake regularly for dinner.

Besides this Butter chicken is filled with proteins because of the Chicken and the cream and the butter making it a healthy diet option.

💯 How to make the best Butter Chicken every time

• Always grill the Chicken pieces until they get nicely charred from both the sides
• Do not overuse any spices. Just use the mentioned amount of spices.
• If you do not have whole spices, skip that and just use Garam Masala.
• Always add some sweetness to the Butter Chicken because that's what makes it stand out.
• Do not overuse butter in the Butter Chicken.
• Replace Heavy Cream with Coconut milk for low carb version
• Always strain the sauce and then use it for a smooth and silky texture. Throw away the leftover seeds and pulps.