Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)
The Delhi original, invented in the 1950s to use up tandoori chicken: yoghurt-marinated chicken charred under the grill, then simmered in a smooth tomato and cashew sauce enriched with plenty of butter and double cream.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 150 g full-fat plain yoghurt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 20 g ginger, grated
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 800 g boneless chicken thighs, in 4 cm pieces
- 80 g butter
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 4 green cardamom pods
- 4 whole cloves
- 800 g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 50 g unsalted cashews, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes
- 150 ml water
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves
- 150 ml double cream
- 600 g steamed basmati rice, to serve
Nutrition (estimated)
high confidenceRecipe total: 7157 kcal · P 288.2g · C 611.2g · F 395.4g
Estimated from 20 of 20 ingredients
Approximate estimate, calculated from the ingredients.
Video
Steps
Steps
- 1Mix the yoghurt, lemon juice, 1 tsp of the chilli powder, 1 tsp of the garam masala, the cumin, half the ginger and garlic and 1 tsp of the salt. Coat the chicken and marinate for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.
- 2Spread the chicken on a rack over a foil-lined tray and grill under the highest heat for 10–12 minutes, turning once, until charred at the edges. It finishes cooking in the sauce.
- 3Melt 40 g of the butter with the oil in a heavy pan, add the cardamom and cloves for 30 seconds, then the remaining ginger and garlic for 1 minute without letting them brown.
- 4Add the tomatoes, the drained cashews, the remaining chilli powder and the water and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring, until thick and the raw tomato taste has gone.
- 5Pick out the whole spices and blend the sauce until completely smooth. For a restaurant finish, push it through a sieve back into the pan.
- 6Add the chicken with its juices, the remaining garam masala and salt and the sugar, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- 7Crush the fenugreek leaves between your palms over the pan, then stir in the cream and the remaining 40 g of butter until the sauce turns glossy and velvety. Do not let it boil hard once the cream is in.
- 8Serve with the rice.
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Questions and answers
How long does Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani) take to make?
About 70 minutes: 20 min prep and 50 min cooking.
What ingredients do you need for Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)?
20 ingredients: full-fat plain yoghurt, lemon juice, Kashmiri chilli powder, garam masala, ground cumin, ginger, garlic, salt, boneless chicken thighs, butter, sunflower oil, green cardamom pods and 8 more.
How many servings does this Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani) recipe make?
4 servings. The servings buttons above the ingredients rescale every amount.
How many calories are in a serving of Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)?
About 1789 kcal, with 72 g protein, 152.8 g carbohydrate and 98.9 g fat. This is an estimate from the ingredients, not a lab analysis.
Which diets does this Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani) recipe suit?
It is gluten-free.
What cuisine is Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)?
Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani) comes from Indian cuisine.
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