Indian recipe
How to make Butter chicken
मुर्ग़ मखनी (murgh makhani)
Delhi, made famous in the 1950s
Pieces of tandoori chicken in a smooth, mild sauce of tomatoes, butter and cream, flavoured with garam masala and dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi). Usually eaten with naan.
Ingredients
- 600 g boneless chicken thighs, cut into large pieces
- 100 g plain yoghurt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger and 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon mild chilli powder (Kashmiri chilli if you can find it)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 50 g butter
- 400 g tomato passata
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
- 100 ml single cream
Method
- Mix the yoghurt, lemon juice, ginger, garlic, 1 teaspoon of the garam masala, the chilli powder and the salt. Coat the chicken and leave it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Heat the grill or oven to high. Spread the chicken on a tray and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, turning once, until lightly charred and cooked right through, with no pink inside.
- Meanwhile melt the butter in a pan, add the passata and sugar and simmer for 15 minutes, until thick.
- Crumble in the fenugreek leaves, add the rest of the garam masala and stir in the cream.
- Add the chicken to the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. Taste for salt and serve with naan or rice.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
It was popularised in the 1950s at the Moti Mahal restaurant in Old Delhi, by refugees from Peshawar. Who exactly invented it was argued over in court as recently as 2024.
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