IndiaTwo things make the difference here. First: chicken thighs, not breast. Breast dries out when you sear it hard enough to get char, and the char is the point. Thighs handle both the high heat sear and the sauce simmer without turning rubbery. Second: the kasuri methi. Dried fenugreek leaves are not an optional garnish — they're the ingredient that gives butter chicken its restaurant-specific aroma. Without them, the dish tastes good but not quite right. Find them at any South Asian grocery; they keep for months in a sealed jar.
The soaking liquid from the cashews can go into the blender with them — it's already flavoured and helps the blending. If your sauce tastes flat after all the work, the issue is almost always the kasuri methi being missing or the tomatoes not having cooked long enough. Cook the sauce to the point where you can see butter starting to pool at the edges before blending — that's when the tomato flavour is fully developed.
Butter Chicken
By Sergei Martynov
Murgh makhani — yogurt-marinated chicken thighs seared until charred at the edges, then finished in a silky tomato-and-cashew sauce with butter, cream, and kasuri methi. The dish came out of Moti Mahal restaurant in Delhi in the 1950s, apparently by accident: leftover tandoori chicken dropped into a pot of spiced tomato gravy with butter. That origin story is either true or a very good myth, but the result is real. The sauce needs to be blended smooth, the chicken needs actual char on it, and the kasuri methi at the end is not optional if you want the flavour to land.
What you'll need
Ingredients
- 700 g
See recipes with boneless chicken thighsboneless chicken thighs, cut into 4 cm pieces
i - 120 g
See recipes with full-fat plain yogurtfull-fat plain yogurt (for marinade)
i - 1 tbsp
See recipes with kashmiri chilli powder — gives colour without much heat; substitute: 2 tsp mild paprika + ½ tsp cayenneKashmiri chilli powder — gives colour without much heat; substitute: 2 tsp mild paprika + ½ tsp cayenne
i - 1 tsp
See recipes with ground corianderground coriander
i - 1 tsp
See recipes with garam masalagaram masala (for marinade)
i - 0.5 tsp
See recipes with turmericturmeric
i - 1 tbsp
See recipes with ginger-garlic pasteginger-garlic paste (equal parts fresh ginger and garlic, blended)
i - 1 tbsp
See recipes with lemon juicelemon juice
i - 3 tbsp
See recipes with butterbutter (for the sauce)
i - 400 g
See recipes with canned crushed tomatoes or 4 ripe fresh tomatoescanned crushed tomatoes or 4 ripe fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped
i - 30 g
See recipes with raw cashewsraw cashews, soaked in hot water 20 min
i - 1 tspSee recipes with garam masala
garam masala (for the sauce)
i - 1 tspSee recipes with kashmiri chilli powder
Kashmiri chilli powder (for the sauce)
i - 1 tsp
See recipes with sugar or honey — balances aciditysugar or honey — balances acidity
i - 80 ml
See recipes with double creamdouble cream
i - 1 tsp
See recipes with kasuri methi — crushed between palms before addingkasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) — crushed between palms before adding
i - 1 tsp
See recipes with fine saltfine salt, plus more to taste
i
How to make it
Instructions
- 1
Marinate the chicken. In a large bowl, combine yogurt, Kashmiri chilli powder, ground coriander, garam masala, turmeric, ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice, and salt. Mix until smooth. Add the chicken and work the marinade into every piece — use your hands for this, it makes a real difference. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, ideally overnight. The yogurt will tenderise the meat and the spices will penetrate properly given time.
- 2
Sear the chicken. Heat a wide heavy pan over high heat until very hot. Add 1 tablespoon of butter. Take the chicken straight from the fridge and add it in a single layer — do not discard the marinade yet. Sear without moving for 3 to 4 minutes until the bottom develops proper char marks. Turn and repeat. The chicken should look almost burnt in spots. That char is the closest thing to a tandoor you'll get at home, and it's the flavour that makes the finished dish taste like more than just a creamy tomato curry. Remove from pan and set aside.
- 3
Make the sauce. In the same pan over medium heat, add the remaining butter. Add the crushed tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, for 12 to 15 minutes until the sauce reduces and the oil begins to separate at the edges — this tells you the raw tomato taste has cooked out. Add the Kashmiri chilli powder and garam masala for the sauce. Cook 2 more minutes.
- 4
Blend and strain. Transfer the tomato mixture and the drained soaked cashews to a blender. Blend on high for 2 full minutes until completely smooth. For a truly restaurant-quality sauce, strain through a fine-mesh sieve back into the pan — this step takes 3 minutes and makes a noticeable difference in texture.
- 5
Finish the dish. Return the sauce to medium-low heat. Add the seared chicken with any resting juices. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the cream and sugar. Taste — adjust salt if needed. Remove from heat. Crush the kasuri methi between your palms and scatter it in — the aromatic oils release as it hits the warm sauce. Stir once and serve immediately with basmati rice and warm naan.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between butter chicken and tikka masala — are they the same dish?
They are different. Butter chicken (murgh makhani) originated at Moti Mahal restaurant in Delhi in the 1950s — no onion, milder, slightly sweet, very buttery and creamy. Tikka masala is a British invention, created to suit European palates: it contains onion, is spicier, more aggressively tomato-forward, and less creamy. Butter chicken sauce should be completely smooth after blending; tikka masala has more texture and body from the onion. Both dishes use yogurt-marinated chicken but the sauces taste meaningfully different.
Why marinate chicken in yogurt for butter chicken — can you skip this step?
The yogurt does two things: the lactic acid breaks down muscle fibres, making the meat noticeably more tender, and the thick coating helps spices penetrate the surface rather than staying on it. Minimum: 30 minutes at room temperature. Best: overnight in the fridge. Skipping it is technically possible, but the texture of the cooked chicken will be measurably tougher and drier. Score the chicken pieces lightly before marinating — this increases surface area and helps the spices get in. Kashmiri chilli powder in the marinade provides the red-orange colour without making the dish fiery.
How do you get a smoky tandoor flavour at home without a tandoor oven?
Two approaches. The most practical: sear the marinated chicken on a very high heat — the yogurt marinade should start to blacken and char at the edges. Those burnt spots are the closest you'll get to tandoor flavour from a home hob. The more dramatic method is dhungar smoking: place a small piece of lit charcoal in a metal cup in the centre of the finished dish, pour a few drops of ghee over it, then cover the pan for 2 to 3 minutes. The smoke penetrates the entire sauce. Either approach is worth doing. A room-temperature-to-cold butter chicken without any char is a different, lesser dish.
Why does butter chicken sauce taste sour or flat — how do you get the balance right?
Sourness comes from tomatoes that haven't cooked long enough. The sauce needs to cook uncovered until the oil visibly separates at the edges — that's when the tomato rawness has gone. If it still tastes sharp after full cooking, add 1 teaspoon of sugar or honey. Flatness is almost always the kasuri methi missing: crushed dried fenugreek leaves added in the final minutes lift and define the whole flavour. Without them, the dish tastes competent but not quite right. Cream goes in last, off the heat or on very low — it should never boil after adding.
Can you make butter chicken ahead of time — how to store and reheat?
Yes, and the flavour actually improves over 24 hours as the spices develop in the sauce. The sauce can be made 3 days ahead and refrigerated; the chicken can be seared separately and added when reheating. The finished dish keeps for 3 to 4 days in the fridge or 3 months frozen — freeze without the cream and add it when reheating. To reheat: warm over low heat with 2 to 3 tablespoons of water or stock, stirring. Add cream at the very end and do not let it boil after it goes in.
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