Easy Butter Chicken Recipe (Indian Style) - My Gorgeous Recipes (2024)

Published: May 16, 2021 · Modified: Aug 20, 2022 by Daniela Apostol · This post may contain affiliate links · 34 Comments

Easy Butter Chicken Recipe, my take on the classic Indian chicken curry that is popular all over the world. With a rich and heavenly creamy sauce and a fantastic blend of spices, this dish is one of the must-try easy family dinner recipes.

Few are the dishes that make such an impression on me from the very first time I try them. It wasn't until I moved to the UK some 13 years ago that I first tried a restaurant-style chicken curry. Coming from a country where strong spices are not really a thing, this was certainly different. Good different.

It did take me a while to get used to the heat, since I used to eat food that's rather plain. I knew I had to cook it myself, and so this easy chicken curry was created. My recipe is a well simplified one, and although I have used the basic spices, I decided to play safe and keep it mild, just the way I like it.

Now, the authentic Indian chicken curry may use a different cooking technique, and a lot more spices, but I must admit I'm kind of rubbish at buying a large variety of spices.

Still Romanian to the bones, I'm cautious not to add to much heat to my dishes, I really don't think I can handle spiciness too well. Maybe if I have spicy food for a while, I might get used to it a lot quicker, but I don't really eat spicy that often.

Ingredients used

• chicken breasts - they can be swapped for chicken thighs or legs
• Greek yogurt - it can be swapped for plain yogurt
• Indian spices - you can go for more heat if you want, I quite like a mild version
• garlic - minced garlic works better for this dish, as the sauce needs to be smooth and creamy
• ginger paste - as with the garlic, minced works better
• tomato passata - it adds creaminess to the sauce, if you use chopped tomatoes,

Step-by-step photos and instructions

The marianade

Although the name could make you think this recipe has butter in it, in actually hasn't. The chicken pieces are marinated in yogurt and spices, and the sauce is made with cream. Still, you get a superbly rich and delicious homemade chicken curry that tastes exactly like the one you get in a restaurant.

• In a bowl, add the yogurt, garlic, ginger and spices, add the chicken pieces, and mix well to coat.

The cooking

• Cover with a clingfilm and refrigerate for at least one hour, ideally overnight.
• Heat up the oil in pan, add the chicken pieces and cook for about 6-7 minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink and is cooked through.

Once the chicken is cooked, add the tomato passata, ginger, garlic, sugar, garam masala, and leave to cook for about 20 minutes until the sauce is reduced and it coats the chicken well.

Add the double cream, give it a good stir, garnish with coriander or parsley, and remove from the heat. Serve it with rice, or flatbreadfor a true Indian feast experience.

Tips and FAQ

You can go for more spiciness if you like, depending on your family's taste buds. My little ones don't handle spicy food very well, so my curries are usually mild. But mild does not mean less taste, all on the contrary, I think there is a perfect balance between spices, at least for me.

When you add the cream to the sauce, make sure it's hot cold from the fridge, as the texture of the sauce might change - it is best to add a bit of the sauce to the cream, mix it together, then add the cream to the pan.

Marianate the chicken for as long as you can, the longer, the better, as the chicken will soak up all the flavours.

Other chicken curry recipes

If you’ve tried my EASYINDIANBUTTER CHICKEN RECIPE or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can alsoFOLLOW MEonFACEBOOK, andPINTERESTto see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.