Uploaded March 2022 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Butter chicken is perhaps the most familiar of Indian curries to North Americans. Sometimes called murgh makhani, the dish is essentially a highly-spiced stew of chicken pieces in a gravy of caramelized onions and tomatoes thickened with almond powder and yogurt. There are a lot of different recipes for curry powder and garam masala (and other spice mixes) on the internet, so if you want to explore you can find a recipe for making your own. The idea behind this recipe is that a spice mix may be used to provide a good backflavor and brightened up by toasting and grinding a few whole spices to go along with it.
While caramelizing the onions, refrain from getting them too dark. In most curry recipes, the onions are only supposed to be just barely golden in color, not especially dark. Once they are softened and just golden, add the garlic and ginger and proceed.
This dish gets better while it sits; it is certainly better the next day. Part of this of course is that it is extremely aromatic, and when you cook it, you get really used to smelling it and then it doesn’t taste as good right then. Consider also making some raita a day ahead with some cucumber and grains of cardamom, to enjoy with the curry, on some rice.
Makes enough for 4-8 people, roughly 1.5 - 3 litres..
Equipment:
• large dutch oven or stew pot
• frying pan if you wish to sear the chicken
Ingredients:
2-4 ea chicken legs cut drumstick from thigh; or 4-8 thighs
2 ea onions sliced; maybe add an onion if using a lot of chicken
2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic large
1 Tbsp fresh ginger grated or minced
3 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin toasted and ground
1/2 tsp cayenne toasted and ground
1/2 tsp black pepper toasted and ground
1/4 tsp cinnamon optional
1/4 tsp cardamom optional
14-28 oz tomatoes one can; a large can will accommodate more chicken
1/4 cup almond flour or cashew flour
3/4 cup yogurt
1/2 cup cream optional; good with cashews
1/4 cup cilantro chopped
Procedure:
1. Saute onions until a light golden brown.
2. Stir in garlic, ginger, curry powder, cumin, cayenne, black pepper (+ optional spices).
3. Add chicken pieces. Optionally sear beforehand, and deglaze the pan with a little water.
4. Add tomatoes and mix well. Let simmer 20-30 min, or until ready to finish. The chicken should be falling easily off the bone.
5. Add almond powder, optional cream.
6. Cook briefly, to thicken slightly.
7. Remove from heat and stir in yogurt and half of the cilantro.
8. Sprinkle with additional cilantro upon serving, if desired.
Music: bensound.com/royalty-free-music
Butter chicken is perhaps the most familiar of Indian curries to North Americans. Sometimes called murgh makhani, the dish is essentially a highly-spiced stew of chicken pieces in a gravy of caramelized onions and tomatoes thickened with almond powder and yogurt. There are a lot of different recipes for curry powder and garam masala (and other spice mixes) on the internet, so if you want to explore you can find a recipe for making your own. The idea behind this recipe is that a spice mix may be used to provide a good backflavor and brightened up by toasting and grinding a few whole spices to go along with it.
While caramelizing the onions, refrain from getting them too dark. In most curry recipes, the onions are only supposed to be just barely golden in color, not especially dark. Once they are softened and just golden, add the garlic and ginger and proceed.
This dish gets better while it sits; it is certainly better the next day. Part of this of course is that it is extremely aromatic, and when you cook it, you get really used to smelling it and then it doesn’t taste as good right then. Consider also making some raita a day ahead with some cucumber and grains of cardamom, to enjoy with the curry, on some rice.
Makes enough for 4-8 people, roughly 1.5 - 3 litres..
Equipment:
• large dutch oven or stew pot
• frying pan if you wish to sear the chicken
Ingredients:
2-4 ea chicken legs cut drumstick from thigh; or 4-8 thighs
2 ea onions sliced; maybe add an onion if using a lot of chicken
2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic large
1 Tbsp fresh ginger grated or minced
3 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin toasted and ground
1/2 tsp cayenne toasted and ground
1/2 tsp black pepper toasted and ground
1/4 tsp cinnamon optional
1/4 tsp cardamom optional
14-28 oz tomatoes one can; a large can will accommodate more chicken
1/4 cup almond flour or cashew flour
3/4 cup yogurt
1/2 cup cream optional; good with cashews
1/4 cup cilantro chopped
Procedure:
1. Saute onions until a light golden brown.
2. Stir in garlic, ginger, curry powder, cumin, cayenne, black pepper (+ optional spices).
3. Add chicken pieces. Optionally sear beforehand, and deglaze the pan with a little water.
4. Add tomatoes and mix well. Let simmer 20-30 min, or until ready to finish. The chicken should be falling easily off the bone.
5. Add almond powder, optional cream.
6. Cook briefly, to thicken slightly.
7. Remove from heat and stir in yogurt and half of the cilantro.
8. Sprinkle with additional cilantro upon serving, if desired.
Music: bensound.com/royalty-free-music
