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Butter Chicken

Life At The Table Butter Chicken. A bright green ceramic bowl filled with butter chicken, garnished with cilantro and a drizzle of cream.
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Silky, restaurant-style butter chicken with warm spices, tomato, cream, and cashews—rich, comforting, and deeply flavorful.

Ingredients

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Chicken Marinade

  • 1-1/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast (or thighs), cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1/2 cup whole milk, plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated garlic
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • avocado oil for cooking the chicken

Sauce

  • 1 1/2 cups tomato purée
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock (or more as needed to thin the gravy)
  • 1/3 cup hot water
  • 1/4 cup raw cashews
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter or ghee, divided
  • 1 cup red onion, finely diced
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 3 whole cloves
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 whole star anise
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

Garnish

  • chopped cilantro
  • additional heavy cream for drizzling

Instructions

  1. In a bowl, combine the chicken, yogurt, granulated garlic, garam masala, ground ginger, cumin, coriander, chili powder, paprika, salt, and lemon juice. Mix well to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour, preferably longer.
  2. Place the cashews in a heatproof bowl and pour the hot water over them. Set aside to soak while you prepare the other components.
  3. In a Dutch oven, melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or ghee over medium heat. Add the diced red onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 6–8 minutes.
  4. Add the minced garlic and minced ginger to the onion and cook for 30–45 seconds, just until fragrant. Remove the Dutch oven from the heat.
  5. Transfer the onion mixture to a blender. Add the soaked cashews along with their soaking water and the tomato purée. Blend until completely smooth.
  6. Return the Dutch oven to medium heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter. Once the butter has melted and is foaming, add the whole cloves, cinnamon stick, and star anise and cook briefly until fragrant.
  7. Add the ground garam masala, cumin, coriander, chili powder, and paprika to the whole spices and stir constantly for 20–30 seconds to bloom the spices.
  8. Pour the blended tomato-cashew mixture back into the Dutch oven. Stir well to combine with the bloomed spices.
  9. Add the 1/2 cup chicken stock and bring the sauce to a gentle simmer. Cook uncovered for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and the flavors meld. Remove the whole spices after the sauce has finished cooking and before adding the chicken to the Dutch oven.
  10. While the sauce cooks, warm a large skillet over medium heat and add a small amount of avocado oil. Remove the chicken from the marinade and it to the skillet, cooking just until the chicken is cooked through.
  11. Add the cooked chicken along with any accumulated juices to the sauce. Stir to combine and simmer gently for 5–7 minutes.
  12. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the heavy cream. Simmer briefly to warm through.
  13. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt or spices as needed.
  14. Serve with rice. Garnish each bowl with chopped cilantro and a drizzle of heavy cream.

Notes

  • If you have Kashmiri chili powder, use the same total amount in place of the chili powder and paprika combined.
  • Use additional chicken stock (or water) as need to thin the sauce.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://lifeatthetable.com/butter-chicken/

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