Butter chicken is a rich yet sinfully delicious dish. The makhani gravy can be used for paneer (cottage cheese) and mixed vegetables if you don’t eat non-vegetarian food. I decided to make this dish at home for my husband who just loves it when we eat out. It is an amazingly simple recipe and does not take much time if you have the ingredients at hand. And it does take your meal to the next gastronomic ecstasy level. Here is my recipe for Chicken Makhani also known as Murgh Makhani or Butter Chicken, a delightful and hearty Punjabi dish.

Chicken Makhani/ Butter Chicken
Ingredients
- 400 gm Boneless chicken cut into cubes
- 200 ml. Fresh Cream + 1 tbsp. for garnish
- Tomato puree about 750 gms. made with 5 large tomatoes
- 1 tbsp. ginger garlic paste
- 1 tsp. turmeric powder
- 1 tsp. coriander powder
- 1 tbsp. Kashmiri chilly powder for the bright red colour
- 1 tsp. garam masala powder
- 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 4 tbsp. Butter 4
- salt to taste
- 2 tsp. Kasoori methi crushed
- For chicken marinade:
- 1 tsp. turmeric powder
- 1 tsp. chilli powder
- 1 tbsp. ginger garlic paste
- 1 tsp. tsp. black pepper powder
- 2 tbsp. thick yoghurt
- salt
Instructions
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Marinate the chicken pieces by using the marinade ingredients. Marinate for 2-4 hours.
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Now in a pan, take 2 tsp. butter and heat it. put in the marinated chicken pieces and sear them. Cook them more than half the way through and let them get a brownish coating outside. Set aside.
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In another pan, heat remaining butter and add the chopped tomatoes (or tomato puree) along with ginger garlic paste and cook for about 15 minutes on low heat. If using chopped tomatoes blend this mixture when cooled.
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Add the cream to it now keeping some aside for garnish. Cook for another 2 minutes and add the semi-cooked chicken pieces along with salt, turmeric, coriander powder and garam masala powder. Remember that the chicken also has salt so be careful while adding to the gravy. Cover and cook till chicken pieces are done and the gravy is creamy. Takes about 10 minutes. Now add sugar and Kashmiri chilli powder. Taste and adjust seasoning.
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Garnish with kasoori methi and serve with a swirl of cream.
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Your silken Chicken makhani is ready to serve with rotis or rice.
Recipe Notes
Some people use leftover tandoori chicken but I find that it gets very dry in the gravy. If you want you may grill the chicken in the oven before adding it to the gravy.
If using chopped tomatoes instead of tomato puree, do strain the curry to remove skins and seeds of tomatoes.
You can also substitute with paneer or cottage cheese or mixed vegetables for a vegetarian version.
Thin the gravy with a little water if it looks too thick to you.
This dish is very heavy on calories. If you wish to make it healthier, use milk instead of cream for a creamy texture.
This is a recipe which is a truly North Indian/Punjabi recipe. It is famous the world over for its robust delightful flavours. Do add this recipe to your repertoire and get compliments every time you cook it.
If you make it, do share with me how you liked it and also share the post.

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30 comments
And I had thought that making this dish would be laborious ;D
It was quite simple. I guess one has to find shortcuts while adjusting traditional recipes to home cooking :). At home, they all loved it.
And I had thought that making this dish would be laborious ;D
It was quite simple. I guess one has to find shortcuts while adjusting traditional recipes to home cooking :). At home, they all loved it.
wonderful! … mouth watery capture 🙂 I need to mail the url to my friend to request her to make butter chicken your way .. 🙂
My house all Veg 🙂
Thank you! And I don’t eat chicken either :). Paneer makhani can be made the same way. Paneer does not even need marinating. Just salt and pepper and do it the way you do chicken here.
Chicken mei jo baat hai wo Paneer mei kahan ? hahaha
I said my house veg .. ( but me very much non veg ) hehehe 😀
the twist of the tale is .. I will ask my friend to make it for me and her family 😀
hehe I agree non-veg is tastier than veg options. I do eat seafood but gave up on chicken. And you seem to be chhupa rustom :).
😀 hehehe .. till caught .. lage raho 😀
wonderful! … mouth watery capture 🙂 I need to mail the url to my friend to request her to make butter chicken your way .. 🙂
My house all Veg 🙂
Thank you! And I don’t eat chicken either :). Paneer makhani can be made the same way. Paneer does not even need marinating. Just salt and pepper and do it the way you do chicken here.
Chicken mei jo baat hai wo Paneer mei kahan ? hahaha
I said my house veg .. ( but me very much non veg ) hehehe 😀
the twist of the tale is .. I will ask my friend to make it for me and her family 😀
hehe I agree non-veg is tastier than veg options. I do eat seafood but gave up on chicken. And you seem to be chhupa rustom :).
😀 hehehe .. till caught .. lage raho 😀
Ahh I never knew it is that easy…! I guess its one of the side effects of never venturing into the kitchen while ma cooked all these for us…:)
hehe I like cooking but I am not a fan of complicated recipes that require slogging. So, I customize them to my convenience :). Mums — yes, they are something else!
Ahh I never knew it is that easy…! I guess its one of the side effects of never venturing into the kitchen while ma cooked all these for us…:)
hehe I like cooking but I am not a fan of complicated recipes that require slogging. So, I customize them to my convenience :). Mums — yes, they are something else!
I dont cook non veg. But Butter Chicken is by far my favorite 😛
hehe You can try the paneer version. this is a very simple recipe :).
I dont cook non veg. But Butter Chicken is by far my favorite 😛
hehe You can try the paneer version. this is a very simple recipe :).
Very nice sounding recipe. Will try it for my father. He loves chicken.
Thank you madconnection. And welcome to my blog. I hope your father likes it.
Very nice sounding recipe. Will try it for my father. He loves chicken.
Thank you madconnection. And welcome to my blog. I hope your father likes it.
One meal with this and it will need one week of srict dieting
hehe It is strictly a one-off dish but sinfully tasty.
One meal with this and it will need one week of srict dieting
hehe It is strictly a one-off dish but sinfully tasty.