Butter Chicken Curry (Murgh Makhani)

A glorious buttery and creamy curry that’s popular throughout the world. Created in the mid 1900’s in Delhi, North India and made its presence as Butter Chicken Curry in England, in 1975. It’s one of the UK’s favourite curries, alongside Chicken Tikka Masala.

This recipe involves preparing a spiced yoghurt marinade preferably prepared overnight. But if you’re struggling for time, you can prepare it and cook it the same day; I’ve done just that! The depth of the flavour is divine and comes from the juices released when shallow frying the marinated chicken. Cooked on a medium to high heat, sear the chicken on both sides so that it becomes charred and golden. Rest the chicken to one side and make the butter curry sauce in the same pan ensuring to use the residual chicken juices and charred bits, makes it more flvoursome.

What gives this dish that little edge, is the butter (or ghee) and single cream! A lot of recipes use double cream, you’re welcome to use this as a substitute, I thought to keep it as ‘healthy’ (cringing) as possible.

This is such a well received curry in our house, my boys love it. I hope you enjoy it too.

[lt_recipe name=”Butter Chicken Curry” servings=”3″ prep_time=”10M” cook_time=”40M” total_time=”50M” difficulty=”Medium” summary=”An indulgent, creamy and buttery curry that’s mild in flavour and silky in appearance. Mopping up the sauce is my favourite part with freshly chopped green chillies as a garnish.” print=”yes” image=”https://www.spicella.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Butter-Chicken-thumbnail.png” ingredients=”For the marinade:;100g Plain yoghurt;1 tsp Turmeric;1 tsp Coriander powder;1 tsp Cumin powder;1/2 tsp Red chilli powder;1/4 fresh Lemon juice;1 tsp Garam masala;4 cloves Garlic;8g Ginger;1/2 tsp Salt;;600g Chicken Thighs (diced);;For the sauce:;3-4 tbs Ghee or Butter;;1 Black cardamom pod;2 Green cardamom pods;1 Cinnamon stick;7 Curry leaves;1 Onion (large and finely diced);300g Tomatoes (tin & blend);1 tsp Salt;1 tsp Coriander powder;1 1/2 tsp Cumin powder;1 tsp Garam masala;150ml Single cream;Coriander (garnish)”]In a blender blitz the yoghurt, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder, garam masala, garlic, ginger, lemon juice and salt.;Dice the chicken into chunks and coat it with the marinade. Refrigerate overnight or let it sit for 10 minutes or longer, if you’re cooking on the day.;In a wide non-stick pan, heat 2 tbs ghee or butter. Once hot, add the whole spices: black cardamom pod, green cardamom pods, curry leaves and cinnamon stick.;After 1-2 minutes, add the chicken to the pan and let this sizzle away (lid off) on a medium to high heat. We want the chicken to brown/darken.;Cook chicken for approximately 10 minutes on each side until golden (chicken may not be fully cooked, but that’s fine for now). ;Take the chicken and whole spices out of the pan to one side and let this rest.;In the same pan, keeping all the charred bits and any juices, add 2 tbs ghee or butter and let this heat up.;Add the diced onions and let these soften to a golden colour on a medium heat, for about 10 minutes.;Add the chicken and whole spices back into the pan and give it a mix before adding the blended tomatoes. Cook for 2 minutes on a medium heat.;Now mix in the ground spices: coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala and salt. ;Once the spices have combined into the sauce, pour in the single cream. Mix it in and let it cook for about 5-10 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked.;Garnish with coriander – or green chillies if you prefer it HOT like I do!;[/lt_recipe]

Equipment required

• Blender
• Wide, non-stick pan

Tips for making Butter Chicken Curry

• Use the same pan to sear the chicken and make the sauce. It makes a real difference to the flavour of the curry.
• If you want to make the curry extra indulgent you can use double cream instead of single cream.