Simple Butter Chicken Recipe | Murgh Makhanwala Recipe

Non Vegetarian | Chicken | Chicken Curry

Perhaps the most popular Indian dish across the world, Butter Chicken or Murgh Makhanwala is a rich, smooth and creamy gravied Chicken along with a little hint of sweetness. It’s perfect for grown-ups as well as kids. This is my attempt to show you a simple butter chicken recipe that can be used even for cooking a veg or paneer makhanwala.

Servings

4

Prep Time

20 mins

Cooking Time

60 mins

Good For

lunch/dinner

Simple Butter Chicken Recipe | Murgh Makhanwala Recipe

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I don’t think this dish requires any introduction, this Simple Butter Chicken Recipe has been known by various names like Butter Chicken, Murgh Makhanwala, Murgh Makhni, etc. This is one of my favourite chicken recipes. It has the rich flavours of fresh tomatoes infused with Indian spices and fresh cream while leaving with a very light sweetness on your taste buds.

It’s said that this dish was invented in one of the Northern Indian restaurants to make use of any leftover chicken tandoori from the day before. I cant comment much about the origins of this dish, but this dish has definitely created a lot of chicken curry fans across the world. No matter where you are in the world, if you pass by any North Indian restaurant, they have a Butter Chicken or a Murgh Makhanwala or a Murgh Makhni in their menu.

I will be honest with you, making this curry is not as easy and quick as other recipes on this blog, but if plan and do the required prior preparations, making butter chicken at home is not something that is not manageable. To show how to cook Butter Chicken at home, I will break it into 2 parts

  • marinating and cooking the chicken
  • making the curry

    • If you are using any leftover chicken tandoori or any ready made dry chicken tikka, you can save the time required for the first step. All you need to do is cook the butter chicken curry and mix the chicken in it. So without wasting any more of your time, let’s start with the ingredients that are required for this recipe.

    About this Recipie

    Perhaps the most popular Indian dish across the world, Butter Chicken or Murgh Makhanwala is a rich, smooth and creamy gravied Chicken along with a little hint of sweetness. It’s perfect for grown-ups as well as kids. This is my attempt to show you a simple butter chicken recipe that can be used even for cooking a veg or paneer makhanwala.
    simple butter chicken recipe

    Ingredients

    for Marinate
  • 600 gm boneless chicken (cut into strips)
  • 1/2 tsp garlic paste
  • 1/2 tsp ginger paste
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder
  • salt to taste
    • for curry
  • 800 gm tomatoes (9-10 medium sized tomatoes)
  • 1 full cup fresh cream
  • 5-6 green chillies
  • 1 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp fresh garlic, chopped
  • 1 tsp honey
    • Spices & other ingredients
  • 4-5 cardamom pods (green elaichi)
  • 2 star spice (Can use mace instead of star spice)
  • 1 tsp kasoori methi
  • 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
  • 3-4 tbsp butter
  • salt to taste

    • Don’t want to read, Watch the Video Recipe

    Read my notes below or watch the video

    Directions

    Step 1: Preparing the Marinate

  • Mix well the chicken, garlic paste, ginger paste, red chilli powder and salt.
  • Keep it aside for at least 15-20 mins

    • Step 2: Frying the Chicken

  • Add 1 tsp oil in a shallow pan
  • add 1 cube butter (approx. 1 tbsp)
  • spread the marinated chicken across the pan and fry it till it is cooked.
  • Remove it from pan and keep aside

    • Step 3: Make tomato puree

  • In the same pan in which we fried chicken, add 2 cubes of butter
  • add star spice
  • add cardamom
  • add garlic & ginger paste
  • add the tomatoes and cook them till they become mushy
  • once the tomatoes are fully cooked, let them cool, then grind them in a mixer till they become a smooth paste

    • Step 4: Cook the curry

  • Add 1 cube of butter in a pan
  • strain the tomato puree in the pan
  • add 1 tsp red Kashmiri chilli powder
  • add the fried chicken and sauté well
  • cover the pan and cook for 2-3 mins

    • Step 5: Final touches

  • open the pan and add salt to taste
  • add fresh cream
  • add 1 1/2 tsp kasoori methi. Adding this enhances the aroma and the taste of the final dish. However, do not add a lot of kasoori methi as it may make the dish a bit bitter than expected.
  • finally, add 1/2 tsp honey

    • Extra Tips

  • Add some cream on top & garnish with some more kasoori methi.
  • For the plant lovers, you can make a vegetarian version using cottage cheese/paneer!

    • Commonly aksed Questions

    What goes well with this recipe?

    I love having my butter chicken curry with hot butter naan or a butter roti. If thats not available a simple paratha goes very well this. You may even try to have this along with steaming rice but its a personal choice.

    Can you use left over chicken in this recipe instead of frying chicken?

    Absolutely, you can use left over chicken tandoori or a chicken tikka or any other roasted or fried form of dry chicken. Just ignore the frying chicken step and use the left over chicken instead of it. In fact as I have mentioned earlier, butter chicken or murg makhani was originally created so that any left over chicken tandoori can be used to make a new curry.

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    akshay-talpade

    Hi I am Akshay

    I am a Software Engineer by profession but a foodie at heart. I am in love with food! I enjoy the explosion of flavours on my taste buds and am always ready to try different cuisines. One of my fondest memories as a child is sitting on the kitchen counter, watching my mother cook. But as I travelled for work, I missed the tastes of home.
    And that was the birth of Simply Simple Cooking YouTube Channel & later this blog.

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