Butter Chicken

Butter Chicken is one of the most popular Indian dishes in North India. This rich, creamy dish is also quite popular outside India and is a reference for Indian food for many non-Indians. Although the food culture of India is versatile and touches upon various ingredients and variations of tastes and flavours, some dishes stand out and become more popular than others. Butter Chicken is clearly one of those dishes.

Butter Chicken is not an everyday dish. It is rich and heavy, containing ingredients like cashews, butter and cream. It is a typical ´restaurant dish ´or a dish for parties and special occasions.

Recently, when I invited a couple of friends for dinner, I prepared Butter Chicken and served it with kulchas. Everyone loved it.

There are many such dishes which are prepared once in a while for special guests or special occasions. Some of these are Paneer Makhani, Malai Kofta, Dal Makhani etc.

Now, let´s start with the recipe for Butter Chicken.

At the end of the recipe, I shared information about ingredient sourcing in Germany and my tips for preparing and serving it at parties.

Equipment Needed:

• Mixing bowl
• Saucepan
• Pan for the gravy
• Grill Pan
• Mixer grinder
• Strainer
• Knives and Cutting Board
• Spatula

Ingredients for Butter Chicken:

1st Marinade

• 1 kg Chicken Breast, washed, pat-dried and cut into cubes
• 1 tbsp Ginger Paste
• 1 tbsp Garlic Paste
• 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1 tsp Salt

2nd Marinade

• 5 tbsp Mustard Oil
• 2 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
• 150 ml Thick Curd/Yoghurt

Gravy Ingredients

• 1 Cup Water
• 1 Medium-Sized Onion, roughly chopped
• 5 Medium-Sized Tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 Handful Cashews
• 1 tbsp Chopped Ginger
• 1 tbsp Chopped Garlic
• 2 tbsp Butter
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 3-4 Green Cardamoms
• 1 Black Cardamom
• 1 Small Cinnamon Stick
• 4-5 Cloves
• 1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
• 1 tbsp Kasuri Methi
• 2 tbsp Finely Chopped Fresh Coriander Leaves
• 2 tbsp Fresh Cream
• Salt to taste

Tempering Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Butter
• 2 tbsp Finely Chopped Ginger
• 1 tbsp Finely Chopped Green Chillies

Garnishing Ingredients

• Fresh Cream
• Finely Chopped Fresh Coriander Leaves

Method to make Butter Chicken:

Step 1: Prepare the first marinade by mixing chicken with salt, lemon juice, ginger and garlic paste. Cover and rest it for 30 minutes.

Step 2: While the chicken rests, transfer water, butter, onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, cashews, bay leaves, cloves, black cardamom, green cardamoms and Kashmiri Red Chilli powder to a saucepan.

Step 3: Cook them till the tomatoes turn soft. Then, turn off the heat and let it cool.

Step 4: While everything cooks and cools, move on to preparing the second marinade. In a mixing bowl, combine mustard oil with Kashmiri red chilli powder. Add curd/yoghurt and whisk it together.

Step 5: Take out the marinated chicken from the fridge. Add the 2nd marinade ingredients and mix well. Cover the bowl and rest in the fridge for another 30 minutes.

Step 6: While the chicken rests, go back to the cooked and cooled stuff in the saucepan. Grind them to a fine paste in a mixer. Strain the mixture and collect the smooth mixture in a bowl.

Step 7: In a big pan, fry ginger and garlic in butter for a minute or two. To this, add the strained gravy.

Step 8: Add Kasuri Methi, fresh cream and fresh coriander leaves. Add salt and cook it for 2-3 minutes on medium heat.

Step 9: Now, move back to the chicken. Heat a grill pan. Place the chicken pieces on the grill pan. Grill on high heat, on one side, for 1 minute or till you see grill marks. Then, flip and cook on the other side for another minute.

Step 10: Transfer this grilled chicken to the gravy and cook for a minute or two.

Step 11: Transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and fresh cream, and serve.

Some Notes about Ingredient Sourcing in Germany:

Chicken Breast: This is called Hänchen Brust Fillet in German. It is available in the refrigerator section of supermarkets.

Ginger, Garlic: Ginger and Garlic are called Ingwer and Knoblauch respectively. You can get them in the vegetable section of supermarkets. Chop or grind them as per the instructions in the recipe. You can also buy readymade Ginger-Garlic paste from Indian shops.

Lemon: Lemons are called Zitronen. You can find them in the vegetable section of supermarkets. You can also buy prepared lemon juice from supermarkets. It is called Zitronensaft and comes on a yellow plastic bottle.

Salt: Salt is called Salz in German. It is available in supermarkets. Learn more about Salt varieties in German supermarkets in my article: 10 Types of Salts in German Supermarkets-Explained.

Mustard Oil: Mustard oil is called Senföl. It is available in some supermarkets. However, you can get it easily in Indian shops. Read my article: Different Types of Oils in German Supermarkets-Explained to learn more.

Spices like Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder, Bay leaves, Green and Black Cardamom, Kasuri Methi, Cloves and fresh coriander leaves can be sourced from Indian shops.

Yoghurt: Use Joghurt, 3,5% Fett. Read more about yoghurt varieties in German Supermarkets in my article: 11 Varieties of Yoghurt in German Supermarkets-Explained.

Onions and Tomatoes: They are called Zwiebel and Tomaten. You can get them in the vegetable section of supermarkets.

Cashews: These are called Cashewkerne and are easily available in supermarkets.

Fresh Cream: Use Kochsahne. Read more about cooking cream and other varieties in my article: Cream-based products in German Supermarkets Explained.

Tips for early preparation and serving Butter Chicken for a party:

If you serve butter chicken to your guests and keep your work less on the day of the party, you can prepare the gravy the previous day. Grind and strain the gravy, transfer it to a bowl and keep it in the fridge. Step 8 is done on the day of the party, i.e., Heat the gravy. Add a tempering of ginger and green chillies. This will refresh the gravy.

Grilling the chicken hardly takes time, so you can marinate the chicken on the previous day. Grill and add it to the gravy on the day of the party. If you want to reduce your work on the day of the party even more, grill the chicken and keep it in the fridge on the previous day. On the day of the party, add it to the gravy and cook them together for a few minutes.

An additional Note: Chicken breast cooks very fast. If you overcook it, it will become chewy and rubbery. Note that you cook the chicken two times in the recipes. You grill it and then you cook it in the gravy. So, grill it to about 80% and do the rest of the 20% cooking in the gravy.

Here is the recipe in printable format:

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