Delhi restaurant classic · Silky makhani

Butter Chicken Recipe (Restaurant-Style Murgh Makhani)

Char the tikka. Strain the sauce. Butter and methi finish.

Recipe by Farwa ZeeshanTested in the NineFoods home kitchen

Butter chicken is charred tandoori-style chicken in a smooth, buttery tomato sauce. Home versions turn out sour, orange-pink or thin. The fix is grilling marinated chicken until charred, cooking the tomatoes down with cashews until sweet, blending and straining, then finishing with butter, cream and crushed kasuri methi.

Prep20m

Cook40m

Servings4

kcal / serving520

LevelMedium

Jump to the method

The 3 laws of butter chicken

Why this recipe works

Char first

Raw chicken in sauce

Charring gives the smoky restaurant taste.

Cook tomatoes down

Raw tomatoes

Long cooking removes sourness.

Strain

Grainy sauce

Straining makes it silky.

The NineFoods makhani gauge

Is the sauce ready to blend?

Look at the tomatoes in the pan.

Tap a stage to see what to do.

Method · 5 stages

Step by step

1

Marinate

No heat · 30 min

Mix chicken with all tikka ingredients.
Rest at least 30 minutes.

Look for: chicken coated red.

30:00

2

Char the tikka

Grill or hot pan · 10 min

Grill or sear on very high heat until charred spots appear.
It can be slightly underdone.

Look for: charred edges.

10:00

3

Cook the sauce

Medium · 15 min

Melt 2 tbsp butter, fry ginger garlic, add tomatoes, cashews, chilli and salt.
Cover and cook. Use the gauge above.

Look for: soft, jammy tomatoes.

15:00

4

Blend and strain

No heat · 5 min

Blend smooth with water and strain back into the pan.

Look for: silky red-orange sauce.

05:00

5

Finish

Low · 10 min

Add chicken, sugar and simmer 8 minutes.
Stir in cream, remaining butter and kasuri methi.

Look for: glossy sauce, butter shining.

10:00

Chef's troubleshooter

What went wrong? Pick the symptom

Why

Tomatoes undercooked.

Fix next time

Cook tomatoes longer and balance with sugar or honey.

Why

Not strained.

Fix next time

Blend longer and strain through a sieve.

Why

Chicken not charred.

Fix next time

Char on very high heat, or use the dhungar coal method.

Why

Cream added on high.

Fix next time

Add cream on low heat.

Swap smart

Ingredient roles and substitutes

Ingredient	Job in the dish	Swap with
Cashews	Body and sweetness	Almonds or melon seeds
Cream	Richness	Evaporated milk
Chicken thighs	Juicy	Breast, cook 3 minutes less
Kasuri methi	Signature aroma	Skip it, but it is worth buying

After the meal

Serve, store, reheat

Serve with

Butter naan, garlic naan or jeera rice.

Store

Fridge 3 days. Freezer 2 months, best frozen before adding cream.

Reheat

Warm gently and stir in a splash of cream and a knob of butter.

How we tested this recipe

Tested in a home kitchen, not a studio

Recipe developed and tested by Farwa Zeeshan, who cooks and tests every NineFoods recipe on a regular home stove.

Cooked from start to finish with the exact quantities above for 4 servings, using both the metric and US cup measures.
Every one of the 5 stages was timed at the stove; heat levels and the 'look for' cues are what we saw in the pan.
The doneness check (is the sauce ready to blend) and the troubleshooter come from batches that went wrong, and how we fixed them.
Reheating and storage advice was checked on leftovers, not guessed.

Read our full testing process

Keep cooking

Related recipes and guides

All Indian recipes How to Make Garam Masala at Home How to Make Ginger Garlic Paste Weekly Meal Prep for Pakistani Cooking

Quick answers

Butter Chicken FAQ

What is the difference between butter chicken and tikka masala?

Butter chicken is milder and buttery; tikka masala has more onion and spice.

Why is my butter chicken sour?

The tomatoes were not cooked long enough. Cook them down and add a little sugar.

Can I make it without cashews?

Yes, use almonds or more cream.

Can I freeze butter chicken?

Yes, for up to 2 months.