Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)
Yogurt-marinated chicken, tomato-butter sauce and cream finish.
Maui's an app that plans a whole week of dinners like this one. See how it works ↓
Crushing the kasuri methi between your palms before adding releases its maple-fenugreek aroma - that's the smell that makes this taste like restaurant butter chicken.
Ingredients
Everything below makes 4 servings.
- 1½ lbboneless skinless chicken thighscut into 1.5-inch chunks
- ½ cupplain whole-milk yogurt
- ¼ cupraw cashewssoaked in hot water 15 min
- 2 cupstomato puree
- 1 mediumyellow onionroughly chopped
- 4garlic clovesminced
- 1 tbspfresh gingerminced
- 3 tbspbutter
- 1 tbspghee
- ½ cupheavy cream
- 1½ tspgaram masala
- 1 tspkashmiri chili powder
- ½ tspground turmeric
- 1 tspground cumin
- 1 tbspkasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)crushed between palms
- 1½ cupsbasmati ricerinsed
- 1¼ tspkosher salt
- 2¼ cupswater
In the app these rescale to however many people you're feeding.
Nutrition
Per serving, as written.
- 540calories
- 36gprotein
- 18gcarbs
- 34gfat
Swaps move these numbers. A different protein or base changes them.
Instructions
Knife work first, then the stove. Nothing below asks you to chop while something burns.
- Cube chicken thighs into 1.5-inch chunks.
- Mince garlic and ginger. Roughly chop onion.
- Soak cashews in hot water for 15 min.
- Rinse basmati rice until water runs clear.
Marinate
In a bowl, toss chicken with yogurt, garam masala, turmeric, kashmiri chili, and salt. Let sit while you prep the sauce - at least 15 min.
15 min · hands offRice
Combine basmati with water and salt in a pot. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce to low, simmer 15 min. Off heat 10 min.
25 min · hands offBuild sauce base
Heat ghee in skillet over medium. Add onion, cook 6 min until soft. Add garlic and ginger, cook 1 min. Add remaining turmeric, cumin, and remaining kashmiri chili - toast 30 sec until fragrant.
8 min · hands onSimmer tomato
Add tomato puree and 1/2 cup water. Simmer 10 min until it darkens and pulls away from the pan sides.
10 min · hands offBlend smooth
Transfer sauce and soaked cashews (drained) to blender. Blend 60 sec until silky smooth. Return to skillet.
2 min · hands onCook chicken
Stir marinated chicken (with all the yogurt) into the sauce. Simmer 12 min, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through.
12 min · hands offFinish
Stir in butter, heavy cream, remaining garam masala (1 tsp), kasuri methi, and remaining salt. Simmer 2 min. Taste and adjust salt.
2 min · hands onServe
Fluff rice with a fork. Plate butter chicken over rice.
1 min · hands onMake it yours
Every swap here is one Maui already knows how to make, including what it does to the timing.
Reduce marinate-then-sear time; breasts dry out fast. Saves about 5 minutes.
Skip marinade. Cube paneer, add directly to finished sauce, simmer 5 min. Saves about 15 minutes.
Press tofu 10 min, cube, pan-fry briefly, add to sauce. Saves about 10 minutes.
Warm naan in dry skillet or under broiler 1 min per side.
What keeps
Sauce and chicken keep 4 days, freeze 2 months. Reheats beautifully - cream rounds out even more by day 2.
Cook rice fresh each meal.
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