Butter Chicken Curry! Creamy, Tender & Full Of So Much Flavour.
All the curries have been popping off on the channel lately, so here’s another one. In this one, we’ll make the most incredible, full-of-flavour butter chicken curry as original and authentic as possible.
This is a remake of my version of butter chicken that I made when I first started my channel, but this one, in my opinion, is way better. The ingredients have been tested and experimented with to release more flavour & the technique is slightly different, resulting in a better overall product. I hope you enjoy this butter chicken curry as much as I do. Please enjoy.
Butter Chicken Curry
Ingredients
Chicken & Marinade
- 1 kg Chicken Thigh Boneless & Skinless
- 190 g Natural Greek Yogurt
- 3 Garlic Cloves Grated
- 15 g Ginger Grated
- 12 g Garam Masala
- 6 g Ground Cumin
- 4 g Ground Turmeric
- 4 g Kashmiri Chilli Powder Optional
- Salt & Pepper To Taste
- 22.5 ml Neutral Oil
Tomato Gravy
- 56 g Ghee
- 2 Brown (Yellow) Onion Sliced
- 3 Garlic Cloves Grated
- 15 g Ginger Grated
- 8 g Ground Cumin
- 8 g Ground Coriander
- 4 g Kashmiri Chilli Powder
- 800 g Diced Tomatoes Canned
- 10 g Garam Masala
- 11 g Granulated Sugar
- 375 ml Thickened Cream
- Salt & Pepper To Taste
Rice
- 200 g Basmati Rice Washed
- 400 ml Cold Water
- ½ Cinnamon Stick
- 1 Star Anise
- 3 Green Cardamom Pods
- 2 Bay Leaves
- Salt To Taste
Serving
- Coriander (Cilantro)
- Naan
Method
- Place the chicken and marinade ingredients (except the canola oil) into a large mixing bowl and mix to combine. Cover and place in the fridge to marinate for a minimum of 30 minutes, up to 48 hours.
- In a large, high-rimmed pan or pot, place over high heat and once really hot, pour in the canola oil. Add the marinated chicken and sear in batches for 3-4 minutes on each side or until lightly golden. Remove and place in a bowl to rest.
- Add the ghee or clarified butter to the same pot or pan and allow it to melt. Add the thinly sliced onion and sauté for 5 minutes or until deep golden, stirring frequently. Add the minced garlic and ginger and sauté for 45 seconds, stirring the whole time to prevent it from burning.
- Add the ground cumin, ground coriander and red chilli powder (optional). Toast and sauté for 45 seconds. Add the canned tomatoes and water, mix well to combine, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 8 minutes, stirring frequently.
- After 8 minutes, take the pot off the heat and blend using either an immersion blender or a food processor. (Flag: confirm whether the food processor caveat should be written inline here instead of referencing a separate notes section.)
- Once smooth, place back over high heat and bring back to a boil. Once boiling, add the garam masala, sugar, thickened cream, seared chicken along with any resting juices, and seasoning to taste. Mix well to combine and bring back to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through, soft and tender, and reaches an internal temperature of 74°C (165°F). Remove from the stovetop.
- In the meantime, place a saucepan over high heat, add all the rice ingredients, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, place on a lid, and steam for 14 minutes undisturbed. Turn off the heat, leave the lid on, and steam for a further 4 minutes. Remove the lid, discard the whole spices, and fluff with a spatula or fork. Remove from the stovetop.
- Place the rice into a serving bowl, top with the tender chicken thighs, and cover with the tomato gravy. Garnish with fresh coriander and naan bread. Enjoy.
The above nutrition guide is based on daily averages and is calculated for a single portion.
Recipe Notes
Do I Need To Use The Spices For The Rice?
The answer to this question is no, but they add incredible flavour and fragrance to plain rice. It also doesn’t only need to be the cinnamon stick, star anise, green cardamom and bay leaf combination. They can all be used on their own and are all interchangeable. I highly recommend my rice pilaf recipe if you want to use a completely different rice.
I Dont Have An Immersion Blender?
For this recipe, the sauce is at its best flavour and texture if it’s pureed, but it doesn’t matter too much if you don’t own an immersion blender, food processor or regular blender.
If you use a food processor or regular blender, wait for the sauce to cool before blending. Heat expands plastic (which is what most food processors/blenders are made of) and potentially causes the processor or blender bowl to explode and cause severe damage to yourself and your property. Please be careful. If this is off-putting, you don’t have to blend the sauce.
Butter Chicken Curry & Rice Storage Instructions
The butter chicken curry and rice will last up to 4 days in the fridge. They can also be frozen for up to 5 months. For storage, it’s better to separate the curry sauce from the rice.
Butter Chicken Curry & Rice Reheating Instructions
To reheat the curry, place it in a pan or pot over medium heat and heat it gently until hot. You may need to add a splash of cream to freshen it up. Alternatively, it can be heated in a burst in a microwave. For the rice, simply heat it in the microwave.
Watch How To Make The Recipe
Did You Like This Butter Chicken Curry Recipe?
Please take a second to leave a comment and rating below, and ill get back to you as soon as possible.
Absolutely delicious, such a nice weekday treat that’s different than usual options, would highly recommend.
Anyone can make this and it doesn’t cut any corners in terms of proper food science!
Hey Tyler. Thank you, glad you enjoyed it.
An absolute winner in my house!! Great website, Jack. Keep up the great work.
Thank you very much! So glad you enjoy the recipe and the website.
Fantastic recipe for a classic very tasty dish. Maybe not so easy to do if you’re a first time cook because of all steps, frying, browning, handling raw chicken, partly cooked chicken etc. Still it’s all very well explained in the video. I recommend you have a go. For me, a not so first time cook 🙂 the result was excellent using good quality free range chicken.
Thank you, Samantha. This one is full of different techniques that not only work well for this recipe but many others. Glad you enjoyed it.
This was the first time I cooked curry but this tastes really amazing!
Happy to hear, Lucy. Glad you enjoyed it.
This recipe was amazing Jack! My family were saying it tasted just as good as shop bought BC. I’ve made other BC recipes before and the list of ingredients was lengthy…this was so simple! Keep up the great work buddy! Much appreciated in Wellington, NZ
Thank you, Pita! I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed this one. The simplicity of the ingredients is what makes it so good as it can easily be whipped up as a somewhat fast weeknight dinner.
I made this several times already, and it’s reaaaally good. I love that this recipe works without a long list of fresh spices that I can’t get in my regular supermarket. Any recommendations for some greens on the side?
Hey, Linda. Glad you’ve been enjoying the recipe. As for sides, green beans work perfectly, as well as broccoli.