Note: By popular demand, we’re featuring this recipe again. Great reports across the board!
I originally loved the looks of this recipe, submitted by Tasty Kitchen member lillieknits, because I knew I had almost all the ingredients in my kitchen (important, since I don’t live around the corner from a grocery store)…and because the sauce contained both tomatoes and cream. Yum. My favorite.
But after I made it…oh, boy. Was I a believer. Definitely delicious and flavorful, but also extremely easy to throw together. It’s a great addition to any dinner rotation!
You need these spices…AND ground coriander, which I didn’t have in my pantry.
Chop up several cloves of garlic.
And throw everything in a mixing bowl! Chicken breasts, garlic, all the spices…and the juice of a whole lime. Cover the bowl and stick it in the fridge for several hours, just to let everything meet and fall in love.
After marinating the chicken, dice up a whole onion.
Heat 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter in a large skillet.
Let the onions cook for several minutes…
…Until they’re golden brown and translucent.
Next, Add the chicken breasts to the pan. I sort of scooted the onions over so the chicken would go right against the pan.
Cook the chicken for a couple of minutes, then flip it to the other side.
Pour in the tomato sauce…
And the diced tomatoes. Now cover the pan and cook it for 30 minutes.
Right before serving, pour in the cream. Of course.
Try to pour it all around the edges of the pan to make it easy to stir together.
Come on. This is absolutely too much for me. And you should smell it!
Just slowly stir around the chicken—you could even remove the chicken for a minute or two to make it easy to stir.
When it’s all combined, throw in a bunch of chopped cilantro.
Stir it to combine, and make sure the sauce heats back up.
And that’s it!
The recipe says to serve it over Basmati rice, but I didn’t have any…so I just used plain white rice.
The Verdict: It was splendid! The tomato/cream mixture combined with the spices…oh, man. I loved it. (FYI: According to Erika, Butter Chicken is also known as “Chicken Makhani”.)
Here’s the printable recipe:
Thank you for sharing, lilliekits!
maryloves2cook on Tuesday, February 9
This looks good!1
Angel Barnes on Tuesday, February 9
Thank you for this posting! I had no idea how easy butter chicken is to make, one of my favorite Indian dishes by far!2
JoJo on Tuesday, February 9
I just may have to try this this week. Yum!!!3
SusanD on Tuesday, February 9
I have everything needed for this recipe including the Basmati rice. I'm always looking for chicken recipes. Thanks for sharing. I'll let you know how the fam likes it. Blessings, SusanD4
Mary on Tuesday, February 9
Um, yum! The perfect thing to make for dinner tonight with the chicken that is defrosting in my fridge. Thanks!5
Kate on Tuesday, February 9
I just found my Valentine's Day dinner recipe!6
Amy from She Wears Many Hats (missamy) on Tuesday, February 9
Mouth watering over here! This looks easy too and something that my kids will gobble up - and that's always a good thing around here with a picky eater among the bunch.7
Jesslyn Weaver on Tuesday, February 9
Yum! I've only ever made butter chicken (aka Tikka Masala Curry Chicken) from packages. So excited for this recipe!8
jessicahunt on Tuesday, February 9
This looks absolutely incredible. YUM!9
kroseman on Tuesday, February 9
I always wondered what 'Butter Chicken' was. Looks great. Thanks Ree10
Jenna on Tuesday, February 9
If you would like it to be rather less unhealthy, you can substitute plain yogurt for most or all of the heavy cream. I just add enough until it looks/tastes right. And while similar and often confused, butter chicken is a legitimate Indian dish, while chicken tikka masala is a dish created by Bangladeshi immigrants to sell to the British public. It's actually the most popular "restaurant dish" in Britain, and they export it to the subcontinent, not the other way around. Think of it as the General Tso's chicken of "Indian" food.11
Stephanie on Tuesday, February 9
This is Chicken Tikki Masala! Yum!12
Midge on Tuesday, February 9
Snow's acomin' and I'm a cookin'! Have to pass on the donuts, though. I'm a celiac. Wow! What would the PW do without wheat?13
Joseph Louthan on Tuesday, February 9
I vote this as the best skinless, boneless chicken breast recipe ever. Just to get a great tasting s.b.c.b. recipe is like spotting a unicorn and Bigfoot all in one place: a rarity. I am curious about the thickness of the breast and would it not be better served to be smashed flat. (Hence, you can see my fear of the s.b.c.b..)14
Heatherly on Tuesday, February 9
Heavenly!15
Brooke on Tuesday, February 9
I must try this. It looks so good :) I love butter chicken!16
Eileen on Tuesday, February 9
Looks good, sounds good, so I will try it soon. It's snowing pretty hard so it is a good time to try something new. Thanks for sharing.17
Stephanie on Tuesday, February 9
This is my favorite next to curry chicken with potato. I serve this with spicy steamed spinach or cucumber&tomato salad.18
chocolatechic on Tuesday, February 9
But...but...but....where is the butter????19
Katie F on Tuesday, February 9
This looks really good!20
Lisa on Tuesday, February 9
It's okay that you didn't have any Ground Coriander because you had fresh Cilantro................which is? The SAME THING:). What is even better is if you have Cardamom pods to put into the sauce ----- the flavour is better, somehow, than the ground Cardamom. It's one of my fav Indian curry dishes..and you can add chilis if you want kick to it.21
puzzlehouse on Tuesday, February 9
This looks like it would be utterly delish, but I wouldn't call it Butter Chicken. The traditional recipes I've seen follow a 2-stage process, Tandoori Chicken and Butter Chicken Sauce: First, the chicken is marinated overnight in plain yogurt, spices*, lemon or lime, then grilled the next day (Tandoori Chicken). The Butter Chicken sauce is made by adding butter, tomato, more spices, and cream to the leftover marinade and cooking it. Chop up the cooked chicken, mix it with the sauce, add more butter and cream as garnish, and serve with basmati rice or naan bread. Oh, and don't forget to loosen your belt. :) *spices -- they're different in every recipe I've ever seen, but usually include garam masala, ginger, garlic, pepper, coriander, cumin in the marinade, and more of the same plus cinnamon, cloves, and fenugreek in the sauce.22
Jodilyn on Tuesday, February 9
Looks like the perfect dish to take to our Sunday night fellowship dinner at church! Yummm!!23
Mrs Chaos on Tuesday, February 9
Okay, this recipe made my day. LOVE butter chicken.24
Emily Hill on Tuesday, February 9
Wow! I simply must try this for Sunday dinner. Thanks!25
Judith Herrman on Tuesday, February 9
Ree: Thanks for yet another recipe. I understood that a rule of thumb was not to cook tomatoes or make a tomato sauce in a cast iron skillet as the acid will "react" with the iron in the skillet. Please, respond to this. Thanks, Judy26
At home with my kiddos on Tuesday, February 9
This looks devine! I agree, any thing with a tomato cream sauce is the best. I will be trying this very soon.27
Alta on Tuesday, February 9
Love simple chicken recipes like this. Yum.28
Soma on Tuesday, February 9
Looks delish and rich and sinful! I was not sure if this was actually the Indian version of the Butter Chicken. If it was, the traditional one is cooked a little differently tho' it contains almsot the same ingredients. The chicken is cooked/grilled first and then cooked with the "Makhani Sauce/Butter Sauce". For an original flavor try using ginger, Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves ) and fenugreek seeds while cooking this. (if you want to of course!)29
Michele on Tuesday, February 9
Yummy! I love tomatoes with cream. The spices combo sounds wonderful too!30
Jenny Crandall on Tuesday, February 9
I took an Indian cooking class and we made Butter Chicken. It really is awesome, I love it! But the recipe is pretty intense. I like your simpler version and it looks just as delish!31
yumscrum on Tuesday, February 9
Oh, yummy scrummy for my tummy!32
whatsgabycooking on Tuesday, February 9
butter chicken and all those spices... say no more... you had my at butter!!! Good thing I am starting pastry school next week so I can use all the butter I want and not feel the slightest bit guilty (not that I would anyway!) Great recipe!33
Elizabeth on Tuesday, February 9
I do something similar, though Iuse a few more spices and to change it up I use coconut milk instead of the heavy cream.. sooo yummy!34
Miki B on Tuesday, February 9
you had me when you added the cream, YUM! Adding this to my menu this week, thanks!35
Diane Palmer on Tuesday, February 9
I recently bought your cookbook after seeing you on the Bonnie Hunt show and I love it. This recipe looks really good and I will definately try it.36
angelfood on Tuesday, February 9
Oh My Gosh... This sounds so delicious. I'll be trying it soon!37
aparna on Tuesday, February 9
My dad makes AWESOME Indian chicken curry dishes. I should snag a few and post them!38
Angela on Tuesday, February 9
NYC is about to get hit with a foot of snow (that's like 3 feet to us!). I think tonight, I'll make enough Butter Chicken to last 'til Spring!! This looks soooo yummy.39
Mama Bear on Tuesday, February 9
One of my absolute favorite Indian dishes -- all you need is some naan!40
Marisa on Tuesday, February 9
I don't have all the spices but could I substitute Garam Masala? Mine looks like it's only missing the cayenne, but I don't know if the proportions would be right. Thanks!41
Candace on Tuesday, February 9
I've actually seen this recipe before - but without the use of butter! I think the one I saw used oil. Crazy, I know - so I'm glad you added the most important ingredient. I think I'll try it soon but I'll replace the heavy cream with some coconut milk (Thai Kitchen coconut milk is probably as thick as heavy cream).42
missjen3 on Tuesday, February 9
Wow! That looks so good. I have the pickiest of picky eaters in my house and I truly think they will all love this dish. I am ALWAYS looking for new and exciting ways to make great chicken dishes and I really cannot wait to try this one! Thanks!!43
Amrish on Tuesday, February 9
I agree with puzzlehouse. This is definitely NOT butter chicken. You're missing a whole lot of spices and the process is different as well. You should be starting with tandoori chicken and then go from there. This looks like a delicious dish, but please do not entitle it as Butter Chicken. Then we will start getting a bunch of people making what they think is butter chicken.44
Dave G -- Six Degrees of Preparation on Tuesday, February 9
I think what you have here is essentially a chicken "korma," a rich Indian meat stew. Regardless of what you call it, it tastes magnificent!45
jessica pw on Tuesday, February 9
my husband's favorite indian dish is butter chicken. i've tried before to make it but never turns out as good. hopefully this easy recipe will be the magic one46
Heather Kaufman on Tuesday, February 9
Thanks for adding the alternate term "chicken makhani" I never like ordering "butter chicken" when we're in a restaurant. Just makes me feel like a fatty! (but at home I of course use your recipes and wouldn't dare substitute the butter!)47
Linda on Tuesday, February 9
I think what we have here is a simple chicken recipe, that should be just that. We really don't have to tear it to pieces because of semantics, do we? Let's just enjoy, I know I'm going to. YUM!48
Indian Gal on Tuesday, February 9
Hi, This looks yummy. However, I have to say that it's not really 'authentic.' I guess it's more of a westernized version of the original. Nice try though!49
savannah on Tuesday, February 9
i think i'll be making this for valentine's day! idc what you call it, it sounds yummy!50