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!
233 Comments
Comments are closed for this recipe.
Jen on 2.18.2010
Yum! This is my family’s favorite dish to get while out and now you’ve made my husband very happy!
theatremarmot on 2.17.2010
This is my favorite dish to order at the nearby Indian restaurant.
I made this tonight. It was gooooooooooood.
scbusf on 2.17.2010
I made this tonight and it was really good!!!!!! My sauce was also a bit thin ….. looked a lot thicker in the pics!!! I’m not sure if I did something wrong or what. Still really good, though!!!
lulu on 2.17.2010
It’s the tomato sauce – it overpowers the other flavors.
food lover on 2.17.2010
in reference to the people saying this is basically chicken in a spaghetti sauce: i’m not sure about any of you, but i have never had a spaghetti sauce that used ground coriander, cumin, cardamom, and lime…
lulu on 2.17.2010
Wow auntjen, what are you, like, 12? Please. There are people, such as myself, who have a fondness for the fabulous butter chicken that is offered in finer Indian restaurants. The problem is, this recipe has certain spices that seem probable for butter chicken, and Ree’s pictures make it look very similar to butter chicken, but it ain’t butter chicken. It is chicken and rice in a spaghetti sauce. Now if you are looking for a recipe for a dish like that, then this is the recipe for you. If, however, you are looking for a recipe to make fabulous butter chicken at home, then this is not the recipe for you. I sincerely wish I had read the comments BEFORE making this dish, because then I would not have been so disappointed. I, and several others who have commented on here warning that this recipe is not as it seems, are merely trying to save someone else that same disappointment. If you have a problem with that, why don’t you just take your recipes and go home? Or at least keep your immature thoughts to yourself.
Kristen Miller on 2.17.2010
Wow! I can’t believe some of the ugly words being thrown around. Just like ANY recipe in the world. There are hundreds, if not THOUSANDS of different versions. This recipe is obviously inspired by Indian butter chicken. It may not be authentic, but its certainly a variation. Are there not variations to any other cuisine? Does all spaghetti and meatballs taste like the spaghetti and meatballs they make in Italy? No, of course not. But that doesn’t change the fact that its still essentially spaghetti and meatballs.
To each his own. Look in the mirror before you judge someone else.
Michelle on 2.17.2010
Made this last night! Awesome!!!
zerin on 2.17.2010
I totally agree with all the Indian readers who have posted their comments on this post. Butter chicken is not made this way. We never use canned tomatoes for our curries, but using it definitely gives the curry some colour and makes it look good. Our fellow reader puzzle house has explained the correct procedure for butter chicken.
But I guess all the spices added in this recipe should make it a fairly good Indian curry. But not butter chicken.
atomicfunk07 on 2.16.2010
Amrish – how on earth can you know if Ree really was posting a recipe for Indian Butter Chicken? Maybe it was Butter-Chicken-With-Spices-That-Indian-Cooking-Uses-A-Lot. So don’t question her authenticity or whatever. Either eat the chicken or don’t; just don’t assume that the Butter Chicken in Indian restaurants is the *only* butter chicken out there – many Indian restaurants serve dishes no one would dream of cooking at home. Please.
auntjen – I’m glad you liked it, and I’m glad that you’re ok with there being multiple “Butter Chicken” recipes in the world.
auntjen on 2.16.2010
I don’t care what this is called, it’s delicious!
Oh, and the recipe was not submitted by Ree and “called butter chicken”, it was submitted by lillieknits. Ree just happened to like it and added it to her blog.
Be nice and enjoy the recipes, or feel free to go somewhere else, Ridiculous People!!
chanonn on 2.16.2010
Made this for Valentine’s Day!! YUMMY!
Amrish on 2.16.2010
atomicfunk07- If Ree had put in more effort into this dish, she would have found out that this truly isn’t Butter Chicken before posting it as such. While I appreciate her step-by-step photos, it is still unfortunate that so many viewers of this recipe and title will follow her blindly thinking this really is Butter Chicken because she “said so”. If she had done her research, she would have called this dish a different name or mention that this is a watered-down version of Butter Chicken. I didn’t see anyone with “Indian-sounding” names being necessarily mean; I just saw informed people defending their culture and their knowledge of and respect to Indian dishes.
I believe that this dish is good just based on its ingredients, but the taste of the dish isn’t the issue. It is the claim that this is butter chicken when it isn’t. It is the fact that people have these “I don’t care what you call it” attitudes. This type of attitude partly explains why ignorance is still so ubiquitous in this world.
I’m done with this issue. I just hope that the people who tried this Chicken in Tomato-Cream Sauce dish (which is what it really is) will get to try real Butter Chicken one day. It is an amazing dish full of many complex flavors. YUM!
daintydish on 2.16.2010
This was delicious. I’m with Ree, the tomatoes with cream…wow and I did also try the Basmati Rice. I’m not sure how it is different, but it was very good with this dish. This is one I will make over and over…! Can’t wait to try it on company.
Thanks for sharing this recipe!!
Dainty Dish
atomicfunk07 on 2.16.2010
Ree, this recipe sounds absolutely delicious. And having read many of your recipes on the PW website, I have to ask: where is the butter in this butter chicken? I could only find a tablespoon!
Suitablegirl: I wouldn’t go so far as to wish anyone indigestion, but I do agree with you that many of the comments left by folks who know a thing or two about actual Butter Chicken were marginalized and dismissed. But this website, I think, chooses to value taste over authenticity, and frankly, butter chicken is kind of a gross idea (anything followed by “Makhani” tends to taste subpar.) so I think this, while westernized, is a big improvement.
Browngirl: Plenty of folks with “indian” sounding usernames posted about how this recipe isn’t authentic, etc etc. They weren’t very nice about it. They didn’t try the recipe to see if it might taste good on its own, independent of its name. It’s hard to stand up for people who didn’t make an effort to be respectful to a person who put a lot of time and effort into the recipe and the blog post.
And to the lady who insisted that the name difference was ‘semantics’ – wouldn’t you agree that there’s a difference between kraft mac’n’cheese and homemade spaghetti with meatballs? (Not that I’m saying this recipe is on the level of chef boyardee or anything.)
Just to make it clear: Ree, this is a lovely recipe, and as usual, your photography is excellent – you have managed to make chicken look yummy to a vegetarian!
BrownGirl on 2.16.2010
“I get that this is simple and delicious and that the vast majority of you don’t care what it’s called, but for the few who do– especially those of you who are arguing “semantics” when you’re wrong, you are reminding me of my Mom’s favorite bromide: “A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing”. Going to your local Indian restaurant, buying something pre-made or yes, even going to India for a few days doesn’t make you an expert on Indian cuisine or anything else Indian for that matter.”
What an obnoxious thing to say! How do you know the people commenting here don’t have a deeper knowledge of Indian cuisine than you do? And who was “ignored or dismissed”? You’re making a lot of assumptions. No one on this thread was being confrontational or obnoxious, until you entered the picture.
I don’t really get this argument, either:
“Stop flinging around terms you don’t understand, because when one of the kind-hearted souls who reads this thread actually convinces their picky family to go and try an actual Indian restaurant, and they order something based on YOUR misinformation, their family will be disappointed and in some cases, will swear off Indian food entirely. Why? Because you felt the need to play know-it-all. Thanks!”
It sounds like you are the one who needs to play know-it-all. And it’s not attractive, whether you’re Indian or not.
Suitablegirl on 2.16.2010
I get that this is simple and delicious and that the vast majority of you don’t care what it’s called, but for the few who do– especially those of you who are arguing “semantics” when you’re wrong, you are reminding me of my Mom’s favorite bromide: “A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing”. Going to your local Indian restaurant, buying something pre-made or yes, even going to India for a few days doesn’t make you an expert on Indian cuisine or anything else Indian for that matter.
It’s disheartening that the few Indian people who took the time to comment were ignored or dismissed. Having said that, Ree never said that this was a perfect, authentic dish; she just said it was yummy. My quarrel is not with her. My quarrel is with those of you who think you know more than you actually do. Stop flinging around terms you don’t understand, because when one of the kind-hearted souls who reads this thread actually convinces their picky family to go and try an actual Indian restaurant, and they order something based on YOUR misinformation, their family will be disappointed and in some cases, will swear off Indian food entirely. Why? Because you felt the need to play know-it-all. Thanks!
This is a simple, apparently delicious (I’m a vegetarian so I’m not going to try it) version of a Chicken dish with Indian influences. To those of you who want to just enjoy it for what it is, I wish you a great meal. To those of you who want to insist that it’s actually something else entirely, WHEN YOU ARE WRONG, I wish you indigestion. Most important of all– I hope everyone takes away from this thread that Indian cuisine is a complex, diverse and amazing thing, and that it would behoove you to keep an open mind when at an Indian friend’s home or restaurant, instead of believing the misinformation which has been doled out here, by well-meaning but ignorant commenters. I commented because I hope this recipe serves as a fantastic introduction to a world of good food vs. an invitation to disappointment and confusion.
niki on 2.16.2010
Seems like a westernized version, though it still looks quite yummy. I love love LOVE Indian food!
sweepea on 2.16.2010
(must not post while hungry!)
i meant i used 1/2 butter and the rest EVOO, and half & half instead of the cream. whew!
sweepea on 2.16.2010
it was a hit for a belated Val Day dinner — he loved it!
i only used 1/2 the butter and 1/2 & 1/2 instead and it turned out great… but i think this dish would be good as a tofu meat-free alternative, too, since it is so flavorful. going to add some to the abundant sauce i have left tonight!
Linda S on 2.16.2010
This was delicious and I’m not a lover of Indian food at all…my very very picky 15 year old literally licked his plate, of course, I couldn’t give him any chunks from the sauce…but I’m curious about one thing…My sauce was very a very soupy consistency, not as think as it looks in the picture…delicious still the same, but should I have drained the canned tomatoes? Maybe that was the problem. All in all, a great valentines dinner for my family and even better as leftovers the next day…yum! Thanks!
Patty on 2.16.2010
I absolutely l0ved this recipe and so did everyone who ate it. I didn’t have cardamom and it still came out great. I will be getting some cardamom and trying this dish again.
Sally on 2.15.2010
We made this tonight and loved it. I’m wondering if anyone elses curdled when they added the cream. I did use half n half because I forgot to buy whipping cream. I’m thinking it was because I poured the marinated chicken and the marinade in the pan and I shouldn’t have poured in the marinade? Was it from the lime? It was so delicious… My husband loved it as did my boys who are 6, 3 and almost 2. YUM! A definite “make again.”
Judy@In His Grip on 2.15.2010
Wow, this so reminds me of being in India. This is one of the only Indian dishes that I would eat while I was there for 21 days.
Emily Hamblen on 2.15.2010
Made this last week. LOVED it. Passed on the recipe to my mom-in-law, too. Will definitely make it again. THANK YOU!
Charlotte Timmons on 2.15.2010
I don’t care whacha call it! I made it for dinner last night. Loved the simplicity of the recipe. LOVED the flavors of the dish! T
Ami on 2.15.2010
This meal was delectable! And I’m not that hot of a cook. I didn’t have ceyenne (shame on me) so I used red pepper instead. It was simply divine!!!! Thank you!
Gitte Gentile on 2.15.2010
Made this Saturday night. I forgot to let it marinate overnight, however, it did get to marinate in the fridge for an hour or two. I also forgot to add the cream…how do you forget these things? With all of my failure to follow the instructions the dish still turned out absolutely wonderful. I will diffinately make this chicken again.
bgoodny on 2.15.2010
I was out of ground cumin and so was my local store. But they did have garam masala (go figure) and it listed its ingredients as coriander, cumin, black pepper, cardamom and cinnamon. I decided to try it and it was fantastic. The family loved it, especially my 13 yr old grandson. Next time I want to try using coconut milk instead of heavy cream as suggested by Elizabeth. That sounds delicious too.
Anika on 2.14.2010
Made this for valentine’s dinner tonight and it was a BIG hit!!! So yummy. thanks for the recipe!
Mary Jane on 2.14.2010
Made it tonight. My husband, sons and daughter, all loved it. So easy too.
Amy on 2.14.2010
I made this for my hubby for Valentine’s Day dinner. We both totally loved it! Very good flavor blend. I only used half the heavy cream the recipe calls for and found that sufficient. As much as I adore heavy cream, I just couldn’t bring myself to pour in the entire pint!
Laura H on 2.14.2010
I made this tonight. I think my husband wanted to marry me all over again. Even my super picky 3 year old ate a bite and shouted “Ooh, that’s good!”
Dina @ 4 Lettre Words on 2.14.2010
“…meet and fall in love.” Just brilliant!
buckeroomama on 2.14.2010
I just made this and absolutely LOVED it! I did make some modifications to the recipe to suit our family’s needs… I omitted the cayenne pepper, added a dash of paprika, no cardamom (because I couldn’t find any!), and I used fresh coriander to marinate instead of powder coriander. I also added button mushrooms to the mix and I added turmeric to make the basmati rice yellow.
And the best test of how successful it was? The children cleaned their plates!
Cheryl in AL on 2.13.2010
I am making this for our Valentine’s dinner tomorrow. Looks so yummy. (I need to swing by and pick up some Naan to go with)
Elisabeth on 2.13.2010
I just made this tonight and it was delish! I didn’t have any coriander so I’m not sure how that would have changed the flavor but I really enjoyed it as is. Also, I’ve never eaten any kind of Indian food, so I have nothing to compare it to, I just know that it was yummy!
lulu on 2.13.2010
This is chicken in tomato cream sauce (tastes a lot like spaghetti sauce to be honest). For everyone thinking this will be that sublime dish you order in an Indian restaurant – it is not. It is good, but it is not in any way shape or form butter chicken.
Natalie Young on 2.13.2010
Thank you so much!! I have tried almost a dozen butter chicken recipes to find one that tastes like what’s in the restaurants and some were either too tomato-y or didn’t taste tomato-y at all. This is PERFECT!! Thank you!!!
Linda on 2.12.2010
Have bought butter chicken sauce at World Market for years and had NO IDEA it was this easy to do myself…can’t wait to try it, I’m sure it’s wonderful! I thought it would be way more complicated with way more spices……lol!
SusanD on 2.12.2010
This dish is awesome! L.O.V.E. it! Marinated overnight and cooked it tonight. Even the eight year old grand-boy thought it was delicious. He thought it was a touch hot from the cayene but that didn’t slow him down eating it. lol. Will def put this recipe in the dinner rotation. Thanks so much for sharing.
I used fat free half and half.
Shannon on 2.12.2010
I love Indian food but my family… not so much. I made this last night and even my picky 8 year old son said he like it. We ate it burrito-style with whole wheat frozen roti.
The flavor of the marinated chicken was fantastic. I used half the cayenne and thought it not spicy at all. I also used ghee instead of butter and added some frozen spinach and methi greens about 15 minutes before the end. Only had half a pint of cream, and that was plenty. Next time I will try popping some cumin and mustard seeds in the ghee/butter before adding the onions to deepen the flavor, and maybe using whole yoghurt instead of cream. I would also like to experiment with using paneer or tofu instead of chicken.
Of course, my kids might spit out my experiments, and they loved this. A great, easy dish with plenty of room for variations. Will definitely make again
Heather @ (The Single Dish) on 2.12.2010
I need to make that tonight, that looks amazing! Over pasta would be good as well.
Judy B. on 2.12.2010
Holy macaroni people…I agree with Linda…it’s just a simple chicken recipe – no need to be argumentive re it’s title . I intend to make it and enjoy it for what it is – delicious – by any name.
Apryl on 2.12.2010
Hiya! I made this recipe last night (changed a few spices for what I had on hand and used brown rice cooked in 1/2 water, 1/2 chicken stock) and had to cook picky DD’s chicken without the sauce BUT husband, myself and DS LOVED it! It was so simple and DELICIOUS! This will definitely be added to our dinner rotation
(And I have to add also – who cares what you call it, its GOOD!)
HoneyWinchester on 2.12.2010
i made this dish this week and it was amazing! i added some frozen peas in the last 5 minutes of cooking.
Pea on 2.12.2010
This, and I don’t give a rat’s ass what you call it, this is one of the best dishes I have ever had. I made Indian Naan bread to go with it. I have never had ‘butter chicken’ and frankly the name is not very appealing, but when I saw the list of spices and ingredients, I was sold. I was not expecting such an amazing dish. I’m looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow.
read2sew on 2.11.2010
Made this tonight and everyone loved it! Voted a “keeper” recipe by my family.
Amrish on 2.11.2010
You can’t even say that it is a “variation” of butter chicken because it just ISN’T butter chicken at all. At least not Indian Butter Chicken. It isn’t semantics. You wouldn’t call a dish with spaghetti and cheese a macaroni and cheese dish, would you?
Again, this is NOT a variation of butter chicken, nor a simpler version. It is just a chicken dish. Just because Ree made it, doesn’t mean you can just believe it must be the real deal. It may be delicious, but the title is misleading.
KelliSue on 2.11.2010
Here we call it Splutter Butter chicken, because it always splatters, but that doesn’t rhyme nearly as well. I went through an entire phase of eating paneer cooked in this sauce, and chicken in this sauce, and warming tortillas and skipping the rice and eating the Butter Chicken in a warm flour tortilla.
So delicious. Thanks for the recipe reminder.