Indian Butter Chicken

145 Reviews
93% would make this recipe again

Chicken in a spicy and creamy sauce.

Also known as «Chicken Makhani», it is a classic Indian dish with many different versions. This one I have inherited from my grandmother.

This recipe is incompatible with your food profile

Preparation : 15 min Cooking : 30 min
320 calories/serving

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, diced 600 g
3 tbsp butter, unsalted, clarified 40 g
1 onions, finely chopped 200 g
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1 g
2 tsp gingerroot, grated 9 g
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 cardamom pods 1 g
1 tsp turmeric 3 g
1/2 dried chili peppers, minced 0.2 g
1 tbsp tomato paste 18 g
1/4 cup flaked almonds, finely ground 18 g
1/2 cup canned tomatoes (diced) 130 g
1/2 cup yogurt, plain, 2% 130 g
1/4 cup cream 15% 65 mL
3 tbsp fresh cilantro [optional] 6 g
1 pinch salt [optional] 0.2 g
ground pepper to taste [optional]

Before you start

This recipe requires ghee, which is clarified butter. Since it allows cooking at higher temperatures than regular butter, ghee is able to enhance the flavour of the spices. It may be homemade or bought at an ethnic market. Alternatively, it may be reaplced by a mixture of butter and oil.

Method

  1. Cut the chicken breasts into cubes then set aside.
  2. In a large pan, heat the ghee (clarified butter) over medium-high heat. Sauté the finely chopped onion and cinnamon 3-4 min then add the grated ginger, crushed garlic, cardamom pods, turmeric and minced chili pepper. Cook 1 min with constant stirring. Add the chicken pieces and sauté until they lose their pink colour. Add the tomato paste, ground almonds and diced tomatoes. Stir, cover, lower the heat and simmer about 25 min.
  3. In the meantime, mix the yogurt and cream in a small bowl. Add the mixture to the pan at the very end and cook an additional 1-2 min without letting it boil. Add salt and pepper to taste and remove the cardamom pods. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves then serve.

Nutrition Facts Table

per 1 serving (250 g)

Amount

% Daily Value

Calories

320

Fat

13 g

21 %

Saturated 6.2 g
+ Trans 0.3 g

33 %

Cholesterol

110 mg

Sodium

130 mg

5 %

Carbohydrate

12 g

4 %

Fibre

2 g

8 %

Sugars

6 g

Net Carbs

10 g

Protein

38 g

Vitamin A

26 %

Vitamin C

14 %

Calcium

12 %

Iron

17 %

Claims

This recipe is :
Free  :
Added Sugar
Excellent source of  :
Niacin, Phosphorus, Potassium, Vitamin A, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B6
Good source of  :
Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Pantothenic Acid, Vitamin B2, Vitamin E, Zinc
Source of  :
Calcium, Copper, Folacin, Vitamin B1, Vitamin C, Vitamin D
Low  :
Sodium

DIABETES Exchange

1 serving of this recipe is equivalent to :
Food Group Exchanges
Vegetables 1
Milk and Alternatives 0
Meat and Alternatives 4
Fats 2

Leave a review

You have to be logged in to leave a review
Your rating :
Would I make this recipe again?
Show Tips

Reviews are a valuable resource: they indicate whether members and their families are happy or not with a recipe. To be useful to other members, reviews should focus on the actual cooking and eating experience related to the recipe being reviewed.

Reviews written by someone who has not actually made or tasted the recipe, comments about other reviewers, other recipes or links to other sites, may be edited or deleted by our staff. Negative reviews are not deleted if the language is appropriate. If you come across an inappropriate review, please contact us.

Reviews

145 Reviews (138 with rating only) 93% would make this recipe again
Sort By: Most Recent | Rating | Most Helpful

My Notes

Show Tips

This space is reserved for your personal notes on the recipe. These notes are private and will only be visible to you. Here's an example of what these notes could say for a given recipe:

  • I replaced oregano by rosemary and it turned out great
  • use my large pan with the copper bottom
  • leave under the grill 3 minutes instead of 1 to get a golden crust

Top Reviews

View All Reviews
october 04, 2009 | I would make this recipe again

I love this recipe. Easy to make. I replaced the cinnamon, turmeric spices with an Indian Masala spice pre-mix. I also doubled the diced tomatoes and it made a nice and juicy sauce. I would double the garlic and ginger for an extra "zing". Enjoy!

Useful 2
Anonyme
october 20, 2021 | I would make this recipe again

First off, I would use less chicken breast, as I like more sauce. Also, I would marinade the chicken overnight in a tandoori marinade. Second, after adding the tomato paste and cooking the sauce for a minute or two, I would puree it, then put it back on the pan and add the chicken. I would not cook the chicken for 25 min, or it will be too dry; 10 min should be fine. And keep adding a bit of water, because the sauce will dry up fast. Also, I would add a bit of sugar to the sauce but NOT yogourt! Yogourt is really just for the tandoori chicken marinade and will kill the sauce! After 10 min, put in the cream and cook it for another 5 min, and again add some water if you have to.

Useful 1
Anonyme
october 20, 2021 | I would make this recipe again

This was very good, and I will make again. I noticed that the ingredients list slivered almonds, and the directions later say ground almonds. I bought and used slivered almonds which I think is a mistake...!? I will omit the almonds all together next time.

Useful 1

This website uses cookies to give the best user experience, monitor the site performance, offer social networks features, or display advertisements. By clicking "ACCEPT", you consent to the use of cookies in accordance to our privacy policy.