Butter Chicken | a lunch prep meal
This recipe has been on repeat for me recently, mainly because it's pretty quick and because it makes a great packed lunch with some rice.
I also like that it uses chicken thighs, which hold up better than breasts for reheating purposes.
Basically, it's charred chicken with a creamy tomato-based sauce, and if you wanna read about the history of this dish, here's a National Geographic article.
I am nowhere near an Indian food expert, but the recipe I use is from America's Test Kitchen, and it goes like this.
Sauté onions and a chopped hot pepper (the recipe calls for a serrano chile, but a jalapeno is what I had this day and it was fine.)
When the onion starts to brown, add in garlic and grated ginger.
Cook for about a minute, then stir in spices (cumin, coriander, garam masala, black pepper):
Next, add water and ½ cup of tomato paste (which, conveniently, is a whole small can).
Mix that all together, and add some sugar and salt and bring to a boil.
Blend the whole mixture up, then return it to a saucepan and add some heavy cream and more butter (I skip the second butter addition, and you could also use half and half instead of cream if you want less fat in your finished dish.)
To make the chicken, mix two pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs with ½ cup Greek yogurt and a teaspoon of salt. You could add some seasonings, but honestly, this combo is surprisingly good on its own.
Line a half-sheet pan with aluminum foil, place a rack on top (I spray mine with cooking spray to make cleanup easier), and arrange the chicken on the rack.
Heat the broiler to high, and broil the chicken for about 16 minutes, turning halfway through (the chicken should be 175 degrees).
Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes, then cut it up into bite-sized chunks.
Stir the chicken into the sauce, and serve over rice, with cilantro.
Thinking ahead: next time I make this, I'm going to double the sauce and freeze half of it. That way, the next time all I have to cook is the chicken!
ATTENTION: the print button seems to be malfunctioning right now, and I am trying to get help to fix it. For now, you can click here to get the PDF.
Butter Chicken
Charred chicken in a creamy tomato sauce; great for prepped lunches!
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 5 minced garlic cloves
- 4 teaspoons fresh ground ginger
- 1 serrano chile, seeded and diced (jalapeno is fine!)
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 ½ cups water
- ½ cup tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons table salt, divided
- 1 cup heavy cream (can use half and half instead)
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
Instructions
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and pepper and sauté 8-10 minutes or until onion begins to brown.
Add in garlic and grated ginger. Cook for about a minute, then stir in spices (cumin, coriander, garam masala, pepper):
Next, add water and tomato paste. Mix together, and add sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil.
Blend mixture until smooth, then pour back into saucepan, add heavy cream and 2 tablespoons butter (this butter is optional), and keep warm.
To make the chicken, mix two pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs with ½ cup Greek yogurt and a teaspoon of salt.
Line a half-sheet pan with aluminum foil, place a rack on top (I spray mine with cooking spray to make cleanup easier), and arrange the chicken on the rack.
Heat the broiler to high, and broil the chicken six inches away from the heat for about 16 minutes, turning halfway through. Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes, then cut it up into bite-sized chunks.
Stir chicken into sauce and serve over rice with cilantro sprinkled on top.
Notes
You should be able to find garam masala at your local grocery store, but it's also available online.
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Do you make butter chicken? Any suggestions or modifications to add?
(Also, can you let me know if the "print" option for the recipe is working for you? I had issues with it recently.)
Thanks for the recipe! I make slow cooker chicken tikka masala frequently but haven't tried butter chicken yet.
Also, AllRecipes has a great garam masala recipe: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/142967/easy-garam-masala/
Thanks for the recipe details- looking forward to trying it soon!
Geeky me loved the article. Thanks for including it.
I guess I had always assumed butter chicken was sorta analogous to orange chicken...as in, not authentic!
It’s the ultimate frugal meal - the original recipe (murgh makhani) uses leftover tandoori chicken (basically barbecued/smoked chicken in spices) in a creamy tomato sauce to make it moist and appetising on the second day. Ironically, people assume that tikka masala is authentic when it is in fact the bastard (chop suey?) version of butter chicken!
So "blend" doesn't just mean "stir very well", but put it in a blender?
Might a stick blender work?
Ohhh yes, you can definitely use an immersion blender!
I make this very often because DH loves it. I routinely pack it for his lunch when he goes into the office because it does reheat well (I also make it and send it in a crockpot to spoon over rice for potlucks at work).
I make my sauce all the way up to when I add the milk (and I use whatever I have on hand...milk, cream, coconut milk, sour cream...whatever). If I make the sauce all the way up until I add the milk, then I freeze it, or I have even canned it (and it cans great!). Then when I want to make butter chicken quickly, I just reheat, add the milk, and all done.
Ooh, thanks for this tip!
this sounds amazing, do you have a canning recipe for the sauce? with times etc. thanks so much!
I make my sauce by adding onions/garlic/ginger with my spices and tomato sauce (you can use whatever butter chicken recipe your family likes...if you want my recipe, let me know). When the sauce is where I would normally add the milk, I blend it smooth, add to pint jars along with 1 tsp lemon juice per pint to be sure my acidity level is good for canning. Then can like I would tomato sauce....40 minutes in a water bath.
When I want to make a batch, I empty a jar of the sauce, add 2 tsp butter, and 1 cup of whatever dairy (milk, cream, coconut milk, whatever). It's nice that I can make a lot or a little. 1 jar and milk is enough for DH. If it's both of us, I use 2 jars, but could be canned in larger jars.
Happy Monday! Thanks for sharing this recipe. I love butter chicken, and I've been making it lately with some jarred simmer sauces, but they're just not cutting it. I'll try this recipe. I'll also most likely cook the chicken in the sauce after I blend it (for fewer dishes to clean up). More time, but less effort is often helpful in my life. ... And I love the idea of doubling the sauce.
I might leave out the blender step. The super interesting article you included says that as the recipe developed for centuries they didn’t have blenders and just stirred it well. Kristen, I live the extra step you always go for deeper information. You’re a born teacher.
I was so hoping you were going to post the recipe. Just so happens I have some chicken thighs in my refrigerator waiting to be used. I am looking forward to trying this dish.
I made butter chicken last night! I use the instant pot recipe by Two Sleevers. https://twosleevers.com/instant-pot-butter-chicken/ Thanks for sharing your recipe! Indian food is amazing! 🤩
This sounds yummy! I'll have to try it soon. 😄
I could not get the print function to work. It gave an error message. If it helps, I was attempting it on my phone (Pixel 8).
I got an error message on my tablet as well.
Print option did mot work for me.
Curious: does clicking on this link work? https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/wp-json/mv-create/v1/creations/93/print
I'm a fan of Indian cooking, but not so much of the really creamy/yogurty ones. However, I'll pass this recipe along to the Bestest Neighbors, who might enjoy it (although they'd probably omit the serrano/jalapeno). Ms. BN is a big fan of chicken shahi korma.
I haven't gotten around to making butter chicken yet. Haven't actually tried it.
I have made Chicken Saag. It a yogurt and spinach sauce. I love it with rice and naan. I've tried to make naan. Haven't done too bad. That's a work in progress.
The sauce is good by itself over rice too.
I become hesitant when a recipe calls for cardamom pods. Do you grind the whole pod or are there seeds inside that are ground? Does the color of the pod make an important difference? Thanks!
The recipe I use doesn't have cardamom. I haven't used those in a recipe yet. I would be asking the same questions as you. 🙂
my friend that is Indian and most Indian recipes I've been to, they use cardamom pods whole. Put them in the curry or whatever whole and then fish them out before eating the curry (you don't want to bite into a pod).
You could open the pod and grind fresh, but really isn't needed for sauces or curries.
I was in India earlier this year and took a cooking class. Your recipe is pretty close to what we learned there, minus one or two seasonings and real tomato rather than paste. One hint we learned is to use cashews in the saute rather than the extra butter and the cream!
Print option led on an error message. Looking forward to making this sauce!
Bleah! Thanks for letting me know. I did upload a PDF into the post, so you can download that directly; it's right above the recipe card.
This looks so good! Definitely going on my to try list.
Print option isn’t working.