This post was originally written in 2017 and has continually been one of the most-read blog posts on healthyhomecleaning.com. I decided that with Valentine’s Day on the very near horizon, I would pull it out of the archives. This butter chicken recipe is for anyone who needs an easy yet spectacular Valentine’s Day (or any day) dinner recipe. Amateur cooks, this recipe is for you, too, especially if you add a grocery store rotisserie chicken to the sauce. It really is a no-fail, impress-your-girl (or guy) recipe.
And for dessert, make a Valentine’s Kringle!
Indian Butter Chicken Recipe
This recipe is fast enough for a quick-after-hockey-practice meal, but delicious and beautiful enough to serve when you have guests for supper. It will quickly become part of your regular recipe rotation; even your kids will like it (perhaps even LOOOOVE it, as mine do)!
This recipe is super simple to make, and quite fast. It’s especially quick if you use a pre-roasted rotisserie chicken from your grocery store.
It also doubles or triples brilliantly, so you can make enough to feed a large group. Or your pre-teen/teenaage son, who will eat all of the leftovers. All. Of. It. There are no leftovers in this family.
You can make this as mild or spicy as you like.
Oh, and did I mention that this meal is gluten free? Well it is!
To start, melt 2-3 Tbsp of butter (not margarine) in a 10-12 inch skillet over medium heat.
Prepare the onion (1 chopped), gingerroot (2-3 Tbsp fresh & grated), garlic (2-4 minced cloves) and spices (2-3 tsp chili powder, 2 tsp ground turmeric, 1-2 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon & 1-2 tsp ground coriander).
Once the butter is melted, add the onion and saute until they’re nice and soft and a little translucent.
While the onions are cooking, prepare the tomatoes.
This step is entirely unnecessary for lovers of tomato chunks. But if your kids HATE… errr…. really don’t appreciate finding large, chewy pieces of tomato in any sauce, this is a great solution. Using a hand blender, eliminate the chunks.
When the onions are cooked, add the grated gingerroot & minced garlic to the pan. Stir, and cook for a couple minutes. Be prepared, the ginger will stick to the pan.
Mix in the chili powder, turmeric, cumin & coriander and allow to cook for 3-4 minutes.
If your tomatoes are runny, this is where you would add 1-2 Tbsp of tomato paste. The brand I use is thick (a plum variety), so I never use the paste.
NOTE: Many people make the mistake of adding their tomato paste to the sauce after the canned tomatoes have been added; tomato paste should always be sauteed before adding the diced tomatoes. This eliminates the metallic taste that accompanies paste.
Add the tomatoes and stir them in.
Stir in the salt & pepper and brown sugar.
Cover your sauce and let it simmer, on low, for 10-20 minutes, or until you’re almost ready to eat. You can’t over-simmer this, so if it sits, simmering for 30-40-50-60 minutes., it will still be just as tasty.
Meanwhile, get your cooked chicken de-boned and cut into bite-sized pieces. You can either use a store-bought, pre-roasted bird, or you can cook up some chicken you already have. You can also add as much or as little meat as you want. There are no rules, folks.
Measure out your cream (2/3 cup) and yogurt or sour cream (1/2 cup)… or don’t measure. I just wing it.
Just before serving, mix in the cream & yogurt and stir in the chicken. Heat through. Be careful not to simmer the sauce too aggressively or the dairy will separate and look curdled.
Once it’s hot, serve the Butter Chicken sauce over basmati rice, with fresh, chopped cilantro and a little balkan styled yogurt.
Be prepared to over-eat!
Indian Butter Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 Tbsp grated fresh gingerroot
- 2-3 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1-2 tsp ground cumin cumin seed is also very nice added to this
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1-2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 796 ml/28 fl oz can of undrained tomatoes. These can be diced or whole
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste optional
- 1-2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper 6-7 grinds
- 1 whole rotisserie chicken skin removed, cut into into bite-sized pieces. Or chicken breast or thighs that are already cooked
- 2/3 cup 10% cream
- 1/2 cup plain balkan style yogurt OR sour cream
- Fresh minced cilantro
Instructions
- Melt butter in a deep 10-12 inch frying pan or skillet over medium heat.
- Add onions and cook slowly, stirring often, until they are tender and translucent.
- While onions are cooking prepare the can of tomatoes (for the picky eaters in your family), by lightly blending with a hand blender, or mashing with a potato masher, to eliminate as many chunks as possible.
- Add garlic & gingerroot to the onions and saute for 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in the chili powder, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon & coriander – Cook one more minute.
- If you're using tomato paste, add it to the pan now, stirring well to combine it with the onion-spice mixture. If the pan is dry, add a Tbsp or more oil. Cook, stirring often, until the paste darkens to a dark brick red, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the can of tomatoes, whole, diced, or blended.
- Stir in brown sugar, salt, and pepper.
- Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- Just before serving, add the cream & yogurt (or sour cream) and stir until fully incorporated. Heat until hot, but do not simmer or the yogurt will separate.
- Add the chicken to the sauce and heat through.
- Serve over hot basmati rice with cilantro to top.
Thanks so much for this very easy-to-follow recipe! I hope it takes out the nerves people can feel about attempting to cook Punjabi/Indian food. (I still find biryani intimidating.) I always make and use my own grated garlic/ginger paste to save time, my hubby is from India so we use it all the time. I also add 1 minced jalapeno pepper for an extra depth of kick. I also prefer sour cream. My hubby says I Irish-Americanized a British take on a Punjabi/Indian made-from-leftovers dish, LOL. I find the evolution of this tasty meal as interesting as it is heavenly.
I made this last night and it was delish!! super easy with a rotisserie chicken!
I was cruising the internet looking for a chicken recipe that I can make now and serve after my sons basketball game tonight because it will be so late. So glad I clicked on this! I have everything done, now, so tonight when we get home, all I have to do is reheat, add the yogurt and the chicken…thank you 🙂
I did add zucchini to the pot when I added the onions since I am trying to use up our zucchini and I plan on adding Greek yogurt instead of cream or Balkan yogurt, but so far this is one yummy and easy dish!
Just a thought..couldn’t you just buy a can of crushed tomatoes instead of grinding them up?
Jerusha, I actually don’t blend the tomatoes completely smooth… just enough so that the chunks of tomato are mainly undetected by my kids. But that’s a great idea for anyone who likes their sauce really smooth, without much texture. Thanks for the idea!
This recipe was delicious! One of the best things I’ve ever made/eaten. I added about 2 or 3 tbsp of dried Fennel Greek, which gave it a little kick. love, love, loooved it! Thanks 🙂
Thanks so much, this will now be my go to butter chicken recipe, it was absolutely delicious. I like my Indian food on the more spicy side so I added a couple extra teaspoons of all the spices except for cinnamon, 2 extra cloves of garlic but used the suggested amounts of ginger and pepper. I also added 2 teaspoons of pan roasted cumin seeds. This dish came out restaurant quality,it was very flavorful and everyone that ate it was extremely impressed. The sauce was thick enough that it didn’t need the tomato paste and it was rich enough that I think next time I’ll use 5% cream and save on the calories. Thanks again!
I love getting reviews like this! I agree with what you said about the spices… if it’s just me and my hubby eating (on those rare occasions when we’re home alone without the kids), and I make this, I always add more spice for more “kick”. I’ve also added cumin seed, but have never tried it roasted… what a great idea! I’m definitely going to try roasting cumin seed the next time I make it.
My husband said it was the best food I’ve ever made for him! And there aren’t even any leftovers. Boo!
Selina, thank you for such a great review! I’m so happy to hear that you loved this recipe, and even happier to know that you’re husband loved it!
Wow it looks sooooooooooooo yummy!
Thanks Kate, I didn’t have an issue keeping the plate clean, but the stove on the other hand…
That looks De-li-cious! The only thing missing is a big glass of beer on the side! How the heck did you keep the plate so clean? Wipe the edges with a Norwex cloth? At my house the food would taste amazing, but the presentation would leave a LOT to be desired.
Nice job Deja. I’m looking forward to the next one.