Maybe I am the only one here… maybe not. When you cook one of your favorite dishes – do you get excited just from smelling the spices you add because you know it’s going to be super delicious? Well… when I make this delicious Butter Chicken it is exactly like that. The flavors are soo good! Don’t even get me started on the tenderness of the chicken or I will end up drooling over my laptop while writing about it… :P
I am a big fan of Indian cuisine. I also like Asian food, American food, German food… I am always hungry tbh ;P We actually had a great Indian restaurant around the corner here – a place we often went out for dinner. At the beginning of the pandemic, the restaurant had to close like all the other restaurants in Berlin. Unfortunately, the owners never reopened when the restrictions were lifted. It’s a real pity.
In the absence of a good Indian restaurant within stone-throwing distance, we started to cook Indian dishes ourselves more often. Something like this Butter Chicken here. You have to do what is necessary to survive ;P
Butter Chicken is a curry dish from the north of India, also known as Murgh Makhani and it’s quite similar to Chicken Tikka Masala – another very delicious chicken dish. The name actually does not refer to the tender and buttery soft chicken. No, there is “just” a lot of butter in the sauce to create that rich and creamy tomato sauce. The spices, the chicken, the creamy tomato sauce… all in all, a super delicious meal! By using different spice combinations, you can adjust the dish to your own preferences quite easily (we like it with loads of garlic, for example). If you are a bit more adventurous you can also make the sauce much spicier. It’s all up to you. I don’t think there is only one (right) way to season the chicken here ;)
Anyway. We really like to cook this dish – sometimes with rice, sometimes with some naan bread only. Often with both ;) The recipe is easy and cooking the chicken does not take really long (if you do not count in the marinating time for the chicken). If you’re not cooking a lot of Indian or Asian recipes you might need to buy some of the spices on the ingredients list – but I am sure if you try this Butter Chicken here you will most likely cook this dish and similar ones more often… and then it’s a good idea to have a nice little spice selection to chose ;)
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
To marinate the chicken:
28 oz. (800g) chicken breast
6 oz. (170g) Greek yogurt
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. garam masala*
2 tsp. ground cumin*
1 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric*
1 tsp. paprika powder*
For the butter chicken:
5 tbsp. butter, divided
1 large onion, finely diced
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. grated ginger
2 tsp. garam masala*
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin*
1 tsp. paprika powder*
17.6 oz. (500g) tomato purée
1 can (14 oz./400g) coconut milk
salt, cayenne pepper
your favorite rice and/or naan bread for serving
some chopped cilantro for serving (optional)
Für das Marinieren:
800g Hähnchenbrust
170g griechischer Joghurt
2-3 Knoblauchzehen, fein gehackt
1 EL Garam Masala*
2 TL gemahlener Kreuzkümmel*
1 1/2 TL gemahlener Kurkuma*
1 TL Paprikapulver*
Für das Butter Chicken:
5 EL Butter, aufgeteilt
1 große Zwiebel, fein gewürfelt
3-4 Knoblauchzehen, fein gehackt
1 EL Ingwer, gerieben
2 TL Garam Masala*
1 1/2 TL gemahlener Kreuzkümmel*
1 TL Paprikapulver*
500g pürierte Tomaten
1 Dose (400g) Kokosmilch
Salz, Cayennepfeffer
Reis/Naan Brot als Beilage
etwas gehackter Koriander zum Servieren (optional)
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
2. Peel the onion and garlic. Cut the onion into small dice and mince the garlic finely. Peel and grate the ginger. Set everything aside. Remove the chicken pieces from the yogurt mixture and scrape off as much of the mixture as possible – keep that for later and do not discard it.
3. Add about 2 tbsp. of the butter to a large (cast iron) pot and heat up. Add the chicken pieces and fry over high heat for several minutes from each side. It’s best not to move the chicken for a while once it is in the pot so it gets enough heat. When the chicken pieces got some color remove them from the pot and set them aside. Add the remaining butter to the pot, let it melt, then add the diced onion and fry until soft and slightly browned – about 3-4 minutes. Add the minced garlic, grated ginger, garam masala, cumin, and paprika powder. Stir well and continue cooking for another minute or two. Add the tomato purée and stir to combine. Reduce the heat and let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes. Do not leave the pot alone and stir frequently. You want to cook out some of the moisture so the sauce gets thicker.
4. When the sauce looks thick and darker, add the coconut milk and stir in. Add the chicken (plus the rest of the marinating sauce) back to the pot. Let simmer for another 10 minutes. Season with salt and cayenne pepper to your liking.
5. Serve the butter chicken with your favorite type of rice, some chopped cilantro, and maybe some naan bread.
2. Zwiebel und Knoblauch schälen. Die Zwiebel fein würfeln und den Knoblauch fein hacken. Den Ingwer schälen und reiben. Alles zur Seite stellen. Die Hähnchenteile aus der Joghurtmischung nehmen und so viel wie möglich vom Joghurt entfernen – die Marinade aufbewahren und für später zur Seite stellen.
3. Etwa 2 EL von der Butter in einen großen (gusseisernen) Topf geben und erhitzen. Die Hähnchenteile dazugeben und bei starker Hitze mehrere Minuten von allen Seiten anbraten. Damit das Fleisch schön anbraten kann, am Anfang erstmal nicht umrühren. Sobald die Hähnchenteile Farbe bekommen haben, aus dem Topf nehmen und zur Seite stellen. Die restliche Butter in den Topf geben und erhitzen, dann die gewürfelte Zwiebel hinzufügen und anbraten, bis sie weich und leicht gebräunt ist – dauert etwa 3-4 Minuten. Gehackten Knoblauch, geriebenen Ingwer, das Garam Masala Gewürz, Kreuzkümmel und Paprikapulver hinzugeben. Gut umrühren und für ein oder zwei Minuten mit anrösten lassen. Das Tomatenpüree dazugeben und umrühren. Die Hitzezufuhr reduzieren und die Soße etwa 10 Minuten lang köcheln lassen. Den Topf sollte man hier nicht alleine lassen, sondern immer wieder umrühren, damit nichts anbrennt. Die Soße soll etwas andicken.
4. Wenn die Soße gut angedickt hat und dunkler geworden ist, die Kokosmilch hinzufügen und unterrühren. Die Hähnchenteile (plus den Rest der Marinade) wieder in den Topf geben und alles zusammen noch einmal 10 Minuten köcheln lassen, dann nach Belieben mit Salz und Cayennepfeffer würzen.
5. Das Butter Chicken mit Reis, etwas gehacktem Koriander und eventuell etwas Naan-Brot servieren.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
PrintButter Chicken with Rice & Naan Bread
- Prep Time: 00:20
- Cook Time: 00:20
- Total Time: 09:00
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Stew
- Cuisine: India
Description
One of our favorite Indian dishes packed with flavors: super delicious Butter Chicken with Rice and Naan Bread. Definitely a recommendation!
Ingredients
To marinate the chicken:
28 oz. (800g) chicken breast
6 oz. (170g) Greek yogurt
2–3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. garam masala*
2 tsp. ground cumin*
1 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric*
1 tsp. paprika powder*
For the butter chicken:
5 tbsp. butter, divided
1 large onion, finely diced
3–4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. grated ginger
2 tsp. garam masala*
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin*
1 tsp. paprika powder*
17.6 oz. (500g) tomato purée
1 can (14 oz./400g) coconut milk
salt, cayenne pepper
your favorite rice and/or naan bread for serving
some chopped cilantro for serving (optional)
Instructions
1. Start the night before. Clean the chicken and cut it into bitesize pieces. Add the Greek yogurt, minced garlic, garam masala, cumin, turmeric, and paprika powder to a bowl and mix to combine. Add the chicken pieces and mix until evenly covered with the yogurt mixture. Cover and place in the fridge overnight.
2. Peel the onion and garlic. Cut the onion into small dice and mince the garlic finely. Peel and grate the ginger. Set everything aside. Remove the chicken pieces from the yogurt mixture and scrape off as much of the mixture as possible – keep that for later and do not discard it.
3. Add about 2 tbsp. of the butter to a large (cast iron) pot and heat up. Add the chicken pieces and fry over high heat for several minutes from each side. It’s best not to move the chicken for a while once it is in the pot so it gets enough heat. When the chicken pieces got some color remove them from the pot and set them aside. Add the remaining butter to the pot, let it melt, then add the diced onion and fry until soft and slightly browned – about 3-4 minutes. Add the minced garlic, grated ginger, garam masala, cumin, and paprika powder. Stir well and continue cooking for another minute or two. Add the tomato purée and stir to combine. Reduce the heat and let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes. Do not leave the pot alone and stir frequently. You want to cook out some of the moisture so the sauce gets thicker.
4. When the sauce looks thick and darker, add the coconut milk and stir in. Add the chicken (plus the rest of the marinating sauce) back to the pot. Let simmer for another 10 minutes. Season with salt and cayenne pepper to your liking.
5. Serve the butter chicken with your favorite type of rice, some chopped cilantro, and maybe some naan bread.
Notes
Enjoy cooking!
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