Easy Butter Chicken

pot
instant pot
chicken
A super easy butter chicken recipe that gets 80% of the flavor with 20% of the effort

source: Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani) - Cafe Delites Recipe adjusted for typical use.

Servings: 6-8 Total time: 2 - 2.5 hours (30 min for Instant Pot variant)

Ingredients

For the chicken marinade:

  • 32 oz boneless and skinless chicken thighs or breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1/2 cup (112 g) plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons (15 g) minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon (10 g) minced ginger (or finely grated)
  • 2 teaspoons (2.7 g) garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon (1.4 g) turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon (1.4 g) ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon (1.4 g) cayenne pepper powder
  • 1 teaspoon (6 g) of salt

For the sauce:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons (15 g) garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon (7 g) ginger, minced or finely grated
  • 2 teaspoons (2.7 g) ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons (2.7 g) garam masala
  • 1.5 teaspoon (2 g) ground coriander
  • 28 oz crushed tomatoes
  • (optional) 15 oz can of chickpea
  • 1 teaspoon (1.4 g) cayenne pepper powder
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons (7.5 g) salt (or to taste)
  • 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
  • 1 (12.5 g) tablespoon sugar

Instructions

  1. In a bowl, combine chicken with all of the ingredients for the chicken marinade; let marinate for 30 minutes to an hour (or overnight if time allows).
  2. Heat oil in a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat. When sizzling, add chicken pieces in batches of two or three, making sure not to crowd the pan. Fry until browned for only 3 minutes on each side. Set aside and keep warm. (You will finish cooking the chicken in the sauce.)
  3. Heat butter in the same pan. Fry the onions until they start to sweat (about 6 minutes) while scraping up any browned bits stuck on the bottom of the pan. 
  4. Add garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant, then add ground coriander, cumin and garam masala. Let cook for about 20 seconds until fragrant, while stirring occasionally.
  5. Add crushed tomatoes, cayenne pepper powder and salt. Let simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until sauce thickens and becomes a deep brown red color.
  6. Stir the cream and sugar through the sauce. Add the chicken with juices back into the pan and cook for an additional 8-10 minutes until chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick and bubbling.
  7. Serve over rice, and garnish with green onion, cilantro, and a touch of lime juice.

Notes

  • For an Instant Pot variant, first put the chicken and all seasonings + yogurt into the pot. Let that marinate while you prep everything else. Add the rest of the ingredients (minus cream and sugar) on top, keep chicken on bottom, then cook on high for 12 min. Quick release, remove chicken, add cream and sugar. Simmer until thickened. Optionally blend into a smooth sauce.