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Butter Chicken

Butter chicken is inherently delicious—even in its most streamlined and simplified form, it's tasty. But with just a little more effort, it becomes superlative. The goal of this recipe is to hit all the characteristic notes of butter chicken—mildly spiced tomato-based sauce; tender, charred chicken pieces; a mother’s love’s worth of butter and cream folded in at the end—while developing flavor at every turn.
The sauce for this butter chicken is cooked slowly on the stovetop and takes on a long-cooked tomato flavor, while broiled marinated chicken adds a needed bit of char and acidity to the final dish.
Servings: 6
Author: Serious Eats

Ingredients

For Marinating the Chicken:

  • 2 tablespoons kasuri methi (fenugreek leaves) or, alternatively, 2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds
  • ½ cup plain Greek yogurt (60ml) store-bought or homemade
  • 2 tablespoons garam masala store-bought or homemade
  • 4 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt (if using table salt, use half as much)
  • 2 teaspoons kala namak (black salt) (optional, see note)
  • 1 2-inch piece fresh ginger (1 ounce; 28g), peeled and finely grated
  • 4 pounds boneless-skinless chicken thighs (1800g, about 8), cut into bite-size, 1-inch pieces

For the Makhani Sauce:

  • 5 teaspoons kasuri methi (fenugreek leaves), 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons; or, alternatively, 1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds
  • 2 whole dried chiles de arbol
  • 1 black cardamom pod alternatively, 1 pod green cardamom
  • 1 whole clove
  • 1 tablespoon garam masala store-bought or homemade
  • 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt if using table salt, use half as much by volume or the same by weight
  • 1 28-ounce can whole fire-roasted tomatoes with their juices (800g)
  • 1 ounce raw cashews (28g - about 12 to 15)
  • 1¼ cups water (295ml) divided
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil (30ml) or other neutral-flavored oil
  • 1 medium white onion peeled and cut into ½-inch dice
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1-inch piece ginger ½ ounce; 14g, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 4 medium cloves garlic smashed and roughly chopped
  • ½ cup heavy cream (120ml) plus more for drizzling
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (60g) cut into 4 pieces
  • warm basmati rice for serving

Instructions

Marinate the Chicken:

  • In a small skillet, toast the fenugreek leaves (or fenugreek seeds, if using) over medium heat, tossing them constantly, until quite fragrant, about 30 seconds.
  • Transfer the toasted leaves to a spice grinder or mortar and pestle and grind to fine powder.
  • Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray with canola spray.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the yogurt, garam masala, salt, black salt, grated ginger, and ground fenugreek leaves.
  • Add the chicken thigh pieces to the bowl and, using clean hands, toss with marinade until evenly coated.
  • Transfer chicken to the prepared baking sheet, arranging pieces in a single, even layer. Set aside.

For the Makhani Sauce:

    Prepare the spices:

    • Add the fenugreek leaves (or seeds, if using), chiles de arbol, black cardamon (or green cardamom, if using), and clove to a small skillet and place it over medium heat.
    • Toast, tossing frequently, until the spices are quite fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes.
    • Transfer the spices to a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle along with garam masala and salt and grind to a fine powder. Set aside.

    Prepare the cashews:

    • In a small, microwave-safe bowl, combine the cashew nuts and 1/4 cup (60ml) water.
    • Microwave on high until the cashews look plump and have softened slightly, about 1 minute. Set aside.

    Sauté the onions:

    • In a Dutch oven, heat the canola oil over medium-high heat until shimmering.
    • Add the onions and baking soda and, using a wooden spoon, stir to coat the onions in the oil and to distribute the baking soda.
    • Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions have completely broken down, most of their moisture has cooked off, and they begin to brown, 14 to 17 minutes. If at any point the onions seem to be browning too quickly or unevenly, add a tablespoon (15ml) of water and scrape up any brown bits that form on the bottom of the pot.

    Add the aromatics:

    • Reduce the heat to medium low.
    • Add the ginger and garlic to the pot and cook, stirring constantly, until quite fragrant, about 1 minute.
    • Add the ground spice mixture to the onions and cook, stirring constantly, until the onions are coated in the spices and the mixture is very fragrant, about 30 seconds.

    Add the tomatoes and simmer:

    • Add the cashews and their soaking liquid, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot.
    • Add the tomatoes and their juices plus 1 cup (240ml) of water and, using the back of wooden spoon, crush the tomatoes.
    • Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer.
    • Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are completely broken down and the liquid has reduced, about 40 minutes.

    Broil the chicken:

    • Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to about 3 inches below the broiler element and preheat the broiler on high.
    • Transfer the chicken to the broiler.
    • Cook, checking the chicken frequently to ensure it's not burning, until the chicken is charred in spots and is fully cooked through, about 14 minutes (time will vary depending on the strength of the broiler).
    • Remove the chicken from the broiler and set aside.

    Blend the sauce:

    • Using an immersion blender and off the heat, blend the contents of the Dutch oven until completely smooth, about 2 minutes. Alternatively, transfer the contents of the pot to a blender and blend until completely smooth, about 2 minutes.
    • Add the butter and cream, and blend until completely smooth and emulsified, about 2 minutes.

    Finish and serve:

    • Add the reserved broiled chicken along with any juices in the sheet pan to the sauce and stir until the chicken is well incorporated and warmed through.
    • Ladle the chicken and sauce into a serving bowl and drizzle with additional heavy cream.
    • Serve immediately with rice.

    Notes

    • If you cannot find kala namak, or black salt, you can substitute a ½ teaspoon of Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
    • Fire-roasted whole canned tomatoes are preferred, but plain whole canned tomatoes can be used as well.
    • If you'd prefer to forego toasting and grinding the spices yourself, you can use pre-ground spices.
      • For the marinade:
        • Use 2 teaspoons of ground fenugreek seeds in place of the fenugreek leaves.
      • For the sauce:
        • 1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds
        • 1/4 teaspoon of ground cardamom
        • 1/8 teaspoon of ground clove
        • 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

    Useful user comments:

    • Use a wider variety of chiles for more flavor - I replace 2 arbol with an arbol, an ancho, a pasilla, and a guajillo.
    • You don't have to blend the chiles or the spices before cooking, as long as your blender is powerful enough at the end to blitz everything into a completely smooth puree.
    • Using toasted cream in this is a good idea. (There's a recipe on Serious Eats.)