What is Indian butter chicken?
Butter chicken, or “Murg Makhani” as it is also known (translates to chicken with butter) is a dish with cooked chicken served in a mildly spiced tomato sauce. It originated in India and it tastes great with naan bread, white and/or basmati rice.
Easy Indian Butter Chicken Ingredients
-Butter: We’re going to need 1 cup of butter, but it’ll be divided up and used in separate parts of this recipe.
-Onion: 1 whole minced onion, please. Did you know there’s a tip saying if you keep a metal spoon in your mouth your eyes won’t cry while you’re cutting the onion?
-Garlic: a tablespoon of minced garlic. You can use fresh or the store bought jarred version.
-Chicken breasts: We’re going to want about 1 ½ pounds of chicken breasts, and then they’ll need to be cut into bite sized pieces and lightly seasoned with salt and pepper.
-Tomato sauce: 1 15ox can of tomato sauce helps to give this dish flavor and color.
-Evaporated milk: We need 1 15oz can of evaporated milk.
-Salt: Salt helps to make the flavors in this dish really taste incredible. It’s a wingman whose job is to support the other ingredients, and it does its job very well.
-Cayenne pepper: Adding a little color and heat (but not too much) while helping to bring in some of the Indian flavors that we want.
-Garam masala: This is a seasoning blend you can buy premixed and consists of about 7 spices including chili peppers, cinnamon, coriander seeds, and cumin.
-Cooked rice: While this is optional, serving your butter chicken and sauce with rice is better than without. The rice will offset some heat while making the dish more filling and adding texture too.
How to Make Indian Butter Chicken
In a large saucepan melt 3 tablespoons of butter over medium heat.
Stir in the onion and the garlic. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the chicken and then cook for an additional 10-12 minutes.
Add in the remaining butter along with the tomato sauce, evaporated milk, cayenne pepper, salt, and gram masala.
Bring the liquid to a simmer over medium heat and then reduce the temperature to medium low.
Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve your Indian butter chicken and sauce over cooked rice and garnish with fresh cilantro if desired.
EASY INDIAN BUTTER CHICKEN
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter divided
- 1 onion minced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into bite-sized chunks & lightly salted & peppered
- 15 oz tomato sauce
- 12 oz evaporated milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- Cooked rice to serve with butter chicken and sauce
Instructions
- Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat.
- Stir in onion and garlic, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add chicken and cook an additional 10-12 minutes.
- Add the remaining butter to the saucepan, along with the tomato sauce, evaporated milk, salt, cayenne pepper, and garam masala.
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce heat to medium-low; cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve over cooked rice sprinkled with fresh cilantro, if desired.
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What is the difference between naan and pita bread?
The name comes from the Persian word, non, for bread. Unlike pita, naan has yogurt, milk, and sometimes eggs or butter in it, resulting in a softer texture. When the dough is made, bakers shape it into a ball and slap it on the interior walls of a tandoori, a clay oven. The bread puffs up and bubbles as it cooks.
How is Butter Chicken different from Tikka Masala?
Butter chicken will often look very similar to chicken tikka masala; the difference is that tikka masala has more of a complex, layered flavor from the spices, while butter chicken tastes like, well, butter, with a milder, sweeter gravy.
Need more Easy Chicken recipes? Here you go!
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- Classic Chicken Noodle Soup recipe
- Easy Salsa Chicken recipe
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- Best Homemade Chicken Tenders recipe
- 20-minute Chicken Stew recipe
- Best Chicken & Dumplings recipe
- Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta
- Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
- Easy Chicken Cacciatore Bake
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Sandy jolly says
I want to make I ndia Glee (home made butter . Help I really want the recipe