Butter chicken with creamy tomato sauce
Yoghurt-marinated chicken with lightly charred edges in a smooth tomato, butter and cream sauce, finished with garam masala and dried fenugreek. Served with warm naan; allow at least 1 hour for refrigerated marinating.
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Servings
Originally developed for 4 servings.
Ingredient checklist
Method
- 60:00
Mix the yoghurt, 10 g ginger, 10 g garlic, lemon juice, cumin, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder and 4 g salt in the bowl. Cut the chicken into roughly 4 cm pieces, add and coat thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate at 5°C or colder for at least 1 hour, or up to 12 hours. Do not wash raw chicken; wash your hands and clean the board and utensils after handling it.
- No timer needed
While the chicken marinates, prepare and measure the sauce ingredients. Begin cooking during the last 25 minutes of marinating. Melt 30 g butter in the saucepan over a medium-low heat. Stir in the remaining 10 g ginger and 10 g garlic for 1 minute without browning. Add the tomato purée, ground coriander and remaining 1 tsp chilli powder; stir for 30 seconds. Promptly add the passata, 100 ml water and remaining 4 g salt, then bring to a gentle simmer.
- 16:00
Simmer uncovered for 16–20 minutes, stirring frequently, until darker, thicker and no longer raw-tasting. A spatula drawn across the base should leave a trail briefly before the sauce flows back. Lower the heat if it spits heavily. Turn off the heat while you char the chicken.
- No timer needed
Once the chicken has marinated for at least 1 hour, heat the frying pan over a medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, lift the chicken out, scraping off thick excess marinade; discard the leftover raw marinade. Cook in three batches of roughly 230 g, using one-third of the oil for each. Space the pieces apart, leave for 2–3 minutes, then turn and cook for another 3–4 minutes until browned in patches. Transfer each batch to the sauce saucepan. The centres may still be undercooked: complete all three batches and continue directly to the final simmer, without pausing or refrigerating the partially cooked chicken. Reduce the heat if the coating burns and carefully wipe away blackened deposits between batches.
- 12:00
Switch on the oven for the naan: 180°C conventional/160°C fan for the packet used in this schedule; follow your packet if different. Add the remaining 1 tsp garam masala to the chicken and sauce and bring back to a gentle simmer. Simmer for about 12–13 minutes, stirring occasionally, while warming the naan as below. Check several of the largest chicken pieces: their centres must reach 75°C and remain there for 30 seconds. They should also be opaque and tender. Continue cooking if needed, adding hot water in 25 ml increments if the sauce becomes too thick. Use clean utensils after handling the partially cooked chicken.
- 06:00
While the chicken simmers, put the naan on a baking tray and warm in the fully preheated oven for the packet's stated time. This schedule uses 6 minutes, starting roughly halfway through the chicken's final simmer. Set a separate bread timer and remove the naan as soon as it ends; do not leave it in the oven while checking the chicken or adding cream. Wrap loosely in a clean tea towel. With this schedule, remove the bread first, then check the chicken's temperature and finish the sauce. If your packet gives a different warming time, adjust when you load the bread so you can still remove it promptly.
- 02:00
Once the naan is out and the chicken is cooked through, lower the hob heat and stir in 100 ml cream and ¾ tsp crushed kasuri methi. Heat gently for 2 minutes without a hard boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 20 g butter. Taste, adding some or all of the optional sugar only if the tomato remains sharply acidic. The sauce should coat the chicken but spread slowly when spooned onto a plate; loosen with a little hot water if necessary.
- No timer needed
Divide between four bowls or spoon into a shallow serving dish. Swirl over the reserved 20 ml cream, scatter with the remaining ¼ tsp crushed kasuri methi and serve immediately with the warm naan.
Chef tips
- A smaller frying pan needs more batches and extra time. Crowding traps steam and prevents the yoghurt-coated chicken from browning.
- Scrape away thick excess marinade and use medium-high rather than maximum heat. Do not add blackened pan deposits to the sauce.
- Do not pause or refrigerate the chicken after partial cooking; complete the charring and simmering sequence continuously.
- If the sauce tastes raw or sharp, give the tomato reduction longer before adding chicken. Sugar can soften residual acidity but cannot replace cooking.
- If the sauce is watery, reduce it gently before adding the finishing butter. If too thick, add hot water in 25 ml increments.
- Avoid a hard boil after adding cream, and stir in the finishing butter off the heat to keep the sauce cohesive.
Equipment check
- Covered non-reactive bowl, at least 1.5 litres
- Heavy-based saucepan or sauté pan, approximately 3 litres and 22–24 cm wide
- 28 cm heavy frying pan
- Scales, measuring spoons and fine grater
- Chopping board and knife
- Heatproof spatula and tongs, with clean utensils for cooked food
- Digital food thermometer
- Baking tray, oven gloves and oven
- Clean tea towel for keeping naan warm
Tags
Behind the dish.
Overview
This butter chicken combines tender meat and browned edges with a spoon-coating sauce. Tomato remains noticeable but is rounded by butter and cream. Reduce the tomato first, then char the chicken separately in small batches so it browns rather than steams.
Ingredient notes
Use unsweetened full-fat yoghurt and smooth passata. Kashmiri chilli powder gives colour and usually gentle heat, although brands vary. For each teaspoon, substitute ¾ teaspoon sweet paprika mixed with ¼ teaspoon mild chilli powder if needed. Kasuri methi means dried fenugreek leaves: do not substitute fenugreek seeds. Omit the leaves if unavailable rather than adding extra garam masala.
Choose naan with oven-warming instructions; the schedule uses a packet specifying 6 minutes at 180°C conventional/160°C fan. Follow your packet if it differs, and remove the bread as soon as its warming time ends.
Contains milk. Naan contains wheat and may also contain milk, egg or sesame; check the bread and spice-blend labels for relevant allergens.
Serving & storage
Serve four substantial portions with warm naan. Cool leftover curry promptly in shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours at 5°C or colder. Use within 48 hours or freeze sooner. Thaw in the fridge and reheat only once until steaming hot throughout, stirring and loosening with a little water as needed. Store and reheat naan according to its packet.
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