Butter Chicken, or Murg Makhani, is a favourite around the world. After years of working on this blend to get it just right, we finally got it to restaurant-quality Butter Chicken. You can use it on the stovetop or in an Instant Pot for a quicker meal. Both turn out a great dish.
Ingredients
- 4T of Butter Chicken Spice Blend
- 1kg Chicken - skinless - 8-12 chicken thighs, a whole cut-up chicken, or chicken breasts
- 4t Lemon Juice
- ½ c Chicken Stock
- 24oz Crushed Tomatoes or Tomato Passata
- 1 can Tomato Paste (add to Finishing Ingredients if using an Instant Pot)
- 2t Sugar (add to Finishing Ingredients if using an Instant Pot)
- 1c Cream (add to Finishing Ingredients if using an Instant Pot)
- 8T butter
- 1 package of Butter Chicken Spice Garnish
Stovetop Butter Chicken
- Brown chicken in a dutch oven or large deep pan.
- Add Butter Chicken Spice Blend, lemon juice, chicken stock, tomato, tomato paste, sugar and cream.
- Simmer on low for 30-40 minutes until the chicken is tender.
- Finish: stir in butter until melted
Serve over rice with the Butter Chicken Spice Garnish sprinkled on top.
Instant Pot Butter Chicken
- Brown chicken in Instant Pot on sauté
- Remove chicken
- Deglaze with lemon juice and get all the bits up from the bottom.
- Add Butter Chicken Spice Blend, chicken stock & tomatoes
- Do NOT add the tomato paste, sugar or cream as they will make the sauce too thick for the Instant Pot and likely cause it to burn. (Don’t worry, you add them at the end)
- Return the chicken to the pot on top and don’t stir
- Add the lid and seal
- Set the Instant Pot for:
- 10 Minutes on HIGH with Natural Release and Keep Warm off.
- Once the pressure releases, open the lid and remove the chicken
- Add the tomato paste, sugar, cream and butter to the sauce
- Blend the sauce using an immersion blender works best, but you can pour it off and use a standard blender. Or you can just leave the sauce as is.
- Return the chicken to the sauce, and if required turn sauté back on and stir until everything is nice and hot.
- Serve over rice with the Butter Chicken Spice Garnish sprinkled on top.
Even Better Butter Chicken, More Time
Marinate your chicken for 3-24 hours in 4T Butter Chicken Spice Blend and ½c of yogurt. Remove from yogurt to brown, adding it back in after the chicken is browned. Then follow the instructions above for the remaining ingredients
Use With
Chicken, Turkey, Lentils (to make Dal Makhani), super-firm or pressed tofu, Chickpeas and Jackfruit
Left over Butter Chicken?
Have you ever tried a butter chicken burrito? Or butter chicken poutine? Or even butter chicken over pasta? Well, now it will be crazy easy for you to try all of these at home! And you'll be hooked!
