30 minute easy butter chicken-style curry. A delicious mix of deep flavors and a variety of textures. It’s funky, quick and delicious, especially when topped with scallions and pistachios. Serve with basmati rice or buttered naan. This spicy creamy dish is great for any weeknight.
Why you’ll love this butter chicken recipe
The secret to any good curry is the sauce. We add a well-balanced combination of spices that nicely blend together. The sauce is untraditionally made extra creamy with coconut milk and enriched with butter.
Also, feel free to add extra chili at the end, if you want some extra heat. Serve with a fresh cucumber salad drizzled with a yogurt dressing.
Let me guide you through the recipe with this. step-by-step VIDEO.
Helpful tips
- instead of chicken fillets, you can use skinless, boneless thighs
- you can make this dish vegetarian by using cauliflower instead of chicken
- add some extra veggies to the sauce, like spinach or broccoli
- we add 1 tablespoon of butter at the end, but this is optional. Stirring butter into the sauce adds a top note of smoothness
- if you want to make a more traditional recipe, use heavy or thickened cream. For a more healthy dish and to save calories, use unsweetened full fat coconut milk
Storage
- Fridge: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Reheat over medium heat on the stove until heated through.
More curry, please!
Easy Butter Chicken Curry
A delicious mix of deep flavors and a variety of textures. It’s funky, quick and delicious, especially when topped with scallions and pistachios. Serve with basmati rice or buttered naan. This spicy creamy dish is great for any weeknight.
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1.5 pounds chicken fillets - or boneless/skinless chicken thighs, cut into cubes
- 4 tbsp natural whole-milk yogurt - at room temperature
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp white pepper
Sauce
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 5 garlic cloves - minced
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1 small onion - finely chopped
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp red curry paste
- 2 cups unsweetened coconut milk - full fat
- 5 ounces tomato paste
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- black pepper - to taste
- salt - to taste
for serving
- chopped pistachios
- chopped scallions
- crushed chili flakes
- cilantro
- steamed basmati rice
- warm naan
Instructions
- Add the chicken and the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl. Massage yogurt mixture into chicken until well coated. Set aside while you prepare the ingredients for the sauce. You can also prepare the chicken beforehand and marinate it up to 3 hours in the fridge.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, cook the chicken, stirring occasionally, until browned all over, 5 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken to a plate.
- Reduce heat to medium-low. Melt 1 tbsp butter. Add garlic, onion and ginger. Cook until soft, 3 minutes. Add garam masala and chili powder. Stir in tomato paste and red curry paste. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add coconut milk and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Return chicken along with any juices to the skillet together with 1 tbsp butter and lime juice. Bring to a simmer and cook until chicken is just cooked through, 10 minutes. If the sauce thickens too much, add a splash of water.
- In the meantime, boil the rice and prepare naan.
- Serve the chicken with rice and naan. Top with scallions, chili flakes and pistachios. Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 751kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 33gFat: 63gSaturated Fat: 37gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 182mgSodium: 1058mgPotassium: 1095mgFiber: 5gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 1658IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 73mgIron: 5mg
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