This easy Butter Chicken is made with onion masala. I have mentioned onion masala many times on my blog because it is life-changing especially if you love Indian food.
The onion masala recipe is from Ashley at my heartbeets.com. She has a big collection of recipes using onion masala as well. Thank you to Ashley for making our lives so much easier!
Ever since I started making onion masala, I convert most recipes using this as the base. Butter chicken is loved by many, it is one of the most popular recipes from India.
My family loves it and I make it quite often now that I use onion masala. It’s simpler and can be made in no time.
What are the ingredients for this Easy Butter Chicken?
Onion masala
Chili powder
Turmeric powder
Cashew nuts
Vinegar
Salt
Sugar
Garam masala
Kasuri methi
Butter/ oil
Cream
To marinate chicken: Chili powder, turmeric powder, salt & ginger garlic paste.
For exact measurements please refer to the recipe card.
How do you make this Easy Butter Chicken?
- Marinate cut chicken( I usually cut the chicken in bite-sized pieces) with chili powder, turmeric powder, salt, and ginger-garlic paste and keep it aside.
- Gather all your other ingredients. Soak cashews in warm water.
- Heat oil and butter in a pan. Fry chicken till cooked.
- Take out the chicken pieces and keep them aside.
- In the same pan, add more butter and oil. Add onion masala. ( if frozen add a little water and let it thaw on low heat).
- Add chili powder, garam masala, salt, sugar, vinegar. Mix well.
- Grind the cashews into a paste adding water.
- Add the cashew paste to the masala and mix well.
- When it comes to a boil, add the cooked chicken with crushed Kasuri methi.
- Last add cream and butter on top.
- Your butter chicken is ready to enjoy. You can have this with Instant Pot Peas Pulao or 2 ingredient Naan.
Easy Butter Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 Chicken Thighs (cut into bite-sized pieces)
- 1 cup onion masala
- ⅓ cup cashew nuts (soaked in warm water)
- 1 tbsp Vinegar
- 3 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- Kasuri Methi crushed for garnishing
- 2 tbsp Cream
Spices
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
- ½ tsp garam masala powder
- 1 tsp crushed Kasuri methi
- salt to taste
- 1 tsp sugar
To marinate chicken
- 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
- ½ tsp Kashmiri chili powder
- ¼ tsp Turmeric powder
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Marinate cut chicken pieces with ginger-garlic paste, chili powder, turmeric powder, and salt. Keep them aside.
- Soak cashews in warm water.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp butter in a dutch oven or deep frying pan. Fry chicken pieces till cooked. Take out the chicken pieces and keep them aside.
- In the same pan, add 1 tbsp butter and a little oil. Add the onion masala. (If adding frozen onion masala, add a little water and let it thaw on low heat).
- Add chili powder, garam masala, sugar, salt, and vinegar. Mix well.
- Grind the cashews to a smooth paste adding a little water.
- Add this cashew paste to the masala and mix well.
- When the gravy comes to a boil, add the cooked chicken pieces and crushed Kasuri methi.
- Once this comes to a boil, add cream if using and 1 tbsp of butter on top.
- Your delicious butter chicken is ready! Enjoy!
Notes:
- Authentic butter chicken is made with leftover tandoori chicken. But we are making it easier with marinating and frying the chicken. You can bake it as well but it takes time.
- The chicken is cut into bite-sized pieces so it’s easier to eat. I used chicken thighs but you can use chicken breasts, legs, or thighs. Thighs are the dark meat of the chicken and hence more tender.
- You can skip the cream if you wish but it does give the gravy a richness that is not there otherwise. I did not add cream as I did not have any.
- This butter chicken is based on this recipe by Varun Inamdar on the Getcurried YouTube channel. It has 33 million views so you can tell it’s a great recipe!
- Make this vegetarian by using paneer or tofu instead of chicken.
If you try out this recipe, do let me know what you think by leaving a comment down below and rating the recipe.
You might also like these other simple Chicken recipes:
Instant Pot Spanish Chicken Pulao
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Have a great day!
Photo by Diana Schröder-Bode on Unsplash
