Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani) in the Thermomix® gives you 4 Indian curries in 55 minutes. We marinate 600 g chicken breast in 150 g yoghurt with tandoori spice for 30 minutes, then cook it gently in the Varoma at 100°C for 20 minutes. At the same time the famous tomato cream sauce simmers in the mixing bowl, made from 400 g sieved tomatoes, 100 ml whipping cream, 50 g butter, cashew paste and an Indian spice blend of garam masala, cardamom, turmeric, cumin and dried fenugreek leaves.
We make Butter Chicken when we fancy India but there is no restaurant nearby. 4 portions cost less than 2 restaurant curries and the flavour is just as good. Around 4 euros of ingredients per portion, 750 kcal, 38 g protein.
Butter Chicken with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 15 ✓
- 500 g chicken breast fillet
- 100 g tikka paste
- 50 g ghee
- 2 garlic clove
- 1 onion
- 30 g ginger
- 1 chilli
- 3 tsp dried coriander
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 150 g water
- 80 g tomato puree
- 500 g double cream
- 100 g natural yoghurt (3.5% fat)
Instructions 0 / 7
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1
Marinate the meat.
Cut the chicken breast fillet into approximately 3 cm cubes and place in a bowl. Set the bowl on the mixing bowl and weigh in the tikka paste. Mix the meat and tikka paste together well and place covered in the fridge.
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2
Warm the ghee.
Add the ghee to the mixing bowl and heat for 1 min / Varoma / speed 1.
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3
Chop the ingredients.
Meanwhile peel the garlic, peel and quarter the onion, peel the ginger and slice with the chilli. Add to the mixing bowl and chop for 8 sec / speed 5.
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4
Add the spices.
Push the onion mixture down with the spatula. Add the coriander, salt, turmeric and cumin and cook for 5 min / Varoma / speed 2.
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5
Cook.
Add the water and cook for 5 min / Varoma / speed 1.
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6
Add the chicken.
Add the chicken, tomato puree and double cream and cook for 25 min / 100°C / reverse direction / gentle stir setting.
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7
Serve.
Serve with yoghurt.
Marinate the chicken overnight if you can. This makes the meat even more flavourful.
Video
Nutrition per serving
What makes Butter Chicken authentic
Butter Chicken was invented in the 1950s at Delhi’s restaurant Moti Mahal, as a way to use up leftover tandoori chicken from the day before. The original recipe has three key components: tandoori chicken (marinated red and cooked gently), a tomato base with cashew paste (creaminess without too much cream) and dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi, which gives the dish its characteristic nutty background flavour).
Kasoori methi is often left out on recipe sites and in Cookidoo. Yet this spice is exactly what sets real Butter Chicken apart from a generic chicken in tomato sauce. It is available from Asian grocery shops or at spice retailers, and 1 tsp is enough for 4 portions.
Overnight marinade makes all the difference
30 minutes of marinating is enough for the flavour. Marinating for 8 hours overnight also gives you more tender meat, because the acid in the yoghurt pre-denatures the proteins. Use 150 g full-fat yoghurt, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp tandoori spice (paprika, garlic, ginger and garam masala), 1 tsp turmeric. Yoghurt marinades are the standard Indian method, described by the renowned cook Madhur Jaffrey in Indian Cooking.
Cook the sauce and chicken at the same time
Chop 1 onion and 3 garlic cloves plus 2 cm of ginger for 5 sec at speed 5. Add 50 g butter and 2 tsp spice mix, and fry for 5 minutes at 120°C at speed 1. Add 400 g sieved tomatoes and 50 g cashew paste, and simmer for 15 minutes at 100°C at speed 1. Place the chicken in the Varoma and cook for 20 minutes at Varoma. Then dice the chicken, add it to the sauce, stir in 100 ml cream and 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves, and leave to rest at 90°C for 5 minutes.
Five curry variations from India
Vegan Butter Chicken (tofu and cashew cream instead of chicken and cream), Paneer Makhani (paneer instead of chicken, vegetarian), lamb variation (lamb shoulder, 45 minutes cooking time), spicy Butter Chicken (1 fresh chilli plus 1 tsp cayenne), Kashmiri variation (yoghurt instead of cream, plus 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder for a bright red colour).
What to serve with Butter Chicken
Classic with our basmati rice or naan bread for scooping up the sauce. Add raita on the side to cool the heat. For more Indian classics and more curries, browse our recipe collection.
Goes well with: Mango chutney.
