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This Indian Butter Chicken is rich, comforting and perfect. Made in an Instant pot, this classic Indian dish has the perfect amount of heat and spice. Served best with homemade naan bread for dipping up all the delicious sauce!
I am SO excited to be sharing this wonderful Indian Butter dish with you all today because its just so dang delicious!
Seriously, its really, really good..
Indian Butter Chicken is creamy, spicy and bursting with flavor! Every time I make an Indian dish I realize just how much I need to make Indian food more often; especially this Indian Butter Chicken…
Why this is the BEST Indian Butter Chicken:
Its just perfect. Saucy. Creamy. Spicy. Pretty much everything good.
If you’re a fan of creamy dishes as well as Indian food, you’re going to love Indian Butter Chicken!
This authentic Indian dish is spiced with warm spices such as cumin and garam masala and cayenne for heat. The heat factor can easily be adjusted to your preference by either decreasing or increasing the cayenne pepper. Heavy cream and butter make the sauce extra smooth and creamy, balancing out the spiciness resulting in the most perfect comfort dish.
And of course, this Indian Butter Chicken wouldn’t be complete without some Homemade Naan Bread to scoop up all that delicious sauce! If you’re looking for a great all around naan bread, I have the perfect recipe to get you started. You can find that naan bread here!
For this recipe I used my Instant pot- but if you don’t have a pressure cooker no problem! Below I have attached some directions if you choose to do this over the stove top instead.
So lets get to some of the basics!
How to make The Best Indian Butter Chicken:
For Instant Pot:
Directions for an Instant Pot (recommended):
In the pot of your Instant pot (or deep stove top pot), add the tomatoes, garlic, fresh ginger, turmeric, cayenne, paprika, cumin, salt and 1 teaspoon of garam masala. Place the chicken pieces on top of the spice mixture. Select the manual adjust in your pressure cooker and adjust the pressure level to high. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, allow the pressure to naturally release. When the tab pops up, unlock the lid and carefully remove the chicken and set aside. Using an immersion blender (or a food processor OR a regular blender) blend the tomato spice mixture into a smooth sauce.
Next, add the butter, heavy cream and remaining 2 teaspoons of garam masala and fresh chopped cilantro. Stir well. Adjust salt to taste, if needed. Add the chicken back to the pot, and select saute to heat the chicken pieces back up. Serve with Homemade Naan, rice and ENJOY!
Directions for Stove Top:
Heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil and 1 Tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Season the chicken liberally on both sides with salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon garama masala. Without overcrowding, add a few chicken pieces at a time, and brown on each side for about 3 minutes. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces. Set aside.
In the same pan, add the tomatoes, garlic, fresh ginger, turmeric, cayenne, paprika, cumin, salt and 1 teaspoon of garam masala. Bring the mixture to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.
Next, use an immersion blender (or a food processor OR a regular blender), and blend the tomato spice mixture into a smooth sauce.
Add the butter, heavy cream and remaining 2 teaspoons of garam masala and fresh chopped cilantro. Stir well. Adjust salt to taste, if needed. Add the chicken pieces back to the pan and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve with Homemade Naan, rice and ENJOY!
Seriously, this Indian Butter Chicken is so good, I can’t wait for you to give it a try!
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Recipe
The Best Indian Butter Chicken
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 lb. boneless chicken thighs or breasts
- 1 14oz can diced tomatoes undrained
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 3 teaspoons garam masala, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground paprika
- ½-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper *more for extra heat
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (8 tablespoons) salted butter, cubed
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream OR full fat coconut milk
- fresh chopped cilantro for serving
Instructions
For Instant Pot (recommended):
- In the pot of your Instant pot, add the tomatoes, minced garlic, fresh ginger, turmeric, cayenne, paprika, garlic powder, cumin, salt and 1 teaspoon of garam masala. Place the chicken pieces on top of the spice mixture. Select the manual adjust in your pressure cooker and adjust the pressure level to high. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, allow the pressure to naturally release. When the tab pops up, unlock the lid and carefully remove the chicken and set aside. Using an immersion blender (or a food processor OR a regular blender) blend the tomato spice mixture into a smooth sauce.
- Next, add the butter, heavy cream and remaining 2 teaspoons of garam masala and fresh chopped cilantro. Stir well. Adjust salt to taste, if needed. Add the chicken back to the pot, and select saute to heat the chicken pieces back up. Serve with Homemade Naan, rice and ENJOY!
For Stove Top:
- Heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil and 1 Tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Season the chicken liberally on both sides with salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon garam masala. Without overcrowding, add a few chicken pieces at a time, and brown on each side for about 3 minutes. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces. Set aside.
- In the same pan, add the tomatoes, minced garlic, fresh ginger, turmeric, cayenne, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, salt and 1 teaspoon of garam masala. Bring the mixture to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. Use an immersion blender (or a food processor OR a regular blender), and blend the tomato spice mixture into a smooth sauce.
- Add the butter, heavy cream and remaining 2 teaspoons of garam masala and fresh chopped cilantro. Stir well. Adjust salt to taste, if needed. Add the chicken pieces back to the pan and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve with Homemade Naan, rice and ENJOY!
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