Butter Chicken

traditional food
Written By Hang Nguyen


A rich, comforting dish that brings together warm spices, tender chicken, and a smooth tomato cream sauce.

This is one of the first Indian dishes I learned, and it has stayed with me ever since.

🤍 A Personal Note

When my son left for college, he started learning how to cook on his own.
One day, he asked me for this recipe.

I used to cook this dish for him when he was still at home.

It was also one of the first recipes I learned from a chef friend — an Indian chef whose butter chicken was one of the most popular dishes in her catering menu.

I remember watching her cook, learning the balance of spices, and later trying to recreate it myself. I even bought a few Indian cookbooks to continue learning — dishes like chai spice blends and biryani (which I’m still practicing 😄).

This recipe carries a bit of that journey.

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 4 boneless chicken thighs

  • 1 tsp red chili powder

  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

  • 1 tsp salt

Marinade

  • ½ cup (140g) yogurt

  • 2 tsp garlic

  • 2 tsp ginger paste

  • ½ tsp red chili powder

  • ½ tsp garam masala

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 2 tsp mustard oil

Sauce

  • 2 tbsp butter

  • 4 green cardamom pods

  • ½ tsp ground mace or nutmeg

  • 1 tsp red chili powder

  • 5 cloves garlic

  • ½ inch ginger, chopped

  • 12 medium tomatoes, chopped

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 1 tbsp honey

  • 3 tbsp heavy cream

  • 1 tsp dried fenugreek (kasoori methi), toasted

Method

1. Prepare the Chicken

Cut chicken into smaller pieces.
Mix with chili powder, lemon juice, and salt.

Add marinade ingredients and mix well.
Let it rest to absorb the flavors.

2. Roast the Chicken

Roast in the oven at 200°C (400°F) for 10–15 minutes, until almost cooked through.

3. Prepare the Sauce

Toast the dried fenugreek and crush into a powder. Set aside.

In a pan, melt butter.
Add garlic, cardamom pods, and nutmeg. Cook until fragrant.

Add chili powder, ginger, and tomatoes.
Cook for about 20 minutes, until the tomatoes break down and become soft.

Remove the cardamom pods.
Blend the sauce until smooth.

Return to heat and simmer for another 15 minutes.

4. Finish the Dish

Add fenugreek powder, salt, and honey.
Add roasted chicken and cook for a few minutes until fully done.

Stir in heavy cream.

Serve

Serve hot with rice or flatbread.

Final Thought

This dish is rich and full of flavor, but also deeply personal.

It reminds me of learning from others, cooking for my family, and passing something simple but meaningful forward.

Hang Nguyen
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