Stovetop Indian Butter Chicken

Butter Chicken

The only Indian meal I have ever made was curry. One time. Indian food is not something I'm great at, but I do have to say that this butter chicken recipe was excellent. This recipe was requested by my 14 year old son. He is taking a cooking course this semester and is learning a lot about different countries and wanted to try new foods. The sauce to this recipe was light, creamy and spicy. The chicken was a tad sweet with a thick layer of tandoori masala. The rice and bread soaked up the sauce and balanced out the ingredients perfectly. 

 We did not have Naan bread so we used flour tortilla pockets.

A rich, creamy butter chicken served with toasted tortilla bread for the perfect comfort meal.

• Difficulty Level: Intermediate
• Serving size: For sauce - 3 servings, for the chicken - 4-5 servings
• Total cook time: 30 minutes
• Total prep time:  5-10 minutes
• Family friendly: Yes, we loved it. My son and fiancé love spice - I don't but I cleared my plate
• Rating: 9/10
• Serving suggestions: Serve with rice (we made brown rice but next time we will do a basmati rice) and Naan bread or any type of bread if you have it

Why You Will Love This Butter Chicken

This recipe took a little bit of time which is why I set this recipe as an intermediate one. I've had Indian food several times throughout my life and the smell and taste was very close to a homemade Indian meal. It's not just a buttery flavor, it's true seasonings and flavors from India that mesh perfectly with the sauce and the chicken. We combined chicken, butter, and sauces with garam masala and tandoori masala. We also added cayenne pepper for extra spice. The sauce itself will be super spicy. If you aren't a huge spice fan like myself, add the chicken and sauce to a layer of rice. You can also omit the cayenne pepper.

Pro Tip

• I suggest using Naan bread to make it a truly authentic Indian meal
• Next time we will use a basmati rice instead of brown rice

Inspiration

This recipe was inspired by AllRecipes - for an easy Indian butter chicken. We did not do the caramelized onions and, instead, added onion and garlic powder to the sauce. We did not add salt (I never use salt in my meals), we did not use heavy cream but milk instead and used half the amount of milk as well as half the amount of tomato sauce. If you want more sauce, you can double the milk and tomato sauce in the ingredient list below. We also did not use vegetable oil but just a cooking spray. And we cooked our chicken on the stove as our oven is not working at the moment.

If You Enjoy Authentic or International Chicken Recipes, You May Want to Try

• Sausage Cajun Pasta
• Crispy Korean Chicken Wings
• Grilled Korean BBQ Chicken Skewers
• Hunan Chicken Stir Fry with Rice
• Chicken Lo Mein

How to Store

Store chicken and sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave, until warm.

Adjust to Your Liking

• If you don't want a lot of heat, you can omit the cayenne pepper 

Ingredients for Indian Butter Chicken

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• 2 tbsp butter + 3/4 cup 
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 8 ounce tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• *1 tsp garam masala
• 2.5 large chicken breasts, cut into small chunks
• *PAM or cooking spray
• *2 tbsp tandoori masala
• *Flour tortilla pockets
• Rice 

How to Make This Cheeseburger Pasta
You can easily make this butter chicken on the stove in under 30 minutes - here’s how we did it step-by-step.

✓ Step #1: Gather ingredients - Gather all ingredients. 

All the simple ingredients needed to make stovetop Indian butter chicken at home.

✓ Step #2: Make the sauce - Heat a pan on the stove on Medium-high heat. Add in milk, tomato sauce, 3/4 cup butter, cayenne pepper and garam masala. Bring to a boil, reduce to low and stir occasionally, for 30 minutes. 

A fragrant butter sauce simmering with garam masala and cayenne for bold flavor.

✓ Step #3: Add garlic and onion powder – In a bowl, add the garlic powder and onion powder. After 5-10 minutes of the sauce simmering, add in the powders. 

Pre-mixed garlic and onion powder that bring depth to the creamy Indian sauce.

A smooth, buttery tomato sauce after simmering on low heat - full of color and spice.

✓ Step #4: Cook chicken – Again, while the sauce is simmering, start cooking the chicken. In another pan on the stove, set the heat to medium-high. Add the remainder 2 tbsp of butter and the diced chicken and top with 2 tbsp tandoor masala. Cook until the chicken is cooked all the way through -7-10 minutes. You can also cook the rice at this point if you choose to make rice.

Chicken seared with tandoori masala for smoky, authentic flavor.

✓ Step #5: Serve – Add rice to the bottom of a bowl. Follow it with cooked chicken and sauce. For the bread, we broke apart the flour tortilla pockets, sprayed with PAM, added garlic powder and place on the stove for 30 seconds per side. Dip in the chicken and serve immediately. 

The finished stovetop butter chicken with rice and toasted bread - hearty and flavorful.

What Did You Think?

Did you love this Indian Chicken like we did? What did you think?

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