Easy Butter Chicken Curry – A Family Favourite Recipe
Looking for a delicious, comforting meal? This Butter Chicken Curry is a creamy, rich classic Indian dish! Packed with flavour, family-friendly, and budget-conscious, this recipe is perfect for busy weeknights. Plus, cleanup is a breeze.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
✔️ Rich & Creamy
✔️ Quick & Easy
✔️ Family-Friendly
INGREDIENTS
- ½ cup yoghurt, Greek, plain, natural
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- ¼ teaspoon chilli flakes (optional)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 thumb sized piece of ginger, grated on the microplane OR 1 tablespoon of grated ginger
from the jar - 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 600 grams boneless skinless chicken thigh, sliced into bite sized pieces
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 300 grams tomato passata
- 1 cup cream
- 1 ½ tablespoons of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of salt
To serve - Steamed rice – see notes
- 1/4 cup coriander leaves
- 2-3 pieces of naan bread
Tips and Substitutions:
Vegetarian? Swap chicken for jackfruit or cauliflower.
On a budget? Use any chicken cut or even leftover roast chicken.
Extra veggies? Add peas or serve with steamed greens.
Serving Suggestions
Pair with garlic naan or a side of cucumber raita to bring out the curry flavours. Great for school lunches the next day!
We love how simple and satisfying this Butter Chicken Curry is—and we think your family will too! If you love this, make sure to try my Butter Chicken Pies.
On to my Butter Chicken Recipe.
Butter Chicken Curry
My version of a classic family favourite.
Ingredients
- ½ cup yoghurt greek, plain, natural
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp tumeric
- 2 tsp garam masala
- ¼ tsp chilli flakes (optional)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 thumb sized piece of ginger grated on the microplane
- OR 1 tbsp grated ginger from a jar
- 2 cloves of garlic crushed
- 600 grams boneless skinless chicken thighs sliced into bite sized pieces
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 onion finely sliced
- 300 grams tomato passata
- 1 cup cream
- 1½ tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
To serve
- steamed rice see notes
- ¼ cup coriander leaves
- 2-3 naan breads
Instructions
-
In a medium sized bowl add the yoghurt, cumin, turmeric, garam masala, chili flakes (if using), lemon juice, ginger and garlic, mix well and add the chicken. Ideally, marinate overnight or for 2 hours BUT if you are short on time just cook when you need too.
-
Place a large pan over a medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of butter and the onion. Cook until translucent, around 5 minutes. Remove from the pan.
-
Optional – I like to blend the onion into the tomato passata at this point using my blender as it creates a lovely smooth sauce and my children enjoy it like this, however if you are all good with the onion through the sauce skip this step.
-
To the pan add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and add the chicken. Cook for a few minutes then add the passata, sugar and salt. Plus, any leftover sauce from the chicken bowl, and onions if you haven’t blended them. Bring to a simmer and add the cream.
-
Cook on low for 15 minutes until chicken is cooked through and sauce is thick. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and sugar if needed. Serve with steamed rice, naan and coriander.
Recipe Notes
TIME SAVING NOTES
If you are short on time you can use a store bought butter chicken curry paste instead of mixing your own spices.
Marinate the chicken the night prior then you can just cook when you are ready. It tastes best like this too!
BUDGET NOTES
Instead of cream you can use coconut cream or leave the cream out and use extra tomato passata however I do really love the creamy taste you get when using cream.
PROTEIN CHANGES
You can use cauliflower, chunks of monkfish, sliced beef, or prawns.
NOTES
You can make this dairy free by using oil instead of butter and coconut cream instead of cream and yoghurt.
If you are following the meal plan and cooking the 4 recipes from the first meal plan, cook extra rice when you cook your rice for tonight’s Butter Chicken, to use in tomorrow's Prawn Fried Rice. For my family we make 3 cups of (uncooked) rice, which makes around 9 cups of cooked rice. You use 4 cups of cooked rice in the fried rice recipe. You can adjust these amounts to your needs. When you store the rice make sure it is in a sealed container and you use it the next day.
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