Butter Chicken with Naan

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Butter chicken is made mainly from tomatoes! Please don’t laugh at me – I haven’t had enough butter chicken to realise that. Anyway, didn’t expect my butter chicken to turn out great on the first attempt but surprisingly it was pretty good!

Recently, I’ve been getting my meat supplies from Aw’s Market and as usual, they provided me with chicken thighs freshly cut from whole chicken.

Since they were freshly cut from a whole chicken, I requested for them to help me skin and debone the thighs so I don’t have to spend extra time removing the parts I don’t need.

I like knowing that I’m getting fresh chicken from the wet market and not the usual frozen thawed ones you would get from supermarkets!

For the chicken, you’ll need: chicken thigh (cut into bite size pieces), grated garlic, grated ginger and chilli powder.

First, marinate the chicken with the aforementioned ingredients for 10-15 minutes.

For the sauce, you’ll need: canned tomatoes, red onions (diced), evaporated milk (this is a healthier option, otherwise you can use heavy cream), butter, grated garlic, ground cumin, garam masala, and chilli powder.

NOTE: I used canned diced tomatoes cause it’s more convenient, but you can choose to use fresh tomatoes if you prefer. But don’t use tomato puree!

I tried this recipe twice, once with canned diced tomatoes and once with canned tomato puree, and I felt that the one made with tomato puree was too thick in consistency and the taste of the spices was drowned out.

Heat a wok over medium-high heat till hot, then add 1 tbsp of oil. Add marinated chicken and fry until surface is browned, for around 4-5 minutes. Remove chicken from wok and set aside.

NOTE: There’s no need to wash the wok even if there is any brown residue (fond) left behind. When cooking the sauce, the fond will be deglazed and will add more flavour to your sauce.

In the same wok, add butter and diced onions. Reduce fire to medium to prevent butter from burning. Fry until onions until they turn translucent.

Add grated garlic, garam masala and ground cumin, and fry until fragrant and well-combined.

Add canned tomatoes and chilli powder, and cook until liquid starts bubbling. Turn off the heat. Transfer the mixture from the wok into a blender, and blend until smooth.

NOTE: If you’re using fresh tomatoes and there’s not enough liquid for the mixture to blend well, add some water to the blender.

If your mixture is not smooth enough to your liking, strain the mixture through a sieve, back into the wok.

Turn on the heat to medium, then add evaporated milk and combine well. Add sugar and salt to taste according to your preference. If you feel that the tomatoes are slightly too sour, add more sugar to mask the sourness.

Add cooked chicken back into the wok and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

I pan-fried some frozen naan and then added some butter and parsley over them.

I used Marigold evaporated milk as a slightly healthier option, but if you prefer your butter chicken to be richer, you can use heavy cream instead.


This is perfect with some freshly made naan, but is also good served over piping hot basmati rice.

What I like about butter chicken is that it really has depth of flavour – you can taste the umami of the tomatoes, the sweetness of the milk and sauteed onions, the fragrance of the garlic, ginger, garam masala and cumin, as well as the spice of the chilli powder. And if done well, the chicken should still be juicy and tender with every bite!

Butter Chicken with Naan

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Servings 2

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 300 g chicken thigh bite-sized pieces
• 1 tsp grated garlic
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• ½ tsp chilli powder

SAUCE

• 1 large red onion diced
• 1 can diced tomatoes 411g
• ½ cup evaporated milk more if you prefer
• 40 g butter
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp grated garlic
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp chilli powder adjust to taste
• white sugar to taste
• salt to taste

Instructions

 

• Marinate chicken with grated garlic, grated ginger and chilli powder for 10-15 minutes.
• Heat a wok over medium-high heat till hot, then add 1 tbsp of oil. Add marinated chicken and fry until surface is browned, for around 4-5 minutes. Remove chicken from wok and set aside. NOTE: There's no need to wash the wok even if there is any brown residue (fond) left behind. When cooking the sauce, the fond will be deglazed and will add more flavour to your sauce.
• In the same wok, add butter and diced onions. Reduce fire to medium to prevent butter from burning. Fry until onions until they turn translucent.
• Add grated garlic, garam masala and ground cumin, and fry until fragrant and well-combined.
• Add canned tomatoes and chilli powder, and cook until liquid starts bubbling. Turn off the heat.
• Transfer the mixture from the wok into a blender, and blend until smooth. NOTE: If you're using fresh tomatoes and there's not enough liquid for the mixture to blend well, add some water to the blender.
• If your mixture is not smooth enough to your liking, strain the mixture through a sieve, back into the wok. Turn on the heat to medium, then add evaporated milk and combine well. Add sugar and salt to taste.
• Add cooked chicken back into the wok and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Serve butter chicken with buttered naan or over rice.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!