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    Home » Recipes » Meat and Poultry

    Published: Aug 16, 2018 · Modified: Oct 23, 2024 by joskitchenlarder · 20 Comments. · This post may contain affiliate links ·

    Easy Butter Chicken Curry

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe Bookmark Bookmarked!

    Easy Butter Chicken Curry

    It's been a little longer than usual since the last recipe post as up until last weekend  I had been enjoying lovely holidays with hubby and the kiddos. Two weeks away in our campervan driving through scorching hot Europe, camping in Polish Lake District (Mazury) and visiting family was pretty intense and there was definitely no time for blogging 😉 . I made this delicious Easy Butter Chicken Curry before we set off on our adventure but as pre-holiday time was pretty full-on it has never left the draft folder, until now!

    I do love a good curry but we tend to have take away only once in a blue moon as it's (let's face it) not cheap! Instead, I really enjoy getting in the kitchen and making my own at a fraction of the cost but definitely not less delicious. Try my Jamie Oliver's Inspired Chicken Tikka Masala, Easy Cauliflower & Lentil Curry  or Tarka Dhal with Spinach (Vegan) which also prove that good curry can be easily prepared at home.

    Easy Butter Chicken Curry

    Recently, I started using chicken thighs in my curries instead of breast as they are so much more forgiving and much more difficult to overcook. I kept my Easy Butter Chicken Curry family friendly hence the amount of chilli powder is rather on the modest side to suit my kids but, by no means, feel free to adjust it per your liking. This curry  both reheats and freezes beautifully so you can make bigger batch for next time if you fancy.

    Easy Butter Chicken Curry
    Easy Butter Chicken Curry
    Easy Butter Chicken Curry
    Easy Butter Chicken Curry
    Easy Butter Chicken Curry
    Easy Butter Chicken Curry

    We like to eat our curry with generous amount of my Easy Indian Spiced Basmati Rice or Easy Turmeric Rice and my delicious Easy Naan Bread  or Easy Flatbread (both without yeast)! Add my homemade Cucumber Raita and your feast will be complete!

    📋 Recipe

    Easy Butter Chicken Curry
    Print Pin
    5 from 7 votes

    Easy Butter Chicken Curry

    Quick, easy, fragrant, delicious this curry ticks all the boxes. Who needs a take away?
    Course Curry, Main Course
    Cuisine Indian
    Keyword butter chicken, curry
    Prep Time 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time 20 minutes minutes
    Total Time 35 minutes minutes
    Servings 4 people
    Calories 608kcal
    Author Jo Allison
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients

    • 500-750 g skinless & boneless chicken thighs cut into chunks
    • 30 g ghee (clarified butter) or unsalted butter
    • 1 onion peeled
    • 3-4 garlic cloves peeled
    • 1 thumb size piece of fresh ginger peeled
    • 0.5 teaspoon sugar
    • 0.25-0.5 teaspoon chilli powder
    • 1 500g carton passata
    • 1 tablespoon Garam Masala
    • 1 heaped tsp ground cumin
    • 1 heaped tsp ground coriander
    • 150 ml fresh double cream
    • 1 lime
    • 0.5 small bunch fresh coriander

    Instructions

    • Put chicken thighs cut into chunks into a bowl and sprinkle with lime juice squeezed out of half a lime. Season with salt and pepper and set aside while you get on with your curry.
    • Put your onion, garlic cloves, ginger, sugar and chilli powder in the food processor/blender and whizz together until you have almost paste like consistency. You can also chop the onion really finely and grate garlic and ginger using very fine grater if you don't have a food processor. 
    • Heat up half the butter (ghee) in a heavy, cast iron type pan with the lid and add your chicken pieces. Fry them for approx. 5 min until browned (you might want to do it in batches). Take chicken pieces out onto a plate using a slotted spoon.
    • Melt another half of butter and add your onion mixture. Let it fry for a couple of minutes at which point you add your passata followed by remaining spices (garam masala, cumin and ground coriander) and couple of glugs of water.  Give it a good stir and let it come back to simmer. 
    • Add chicken pieces, stir well, cover the pan with the lid and simmer for 10 min. Make sure you check on it and give it a stir/add a bit of water if sauce is getting too thick. 
    • Turn off the heat, adjust the seasoning (salt, pepper) and slowly mix in double cream, mixing at all times as you're adding it. Add the juice of another half a lime, garnish with freshly chopped coriander and enjoy with rice and some naan bread!

    Notes

    • Calories per portion of curry (no rice or bread included)
    • Feel free to adjust the amount of chilli powder to your liking. The amount suggested in this recipe is to suit family with kids. 

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Facts
    Easy Butter Chicken Curry
    Amount Per Serving (0 g)
    Calories 608
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 0g0%
    Saturated Fat 0g0%
    Trans Fat 0g
    Polyunsaturated Fat 0g
    Monounsaturated Fat 0g
    Cholesterol 0mg0%
    Sodium 0mg0%
    Potassium 0mg0%
    Carbohydrates 0g0%
    Fiber 0g0%
    Sugar 0g0%
    Protein 0g0%
    Vitamin A 0IU0%
    Vitamin C 0mg0%
    Calcium 0mg0%
    Iron 0mg0%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Tried this recipe?Tag me @Joskitchenlarder or use hashtag #joskitchenlarder!

    Easy Butter Chicken Curry

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    Have you tried my Easy Butter Chicken Curry? Leave a comment at the bottom of this post, I love reading them! You can also come and say hello over on my Facebook page, Twitter or  Instagram

    Pin For Later!

    Easy Butter Chicken Curry

    I’m linking my Easy Butter Chicken Curry recipe with the following pages:

    Cook Once Eat Twice hosted by Corina at Searching for Spice

    Fiesta Friday hosted by Angie and this week's co-hosts Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook and Diann @ Of Goats and Greens

    *This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on a link and go on to buy the product I recommend, I will get a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more. I only recommend products I own or really like and which caught my attention. Thanks in advance for supporting Jo’s Kitchen Larder!

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      Easy Homemade Chicken Chow Mein
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    • Bowl with bbq pulled pork.
      Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Pork

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      5 from 7 votes

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    1. Helen at the Lazy Gastronome says

      August 27, 2018 at 7:14 pm

      Looks like a delicious meal - Thanks for sharing at the What's for Dinner party - have a fabulous week!

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        August 28, 2018 at 1:32 pm

        Thank you Helen! It's a pleasure to join in! I thought I would link up curry together with naan as they do go so hand in hand. 🙂

        Reply
    2. Cat | Curly's Cooking says

      August 24, 2018 at 11:13 am

      5 stars
      This looks absolutely delicious! It looks so rich and tasty, I've pinned it to make it soon!

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        August 24, 2018 at 11:24 am

        Thanks so much Cat! 🙂 x

        Reply
    3. Angie | Fiesta Friday says

      August 24, 2018 at 2:20 am

      5 stars
      Love butter chicken! First thing we order every time we go to an Indian restaurant, just a must! Love your easy version!

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        August 24, 2018 at 9:22 am

        Thanks Angie! 🙂 Butter Chicken is lovely isn't it? That's why I thought having an easy to make at home version of it would be just the ticket! 🙂

        Reply
    4. Tyler Heal says

      August 23, 2018 at 5:30 pm

      5 stars
      Thanks Jo! This was an awesome recipe and very easy to follow. I switched out the thighs for breasts though (just my preference) and loved it. Looking forward to the homemade naan bread, I haven't attempted bread before, what could go wrong!

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        August 24, 2018 at 8:09 pm

        Thanks Tyler! I'm so pleased you've tried it and loved it! As for the naan bread honestly not much can go wrong here 🙂 super straightforward even for bread making newbies 🙂

        Reply
    5. Balvinder says

      August 21, 2018 at 10:12 pm

      5 stars
      This looks divine, Jo! You reminded me to make it this weekend.
      P.S Did you make the naan, too?

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        August 22, 2018 at 7:31 pm

        Thank you so much 🙂 Yes, homemade naan bread as well and recipe will be on the blog very soon! 🙂

        Reply
    6. Of Goats and Greens says

      August 19, 2018 at 1:51 pm

      Thanks! The closest Indian take out is a bit further away than I would want to drive -- so having Indian recipes I can cook at home are worthwhile for me to collect. This one looks really tasty! Thanks for sharing over at Fiesta Friday!

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        August 22, 2018 at 7:29 pm

        Thanks Diann 🙂 We all like it as our take out alternative as cooking my own means that we can have it more often as it doesn't cost the Earth. Thanks for co-hosting this week! 🙂

        Reply
    7. Corina Blum says

      August 18, 2018 at 6:46 pm

      5 stars
      This looks super tasty Jo and definitely a great alternative to a takeaway! We have a curry at least once a week but I haven't made butter chicken for ages - I'll have to make it again as the kids love curries too! Thanks for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice x

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        August 22, 2018 at 7:22 pm

        Thanks Corina! 🙂 We have it much more often now I've started making my homemade versions and it's definitely "all plates clean" type of dinner which is always welcome 🙂 x

        Reply
    8. Jhuls | The Not So Creative Cook says

      August 18, 2018 at 3:41 pm

      I have just enjoyed my take away butter chciken, but this sounds more tasty! I haven’t tried making my own and this looks like a good recipe to follow. I love that you used chicken thighs! Yum! Thanks for sharing at Fiesta Friday party, Jo! Have a lovely weekend!

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        August 22, 2018 at 7:14 pm

        Thanks so much Jhuls! 🙂 With recipe as easy as this one there is no excuse lol. I'm complete convert to chicken thighs rather than breast in stews and curries now, so much more forgiving and tastier too. Thanks for co-hosting! 🙂

        Reply
    9. Delia@ www.delia-in-a-nutshell.com says

      August 17, 2018 at 7:41 pm

      5 stars
      I've discovered Indian food not too long ago and it kind of took a while until I learned to love it.But now I'm definitely a big fan and I would have naan, curry and rice at least a couple days a week if I could. I don't cook it that much at home because it always seemed to me like it takes too long but your recipe breaks it down nicely . Thank you for the inspiration!

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        August 17, 2018 at 9:07 pm

        Thanks so much for stopping by Delia and I'm really pleased this recipe caught your eye. It really is a nice and easy curry, quick enough to make mid week or as a weekend feast with homemade spiced rice and naan bread.

        Reply
    10. Midge @ Peachicks' Bakery says

      August 17, 2018 at 10:59 am

      5 stars
      YUM! We love a curry in this house and this sounds delicious! This would be easy to make Peachick safe - saved for later! Thanks for sharing with #CookBlogShare

      Reply
      • joskitchenlarder says

        August 17, 2018 at 2:10 pm

        Aw thanks Midge! 🙂 We do love curries too and even the kids started to enjoy a bit more spice in them of late although I did keep this particular recipe pretty mild. I'm glad to hear that this one would be easy to adapt for the Peachicks 🙂 x

        Reply

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