Homemade Butter Chicken Masala

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This homemade butter chicken masala is hands down, one of the top ten favorite meals in our house! I use many spices in this recipe to create an explosion of flavor with every bite. Served over garlic jasmine rice, and with a side of homemade sourdough naan bread, this meal is definitely one you’ll want on your menu! Don’t worry, I have adapted this homemade butter chicken masala for my vegan, vegetarian, and dairy-free freinds too! Happy Cooking!

A picture of a bowl of prepared homemade butter chicken masala with a few wedges of homemade sourdough naan over a bed of warm jasmine rice

Adapting Homemade Butter Chicken Masala

  • Vegan Butter Chicken– This recipe requires a few different substitutes for a full vegan conversion. Your end result will be a very similar texture and consistency to the original recipe. The taste will be altered slightly, but since you are using all of the same seasons and spices, you should still end up with a delicious similar result. For butter, I substitute with a plant based butter. The heavy cream can be swapped for coconut milk. This is the coconut milk I use. In this recipe, you switch the chicken for more chickpeas. Use three cans of chickpeas instead of one. For the spices that I would use on the chicken– use them on the chickpeas. Drizzle avocado oil on the drained and rinsed chickpeas, and season with turmeric, chilli powder, curry powder, garlic salt, and pepper. Next, cover seasoned chickpeas with a lid and let sit until directions indicate to add the chickpeas into the recipe. If you follow the recipe exactly, while just making those simple ingredient swaps, I think you will be happy with the results!
  • Vegetarian-You will follow the same directions that I have laid out in the vegan section for the chicken. Just a simple swap of chicken with more chickpeas, and you will achieve your desired vegetarian masala.
  • Dairy Free– Similar to my vegetarian recommendations, you can just follow the vegan substitutions for all of the dairy products. Instead of butter and cream, you can opt for plant based butter and coconut milk!

Sourdough Naan bread:

This is the original sourdough naan recipe I used. I did make some swaps for a few ingredients, as well as added a few spices, but you can find the full directions on “how to” in the link. I used kefir in place of milk, because I like to add more probiotics where I can! Instead of sourdough discard, I used active sourdough start. I don’t think it makes a huge difference if you use active or discard, but I had active available and it worked great! Lastly, I added one teaspoon of garlic powder, half of a tablespoon of dried parsley, and added one tsp of sea salt. Other than those changes, I pretty much followed all of the cooking instructions to a tee!

A picture of a stack of sourdough naan bread with two bowls of buttered chicken masala in the background

Jasmine Rice Tips:

I outlined how I like to cook my jasmine rice in a post here. A few simple changes like sautéing some garlic before adding rice to your pot, and cooking rice in bone broth instead go water really makes a difference! Here is a simple twenty second “how to” video that I have posted on my instagram. This video highlights the subtle changes you can make to add more flavor and nutrition to your rice dishes! Check it out if your interested!

A picture of a bowl of prepared homemade butter chicken masala with a few wedges of homemade sourdough naan over a bed of warm jasmine rice

Homemade Butter Chicken Masala

Makhaya Shea
Rich spices, and a creamy consistency, paired with sourdough naan made from scratch. This will be your new favorite homemade butter chicken and naan combo!
5 from 9 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Chicken Dry Rub Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Servings 8 people

Equipment

  • large cast iron pan a large stainless steal pan works too
  • knife
  • cutting board
  • medium glass bowl

Ingredients
  

Chicken Dry Rub

  • 4 Boneless Chicken Breast cut into cubes and remove large fat chunks
  • 1 tbsp Avocado Oil or extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp Turmeric
  • 1 tsp Chili Powder
  • 1/2 tsp Yellow Curry Powder
  • 1 tbsp Garlic Salt
  • 1 tsp Black Pepper
  • 2 tbsp Butter

Butter Masala Ingredient List

  • 2 large White Onions diced
  • 1 large Purple Onion dices
  • 7 cloves Garlic minced
  • 5 tbsp Butter divided
  • 3 1/2 tsp Garam Masala
  • 1 tsp Chili Powder
  • 1 tsp Cumin
  • 1 tsp Ground Coriander
  • 1 tsp Paprika
  • 1 tbsp Ground Ginger
  • 1 tbsp Sea Salt
  • 1 tsp Black Pepper
  • 1 Cinnamon Stick
  • 1 3/4 cups Tomato Sauce I use a four cheese tomato sauce, but plain works just fine
  • 3/4 cup Water
  • 1 cup Heavy Cream or coconut milk
  • 1 can Chickpeas strained and rinsed
  • Fresh Cilantro loosely chopped
  • Fresh Parsley loosely chopped

Instructions
 

Chicken Dry Rub Instructions

  • Begin by patting chicken breasts dry, and place on a cutting board. Chop each breast into inch sized cubes, and place into a medium sized bowl.
  • Drizzle chicken with avocado oil. Add turmeric, chilli powder, curry powder, garlic salt, and black pepper. Toss to coat chicken cubes evenly with the spices. Cover and let sit for 20 minutes.
    A bowl of chicken sitting in a dry rub

Rice Prep

  • Once you have finished prepping chicken, begin preparing your jasmine rice. Follow package instructions, and allow to cook while you prep the rest of the meal. Feel free to check out the blog post above for tips on how to add more flavor to your rice!

Butter Chicken Masala Instructions

  • While your meat is sitting, begin chopping onions and mincing garlic. Allow them to sit in a covered bowl until the recipe calls for them. (Covering them keeps your onions fresh)
  • Once chicken is done sitting, add 2 tablespoons of butter to a pre-heated pan. Place chicken cubes on the warm pan one at a time(I know this takes a little bit of extra time, but it ensures a more even cook for all of your chicken pieces).
    A picture of chicken being placed on a pan one at a time
  • Once chicken is cooked through remove from pan back into your CLEANED covered bowl.
    A picture of cooked chicken in a pan
  • Next, add 3 tablespoons of butter.
    A picture of butter melting in a pre-heated pan
  • Once butter has melted, add all of your diced onions and minced garlic.
    A picture of diced onions and garlic in a pan
  • Add garam masala, chilli powder, cumin, coriander, paprika, ground ginger, and your whole cinnamon stick.
    A picture of all the onions and garlic in a pan with piles of each spice ontop as well as the cinnamon stick
  • Sauté onion mixture until onions become tender.
    A picture of tender sautéed onion spice mixture in a pan
  • Next, stir in tomato sauce.
    A picture of sautéed onion mixture on a pan with tomato sauce poured on top
  • Then heavy cream, and 1/2-3/4 cups water. ** See Notes**
    A picture of the butter chicken mixture with heavy cream recently poured into it
  • Then add in chicken pieces and strained chickpeas. Stir to coat.
    A picture of chickpeas recently added to the butter chicken mixture in a pan
  • Cover, and let simmer for 10 minutes.
  • Stir in 2 more tablespoons of butter, and remove from heat.
  • Serve over jasmine rice, with homemade sourdough naan**See notes**. Top with fresh cilantro and/or fresh parsley.
  • Enjoy!
    A picture of a bowl of prepared homemade butter chicken masala with a few wedges of homemade sourdough naan over a bed of warm jasmine rice

Notes

  1. The amount of water you add, will dilute the taste and give you a runnier constancy. I usually start with 1/2 cup, and then if I want to add more I will. It’s better to start off slow, taste, and test your consistency, and then add more if you prefer! 
  2. I did not add any time in this recipe’s “estimated time” section for the sourdough naan bread. This will take quite a few extra hours of prep work in advance. It is so simple, (really!) don’t be intimidated when I say you need a few extra hours! It’s just a heads up that you will need to allot yourself some time to be able to prepare the naan bread properly! 
Keyword Butter Chicken Masala

Join the Conversation

  1. 5 stars
    A delicious, full of flavour dish!

  2. 5 stars
    Such a flavorful recipe! I love the step by step pictures.

  3. 5 stars
    thoroughly enjoyed this meal

  4. 5 stars
    So delicious !

  5. 5 stars
    Such a delightful dish! It’s a recipe I can come back to again and again.

  6. 5 stars
    Ok this looks amazing! Can’t wait to try this recipe!

  7. 5 stars
    Lovely recipe

  8. 5 stars
    This curry recipe was exactly what I was looking for. So delicious!

  9. 5 stars
    This is one of my favorite meals to order at an Indian restaurant in town. Now I can make it at home! Thanks for sharing.

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