Butter Chicken with Greek Yogurt
Spiced yogurt-marinated chicken breast pieces in a butter, tomato, cream, and Greek yogurt sauce; four main portions with rice served separately.
Ingredients
Chicken marinade
- 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts Cut into approximately 1-inch pieces
- ½ cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt For marinade only
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic Grated
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- to taste black pepper
Skillet and sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil For browning; additional to sauce butter
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 1½ teaspoons garam masala For sauce
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin For sauce
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric For sauce
- 1 can plain tomato sauce 8 ounces
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt Clean separate portion for finishing
- to taste salt and black pepper Taste the completed sauce
Optional serving additions
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro Optional
- 4 cups cooked rice Optional serving side; OR four naan portions, not both
Instructions
- Combine the marinade yogurt with lemon juice, garlic, ginger, marinade spices, measured salt, and pepper. Coat the roughly 1-inch chicken pieces, cover, and refrigerate 30–60 minutes.
- Heat the tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Cook chicken with the marinade clinging to it, working in batches if crowded, until thick centers reach 165°F. Place on a clean plate and discard raw marinade remaining in the bowl.
- Melt the 2 tablespoons butter in the skillet. Add onion and the separate sauce garam masala, cumin, and turmeric; cook 5–7 minutes until softened. Add tomato sauce and simmer gently 5–10 minutes.
- Lower the heat and stir in cream gradually without a hard boil. Return cooked chicken and warm through. Take the skillet off the heat.
- Mix a few spoonfuls of warm sauce into the clean finishing yogurt, then fold it into the skillet. Taste seasoning, add optional cilantro, and serve four portions with separately prepared rice or naan.
Notes
Marinate only in the refrigerator. Yogurt is divided into two half-cup portions, one raw-chicken marinade and one clean sauce finish. Olive oil is separate from sauce butter. Chicken must reach 165°F. The 85-minute estimate includes minimum marinating, prep, and cooking; sides are additional.