Weeknight Butter Chicken
with a Silky Tomato Cream Sauce

How to make it

View ingredient overview

1. Toss the chicken with the yogurt, 1 teaspoon of the garam masala, the cumin, paprika, and half the salt. Let it sit while you dice and cook the onion — those 15 minutes are a real marinade.

2. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium and cook the onion 5–6 minutes until soft and golden at the edges — sweet onions are the sauce's backbone.

3. Add the garlic and ginger and stir for about 45 seconds, just until the raw edge of the garlic is gone and the ginger smells sharp and sweet.

4. Add the chicken with all its yogurt coating and cook 5–6 minutes, turning, until the outside loses its pink — the yogurt will look split and messy. That is normal; it dissolves into the tomato sauce in the next step.

5. Pour in the tomato sauce, sugar, and remaining salt, and simmer gently 8–10 minutes until the chicken reads 165°F (74°C) at the thickest piece and the sauce deepens to a burnt orange.

6. Off the lowest heat, stir in the cream, the last tablespoon of butter, and the final teaspoon of garam masala. Stir gently for one minute until the sauce turns pale orange and glossy, then spoon it over rice, scatter with cilantro, and pass the naan.

✅ How to know it's done

The sauce should be a deep sunset color that coats the back of a spoon, the chicken tender enough to cut with the side of a fork, and the aroma round and warm — garam masala on top, sweet tomato underneath. It should taste rich and gentle; anyone wanting fire adds chili flakes or hot sauce to their own bowl. Probe the thickest piece of chicken with a thermometer: 165°F (74°C) is the safe minimum, and thighs stay juicy even a little past it.

💡 Practical tips (and what not to do)

• Yogurt first, always. Even 15 minutes tenderizes — and the split, curdled look when it hits the pan is normal and temporary.
• Golden onions, not browned. Soft and sweet is the base note; scorched onion turns the whole sauce bitter.
• Split the garam masala. Cooked-in for depth, stirred-in at the end for perfume — the finish is what makes it smell like more work than it was.
• Cream off the heat. Heavy cream tolerates a simmer, but the acidic tomato base can make it grainy if it boils hard after the cream goes in; the gentlest heat keeps it smooth.
• The sugar is one teaspoon of balance. Canned tomato runs sharp — that pinch rounds it without making anything sweet.