Butter Chicken, also known as Chicken Makhani, is among the most well-known Indian dishes around the world. Growing up in India, we never made Butter Chicken at home, and it was always one of the dishes we ordered when we had our family dinners at a restaurant. Over the years, I’ve made multiple attempts at cooking this dish. I believe this recipe is the closest to a restaurant style Butter Chicken.

In the United States, Butter Chicken is on the menu at most lunch buffets and, therefore, most patrons of Indian restaurants are familiar with it. It is often confused with Chicken Tikka Masala, and for good reason. Both feature tender chicken in a tomato-based sauce enriched with dairy, and both are staples on Indian restaurant menus worldwide. But despite their similarities, they are distinct dishes with different origins, techniques, and flavor goals.

Butter Chicken originated in Delhi and was created as a way to revive leftover tandoori chicken by simmering it in a silky, butter- and cream-rich tomato sauce. The founders of the Moti Mahal Restaurant in New Delhi are credited with creating this recipe. The emphasis is on balance and richness rather than heat. The sauce is typically smooth, mildly spiced, and gently sweet, with flavors coming from butter, cream, tomatoes, and subtle aromatics like kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves).

Chicken Tikka Masala, on the other hand, is widely believed to have been developed in the UK, shaped by Indian cooking techniques and Western preferences. It uses fully cooked, charred chicken tikka added to a more assertively spiced sauce. Compared to butter chicken, the masala is usually bolder, tangier, and spicier, often with a thicker texture and a more pronounced onion-and-spice base.

In short: Butter Chicken is smoother, richer, and milder, while Chicken Tikka Masala is more robust, smoky, and spice-forward. Outside India, the distinction is often blurred—but understanding the difference helps you appreciate what each dish is really trying to achieve.

Recipe Tips

Adjust the quantity of Butter and Heavy Cream to your taste for richness. To make a dairy-free version, you can substitute Heavy Cream with Coconut Milk and leave out the butter and use oil instead.

The heat in the sauce is added by the Kashmiri Red Chili powder, Green Chilies and Garam Masala. To make a milder dish, leave out the Green Chilies, replace the Kashmiri Red Chili Powder partly or wholly with sweet Paprika, and adjust the amount of Garam Masala.

Makhani Sauce – The Secret Sauce

Refer to the Makhani Sauce recipe for details on cooking the sauce. The quantity of chicken in the Butter Chicken recipe is for the quantity of the sauce produced by the Makhani Sauce recipe.