This recipe is part of a series of sauce recipes. Preparing the sauce or the base that creates the foundation of the flavors for the finished dish is often the first step. Learn to cook a sauce and you can prepare a wide range of recipes with a variety of ingredients – meat, vegetables, paneer, potatoes, etc. The sauce is a canvas for your creative expression, and I encourage you to deviate from the recipe and vary the selection and quantities of the spices you add to develop a unique recipe for your personal taste.
Makhani sauce is the heart and soul of Butter Chicken, one of the most beloved Indian dishes around the world. If you’ve cooked Indian food before, you may have noticed that Makhani, Moghlai, and Tikka Masala sauces all feel related, and they are. Think of them as cousins with distinct personalities. Moghlai sauce often leans richer with the addition of cashew nuts, while Tikka Masala typically includes onions for body and sweetness.
For this recipe, I like to keep Makhani sauce clean and focused, so I skip both cashews and onions. That choice helps preserve its signature flavor: smooth, tomato-forward, gently spiced, and buttery without being heavy. You’ll definitely find recipes that add all kinds of extras—and there’s nothing wrong with that – but what I’m sharing here is a classic, foundational version. Once you understand this base, you can always tweak it to suit your own taste.
What really makes a great Makhani sauce is balance. The tomatoes bring brightness and acidity, which needs to be softened with a touch of sweetness—so taste as you go and adjust the sugar as needed. A small amount of kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) adds a subtle bitterness and depth that’s hard to describe but impossible to miss. Tomato paste is another quiet hero here, adding concentration and an extra layer of savory richness.
While Makhani sauce is most famously paired with grilled chicken in Butter Chicken (Murg Makhani), it’s far more versatile than that. Try it with roasted cauliflower, grilled paneer, or even pasta. One of my personal favorites? Spoon it generously over gnocchi (my favorite!) – it’s comfort food with a very happy Indian twist.
Makhani Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 1.5 pounds Tomatoes preferably ripe
- 6 oz Tomato Paste 1 can
- 1 inch Ginger coarsely chopped
- 6 Garlic Cloves
- 2 Green Chillies to taste
- 2 tsp Kashmiri Red Chili powder
- 2 tbsp Dried Fenugreek Leaves Qasoori Methi
- 1/2 tsp Garam Masala powder
- 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
- 1 tbsp Honey Or Sugar, to taste
- 1 tsp Salt to taste
- 1 cup Chicken Stock optional, can substitute with water
Method
- Cut up the tomatoes; large chunks are okay, because they’re going to be pureed.
- Make the Dried Fenugreek Leaves powder by toasting them in a pan on low heat until the leaves become crispy.
- When they cool, crush them to a powder with your fingers or in a mortar and pestle.
- In a pot, add the Tomatoes, Ginger, Garlic and Green Chilies with 3 cups of water.
- Bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes,
- Turn off the heat and allow to cool.
- Once the contents of the pot have cooled enough, empty them into a blender and puree to a smooth paste.
- Strain the pureed tomatoes into the same pot and squeeze out as much of the sauce as possible.
- You should only have the seeds and skin of the Tomatoes left behind in the strainer.
- Add a cup of Chicken Stock, along with the Butter, Tomato Paste, Kashmiri Red Chili and/or Paprika to the pot. See recipe notes.
- Mix the contents of the pot well and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add the Garam Masala, Dried Fenugreek Leaves (crushed), and Salt and mix well, and continue simmering for another 5 minutes.
- Add the cream and mix well. Taste the sauce and add Sugar or Honey to balance the tartness of the Tomatoes.
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