Just like with Chicken Tikka Masala, you only have to sample well-made Butter Chicken once to become a devout lifelong fan. An authentic butter chicken recipe is something that can be found in any good Indian restaurant.

As such, you can always choose to go out and treat yourself to this tasty Indian food whenever you get the chance. But sometimes, you may want to make this Indian dish at home. In this case, you simply have to know how to make Butter Chicken spicier!

But just how do you achieve this feat?

Can you easily replicate arguably one of the best Indian recipes out there in your own home?

What do you need to make amazing Butter Chicken?

We have a deep and true affection for Butter Chicken. We’ll be sharing everything you need to know to make this tasty and creamy chicken curry dish from the comfort of your home!

Be sure to stick with us till the end!

How to Make Butter Chicken Spicier – Everything You Need to Know

Preparing your beloved Butter Chicken does take some effort. But, it isn’t nearly as difficult as you might think.

Depending on just how big a batch of the dish you want to make, you only need to spend 2 – 5 minutes chopping some simple ingredients and follow that up with some pan cooking. After this, you then have to wait a couple of minutes for the mixture to simmer on medium-high heat.

Once the Indian curry is close to readiness, you just introduce cream. Serve this with some Basmati rice or coconut rice and your tantalizing Butter Chicken curry is ready to eat!

Without further ado, here’s everything you need to know to prepare a dish to rival the Butter Chicken in restaurants!

Butter Chicken – Where the Dish Gets Its Name 

Before going into the details of how to make butter chicken spicier, you might be wondering where this chicken curry dish gets its name.

Simply put, it’s called “Butter Chicken” or “Murgh Makhani” in the local tongue, because it’s chicken with butter.

This distinction is small but necessary because butter, which features heavily in Butter Chicken curry sauce, isn’t typically used to make curry. Those who are familiar with regular curry will notice a marked change in the taste of Butter Chicken curry because of the presence of this ingredient.

In addition to the above, Butter Chicken curry sauce also carries this name because the chicken pieces are prepared in a makhani gravy. This Butter Chicken gravy also contains cream and butter.

The result is, as you know, a tasty dish with an unparalleled silky texture.

Keep in mind that while butter features quite a bit in the Butter Chicken recipe dairy, you can prepare the dish without it. Replacing this ingredient with a few tablespoons of olive oil works fine as well.

A little bit of olive oil will ensure there’s zero loss of texture or flavor in the dish. It’ll also ensure the complex spice blend needed to pull off this meal coalesces perfectly.

Step-by-Step Guide to Preparing a Tantalizing Butter Chicken Curry

Ready to learn how to make Butter Chicken spicier?

Here’s a complete walkthrough on how to do that with ease!

Step One – Prep the Chicken

The first thing you need to do is ready your chicken for cooking. This you can do by chopping about one pound of chicken into bite-sized pieces. While you can use different types of chicken for this recipe, you may get better results if you use boneless or skinless chicken breasts or thighs. 

Regardless of what type of chicken you use, be sure to cut the chicken into uniform, bite-sized chunks.

Step Two – Ready the Marinade Ingredients

Much like with Chicken Tikka Masala, the success of this dish hinges greatly on your choice of chicken marinade ingredients, as well as the marinating process.

For this particular chicken curry recipe, we’ll be using:

• Fresh garlic (grated) or garlic paste – 2 tablespoons
• Fresh ginger (grated) or ginger paste – 1 tablespoon
• Paprika or red chili powder – 2 teaspoons
• Turmeric – 1 teaspoon
• Cumin Powder – ½ teaspoon
• Garam Masala – 1 tablespoon
• Plain yogurt – ½ cup
• Lemon juice – 1 tablespoon
• Add salt and black pepper flakes to taste

Mix the marinade ingredients thoroughly in a bowl.

Step Three – Marinate the Pieces

With your marinade prepared, introduce the meat into the bowl with the marinade. Then, mix the chicken pieces with the marinade. Do this until every inch of each chicken piece is coated.

Step Four – Let the Flavor Develop

As you know, with marinating, you usually have to wait a bit of time to allow ample flavor penetration. With this Butter Chicken dish, you’d need to let the flavor sit and develop for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

However, for even greater flavor penetration, you could allow the chicken pieces to marinade for the night. See a complete guide to chicken marination here.

Step Five – Prepare Your Cooking Pan

After you decide how long you want the chopped chicken pieces to marinate and wait that length of time, it’s finally time to start cooking.

The first thing you have to do is take out a large cooking pan and set it over a cooker with medium heat. 

Add 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil to the pan.

Step Six – Add the Chicken

Introduce the marinated chicken pieces to the pan and allow them to cook for about 5 minutes. Make sure to stir the pieces of meat regularly during this time to allow them to brown on all sides.

Once they’re browned, remove the chicken from the pan and place them on a plate.

Step Seven – Throw in the Veggies

Next comes adding some vegetables to the pan you just finished frying with. Add a tablespoon of butter before you add 1 large yellow onion and 4 red peppers (chopped).

Let this cook for 3 – 4 minutes to soften.

Step Eight – Add Some Garlic

Add 3 cloves garlic (minced) and a tablespoon of ginger garlic paste. Let this cook for a minute.

Step Nine – Add Some Seasoning

Your key spice collection can come into play here. For this dish, we’ll be sticking with ½ teaspoon of ground cumin powder, garam masala, red chili powder, and some red chili flakes. 

We’ll also be adding a little kosher salt and pepper.

Once it’s all in, stir and let it cook for 60 seconds.

Step Ten – Throw in the Tomatoes

Now, you should add 14 ounces of diced tomatoes to the mix. In the absence of fresh tomatoes, canned tomato paste or tomato sauce will work just as well.

Raise the cooking mixture to a quick boil and then bring down the heat. Let the sauce simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes. This will break down all the ingredients and help them achieve a loose, paste-like consistency.

Step Eleven – Blend and Strain the Sauce

Move the mixture to a food processor or blender and allow it to process till it has a smooth texture.

Now, strain the sauce back into your pan. This will ensure it’s very smooth and can heat through easily.

Step Twelve – Cream the Mixture

Now, it’s time to add cream to the sauce. We’ll be using one cup of heavy whipping cream. 

However, instead of heavy cream, you could opt for something lighter.

Step Thirteen – Let Chicken Simmer

Introduce the chicken pieces back to the pan and stir. Then, heat the sauce and let it simmer for an additional 8 – 10 minutes. This will let the mixture thicken properly.

Step Fourteen – Serve

Your Butter Chicken curry is ready to eat now, so you can go ahead and serve it. You can cook Basmati rice to go with it or keep it simple with white rice. Just pour some tasty curry over your bowl of rice and dig in!

Bottom Line

And that’s how to make Butter Chicken spicier!

True, it all takes a bit of doing. But when you have your spicy Indian Butter Chicken all laid out in front of you, you’re certain to forget all the work it took to get there and just relish the meal.

Are you ready to try preparing more mouth-watering cuisines at home?

If yes, don’t hesitate to try your hands at this!