Butter Chicken

Name: Butter Chicken
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 700 g chicken thigh fillets; 150 g plain yoghurt; 2 tbsp fresh ginger and garlic paste; 2 tsp garam masala; 2 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp ground turmeric; 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder; 400 g tomato passata; 30 g butter; 100 ml single cream; 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves; 240 g basmati rice; 1 small bunch coriander, roughly chopped

Chicken thigh marinated in spiced yoghurt and charred under the grill before it meets a tomato sauce finished with butter and cream. 43 g of protein.

High proteinMeal prep

A bowl of basmati rice beside a deep orange butter chicken sauce with charred pieces of chicken thigh in it, swirled with cream and scattered with fresh coriander.

Servings: 4
Total time: 1 h
Hands-on: 30 min

What you need

Mixing bowl
Baking tray
Heavy-based pan
Saucepan with a lid

Ingredients

700 gchicken thigh fillets— skinless, cut into large pieces
150 gplain yoghurt— for the marinade
2 tbspfresh ginger and garlic paste— equal parts, grated
2 tspgaram masala
2 tspground cumin
1 tspground turmeric
1 tspKashmiri chilli powder— for colour more than heat
400 gtomato passata
30 gbutter
100 mlsingle cream
1 tspdried fenugreek leaves— kasoori methi; the smell you cannot place in a good butter chicken
240 gbasmati rice— weighed dry, 60 g per portion
1 small bunchcoriander, roughly chopped

How to make it

Mix the yoghurt with half the ginger-garlic paste, 1 tsp of the garam masala, the cumin, turmeric and chilli powder, and a good amount of salt. Turn the chicken through it and leave it for at least 30 minutes — overnight in the fridge is better. The yoghurt's acidity tenderises the thigh and the marinade is most of the spice in the finished dish.
Heat the grill as high as it goes. Spread the chicken on a tray in one layer and grill for 12–15 minutes, turning once, until the edges are properly blackened in places. Those burnt edges are not a mistake — they are what a tandoor does, and the sauce would taste flat without them.
Melt the butter in the pan, add the rest of the ginger-garlic paste and the remaining garam masala and fry for a minute.
Pour in the passata, season, and simmer for 12 minutes until it darkens and thickens. Crush the fenugreek leaves between your palms over the pan.
Stir in the cream, then the grilled chicken with any juices from the tray. Simmer 5 minutes more so the chicken finishes in the sauce.
Cook the basmati while the sauce simmers, and serve with coriander over the top.

Per serving, roughly

Energy: ~690 kcal
Protein: ~43 g
Carbs: ~55 g
Fat: ~29 g

These are estimates calculated from standard ingredient values. Your numbers will shift with the exact products you buy and with how generously you fill the plate — oil, sauces and cheese move them the most.

Variations

Leaner

Use chicken breast and halve the cream. About 170 kcal and 15 g of fat less per portion, with roughly the same protein — but grill it for 10 minutes, not 15, or it dries out.

Paneer version

Swap the chicken for 500 g of paneer, marinated and grilled the same way. Roughly the same calories, about 10 g less protein per portion, and vegetarian.

Coach's tip

43 g of protein in a dish nobody would describe as diet food — that is the point of cooking it yourself rather than buying it. It reheats well, so make the full four portions even for two people; the sauce is better the next day.

More recipes

Other recipes worth a place in your week.

MealsThai Green Vegetable Curry with TofuCurry paste fried in the thick cream off the top of the coconut milk until the oil splits out, then aubergine, beans and crisped tofu. Twenty minutes.MealsSkillet Chicken FajitasChicken and peppers cooked hard and fast so they char instead of stewing, with a lime and smoked-paprika marinade and skyr instead of soured cream.MealsSpiced Chicken, Rice & Broccoli Meal-Prep BowlThe plain one you cook twice a week. Paprika-and-curry chicken breast, rice and broccoli — four bowls, about 50 g of protein each, and it still tastes like food on day four.

General information only, not medical or nutritional advice. If you have a health condition, an allergy, or specific dietary needs, talk to a qualified professional.

Eating well is half the plan

A GetMyCoach coach builds the training around your goal — and gives you a calorie and protein target that matches it.

Find your coach