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Butter Chicken Thermomix Skinnymixers

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Skinnymixers Butter Chicken Thermomix Recipe

Butter Chicken also known as Murgh Makhani, this popular dish needs no introduction. While this Butter Chicken may be a decadent treat, it is a healthier Thermomix alternative to take-away versions and well worth the effort. After releasing this recipe, the Skinnymixers Facebook Group begged me to put out my first cookbook ‘A Little Taste of India’ – available in the Skinnymixers Shop or Apple Books.

This viral Butter Chicken Thermomix recipe took the Thermomix Community by storm in 2014 and has been the top Skinnymixers recipe every year since. Don’t be turned off by the length of this recipe – it is written in simple step by step instructions to help even a new user of the Thermomix TM6 TM5 TM31/Bellini / Smith and Noble.

A Little Taste of India Cookbook Skinnymixers
My first Thermomix Cookbook ‘A Little Taste of India’ sold 5,000 copies on launch.

My Butter Chicken Thermomix recipe is mild for those who are sensitive to spice and children seem to love it. One of the ‘must make’ Thermomix recipes, it is easy to follow and will definitely impress.

Naturally gluten free and there are instructions to make it dairy free / vegetarian / keto / LCHF /low fodmap friendly below.

BEFORE YOU START – TIPS FOR THE BEST BUTTER CHICKEN

  • Leave yourself enough time the first time you make it – some beginners take 90 min. Enjoy the process, it isn’t hard or complicated!
  • Check that your Apple Cider Vinegar isn’t double strength. Not all apple cider vinegars are equal in taste, I recommend using Braggs ACV with the mother.
  • Using Pepper Free Garam Marsala helps keep this dish very mild. If you don’t mind a little spice, using one with pepper is fine.
  • Don’t use a tea bag or device to hold your whole spices together. The flavour will be impacted and it can damage your machine.
  • Use fresh spices! You can find all of these spices in all major supermarkets. I prefer to get my spices from Grandma’s Pantry, as they are fresher, gluten free & very high quality.
  • The food colouring, nut meal & honey are optional. If you aren’t used to a thick/creamy sweeter butter chicken then leave any of these out to suit your preference.

If you make this recipe, snap a pic and hashtag it #skinnymixers — We love to see your creations on Instagram & Facebook!

Slow Cooker Method

This recipe makes a lot of sauce. When you transfer this thermomix recipe to the slow cooker, for the best results you double the marinade & chicken but leave the sauce amount the same.

  1. Make the sauce and transfer to the slow cooker with the marinated chicken in Step 10.
  2. Stir through the nuts and cream at the end.

Skinnymixers Butter Chicken in the Slow Cooker

What to serve with your Butter Chicken?

You could serve your Butter Chicken with rice or cauliflower rice. If you are looking for standout recipes to wow your guests and tastebuds – you can’t go past the Garlic, Cheese & Spinach Naan, skinnymixer’s Jeweled Coconut Rice, Vegetarian Biryani or Indian Cauliflower Rice.

Thermomix Naan Bread Recipe
The Thermomumma Guest Recipe for Garlic, Cheese & Spinach Naan Bread is the perfect side dish for the Skinnymixers Butter Chicken
Indian Rice Thermomix Recipe for Biryani
The Vegetarian variation of the Biryani from the cookbook A Little Taste of India – takes this to the next level.

This recipe features in the Thermomix cookbook ‘A Little Taste of India’. Other standout recipes from this cookbook include:

FREE MEAL PLANNER DOWNLOAD: Are you on our Skinnymixers Newsletter? Have all of our latest Thermomix recipes delivered to your Inbox – http://bit.ly/SkinnyNews

Skinnymixers Butter Chicken

skinnymixer's Butter Chicken

Voted as the Best Butter Chicken Thermomix Recipe, you will also find this recipe in the Skinnymixers Cookbook A Little Taste of India. You can access the Butter Chicken FAQ's here.
4.94 from 62 votes
Print Pin Rate Add to Collection
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: Thermomix Recipe
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 672kcal

Ingredients

  • 700 g chicken breast - diced
  • 150 g cashews - or almonds, raw (optional - omit for nut free)
  • 300 g cream - or coconut cream
  • 50 g honey
  • 1 bunch fresh coriander - chopped

Marinade:-

  • ½ Tbsp salt
  • ¼-½ tsp chilli powder
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • Optional: 1 tsp liquid tandoori colouring OR ¼ tsp red food colouring and 2 drops of yellow food colouring
  • 10 g fresh ginger
  • 1 clove garlic - peeled
  • 15 g apple cider vinegar

Tomato paste:-

  • 2 clove garlic
  • 10 g fresh ginger
  • 30 g apple cider vinegar
  • 400 g tin of Ardmona chopped tomatoes
  • 100 g tomato paste

Gravy:-

  • 200 g brown onions - peeled, halved
  • 125 g butter
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 3 cloves
  • 5 cardamom pods - bruised
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp garam masala - pepper free

Instructions

  • Add nuts to mixer bowl, mill 10 sec/speed 9/MC on. Set aside.
  • Without washing the bowl, (change to blunt blades for bellini and use speed 1 instead of reverse) add marinade ingredients to mixer bowl. Blend for 2 sec/speed 9/MC on. Scrape bowl down and repeat 3 times.
  • Add the chicken and stir through marinade for 10 sec/speed 2/reverse/MC on. Scrape mixer bowl out completely, set aside in a separate bowl to allow chicken to marinate.
  • Without washing the bowl, add tomato paste ingredients to mixer bowl. Blend 1 min/speed 8/MC on. Set tomato paste aside in a separate bowl again.
  • Without washing the bowl, add onions to mixer bowl and chop 5 sec/speed 5/MC on. Scrape bowl down.
  • Add 60 g or 2.1 oz butter to mixer bowl, cook 10 min/100°C or 212°F/speed 2/butterfly/MC on.
  • Add remaining butter (65 g or 2.3 oz), cinnamon, whole cloves, cardamom, star anise, cumin and paprika to mixer bowl.
  • Cook 5 min/100°C or 212°F/slowest speed/reverse/butterfly/MC on.
  • Add reserved tomato paste mixture, garam masala and 2 tsp salt to mixer bowl. Cook for 4 min/steaming temperature/slowest speed/reverse/butterfly/MC on.
  • Add reserved marinated chicken mixture to mixer bowl. Cook for 12 min/100°C or 212°F/slowest speed/reverse/butterfly/MC on.
  • Add reserved nut meal, cream and honey to mixer bowl. Cook for 4 min/100°C or 212°F/slowest speed/reverse/butterfly/MC on. While cooking, use your spatula to stir the curry occasionally.
  • Pour curry into an insulated server, remove whole spices, stir through chopped coriander and let it sit covered for 10 min.

Notes

Original Recipe: If you want to add fenugreek, its 1 tsp at step 7.
Dairy Free: Use coconut cream & 100 g of oil.
Keto / LCHF: Omit honey & nuts or use macadamias/almonds.
Low Fodmap: Replace the garlic with a little garlic infused olive oil & use the green part of leeks to replace the onions. Omit the nuts & use Rice Malt Syrup instead of honey.
Vegetarian: Replace Chicken with vegetables such as pumpkin, cauliflower and beans and cook until tender. You can also add some drained tinned chickpeas when adding the cream & honey.
Important note: DO NOT increase the quantities of any ingredients - this will avoid overloading your mixer. Unless you are cooking chicken on the stovetop or slow cooker.
This is one of our most popular healthy thermomix recipes.
Bellini: Do not use the butterfly / mixing tool.
Use the blunt blade, speed 1, chop the meat in 3-4cm cubes or wide strips. After the first 5 mins or so of cooking stop the machine and release the meat that has got tangled around the blade. Be sure to not overcook.
Tried this recipe?Mention @skinnymixer or tag #skinnymixers!

Nutrition

Calories: 672kcal | Carbohydrates: 19.8g | Protein: 34.6g | Fat: 49.4g | Saturated Fat: 25.4g | Sodium: 1370mg | Sugar: 15.1g

Frequently Asked Butter Chicken Questions

Can I use Ground Spices?

  • 1 tsp ground ginger powder
  • 2 pinches of cardamon powder or 1 tsp cardamon seeds
  • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon powder
  • a pinch of the clove

How can I remove the spices easily?

  • As you are slowly pouring the Butter Chicken into the thermal server – using a silicone spatula you can usually find a few easy spices, then use it to look for the rest prior to adding the coriander.

Can I add more Chicken?

  • The Butter Chicken recipe makes a lot of sauce, but the chicken is at maximum weight capacity. If you need to make more we recommend cooking on the stovetop or slow cooker (see Slow Cooker Tips below). Some Skinnies like to freeze the extra sauce for a quick meal or use it for butter chicken pizza or even Butter Chicken Kievs!

Why is there Food Colouring in the recipe?

  • The food colouring can be left out for those who don’t like to use it, BUT a little secret…this is how the Indian take-away shops get their butter chicken to look that vibrant (unnatural) red colour! (You can find proper tandoori colouring at Indian grocers/supermarkets)

What is the Super Skinny version of the Butter Chicken?

Butter Chicken FAQ Page

Skinnymixers Butter Chicken Pin

  1. Wow, this recipe looks amazing! I’m always looking for new and easy ways to make delicious Indian food at home, and this Thermomix butter chicken recipe seems like a game-changer. Can’t wait to try it out!

  2. 5 stars
    This is amazing. I’ve made it dozens of times and figured I needed to review it. I make to recipe but double the chicken and move to a large deep frypan at the adding chicken phase. More than enough sauce to allow for the extra chicken. Delish, a favourite in our home.

  3. 5 stars
    Delish! My daughter is a big butter chicken fan but only of a certain jar variety! Well didn’t she just change her taste buds! She loves this one and it’s better (of course) than her very tried & tested beloved jar mix! On rotation!

  4. 5 stars
    So good, I’m vegetarian and substitute the chicken for paneer and it is so good. My favourite meal of all time, I recommended making some cheesy Nan with it.

  5. Hi there. I’m keen to try this recipe. It says that this recipe is 672 calories per serve, which I believe is 2814 kilojoules – this is a lot more than I would consume for a main meal. Does the energy per serving assume you were eating all of the sauce? I’m thinking if there is a lot of sauce leftover, the kilojoule count would be less? Thank you.

  6. Can anyone tell me if making this without salt would impact the end result too much or if something I should add more off ? As I’m making for someone who has dietary restriction and can’t have salt.
    Many thanks

  7. 3 stars
    Based on everyone else’s reviews, I must have done something wrong, as we find this really bland.
    I made up a big batch that I portioned in to the freezer that we will now have to work through, but no one in my family is particularly excited about this dish at all.
    It misses that ‘special something’ that Butter Chicken normally has.

    1. It should be easy to mix in additional spice so you don’t have to eat the bland gravy again 🙂 stir in half a teaspoon of cumin powder or garam masala, Paprika and maybe salt. Or heat up some oil add some garlic, whole peppercorns/cinnamon/star anise and chilli powder until fragrant. Add to gravy.

  8. 5 stars
    The butter chicken is absolutely yumm and well worth the fiddling for a newbie. We will be making it again and again

  9. 5 stars
    Made this for the first time tonight and it was amazing. The whole family enjoyed it (including two fussy kids) so this will now be on regular rotation.

  10. How long do you cook in the slow cooker for? And the option to add fenugreek at step 7, is that fenugreek seeds or fenugreek ground?

  11. 5 stars
    Absolutely delicious! By far the best I’ve had! I kept reading reviews that all say this, but I thought ‘yeah right, how good could it be?’ Sooooo glad I made it for dinner tonight. Will be a regular from now on.

  12. 5 stars
    Soo good. i made a double batch of the marinade for just over 1kg of thighs, and left the sauce quantities as is. I made it all in the TM then transferred to slow cooker for a few hours. Was a winner.

  13. I’m so confused! I just made this and it was very salty. I thought I must have some something wrong but I see salt in the marinade and salt added at step 9 but it’s not listed twice on the ingredients. Do I add it twice or just once?
    Thanks!

      1. Probably a bit late now, but for anyone else in the comments wondering about this, check what kind of salt you’re using. Pink Himalayan salt is extra salty so I usually use table salt, or reduce the salt if that’s what I’m using.

        Also, different brands of ACV can vary in intensity, perhaps it’s one of the stronger ones, the one I used tonight is waaaaay stronger than the one I usually use, so I reduced the quantity.

        Also check the salt in your tomatoes. Ardmona plain diced tomatoes has 6mg/100g, whereas the thick one with the tomato paste in it (which you might think would be better) has 21g/100.

    1. Yes when I made this the first time it was very salty. I find that you only need to add the sale to the marinade, don’t add more at step 9.

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