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Butter Chicken

Recipe by Gordon Ramsay on InstagramAdded 2 August 2026.

15 minutes to prep, 15 to cook. This buttery, aromatic butter chicken is a quick, comforting Indian classic. Tender chicken is marinated in yogurt and spices, then simmered in a silky tomato‑cream sauce with fresh cilantro and a hint of lemon. Perfect for a family dinner that feels like a gourmet treat.

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Butter Chicken by Gordon Ramsay, a frame from the Instagram video

Method

  1. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, turmeric, cumin, coriander, cayenne, garam masala, and yogurt.

  2. Heat a little oil in a pan and add the chicken; cook until browned and set aside.

  3. In the same pan, add butter and caramelize the sliced red onion until golden.

  4. Add cardamom seeds, cloves, ginger, chili, and garlic; sauté until fragrant.

  5. Stir in the garam masala, turmeric, cumin, and cayenne; toast the spices for a minute.

  6. Pour in tomato sauce and bring to a boil, then add double cream and lemon juice; simmer until the sauce thickens.

  7. Blend the sauce slowly to smoothness, then strain through a sieve.

  8. Return the cooked chicken to the pan, add a few knobs of butter, lemon zest, and chopped cilantro; stir to coat.

  9. Serve hot, garnished with extra cilantro.

Tips while you cook

Pre‑brown chicken first
After seasoning, brown the chicken in oil before setting it aside.
Caramelize onions fully
Sauté the sliced red onion in butter until golden before adding spices, as described in instruction 3.
Toast spices briefly
After adding the aromatics, stir in garam masala, turmeric, cumin, and cayenne and toast for a minute per instruction 5.
Blend and strain sauce
Smooth the sauce by blending slowly then straining through a sieve before returning the chicken, per instructions 6‑8.

Notes from ReelsMeals, based on this recipe's ingredients, times and method. They are not the creator's instructions.

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The recipe comes from Gordon Ramsay’s Instagram reel. ReelsMeals wrote it down from the caption and the voiceover. Check the original if something looks off, and for anything about allergens.

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Butter chicken, 6 ways

Six creators posted their own. Every one is built on chicken, garlic, tomatoes and cream.

  1. Swadish1 hr 15 min29 ingr.Only this one uses turmeric powder, kashmiri chilli powder and kasuri methi
  2. Amandeep Sharma30 min14 ingr.Only this one uses ground fenugreek and rice
  3. World’s First Public Superhero45 min14 ingr.Only this one uses self-raising flour
  4. Nicolina Nunes45 min17 ingr.Only this one uses cinnamon and naan
  5. Gordon Ramsay30 min24 ingr.Only this one uses cayenne pepper, red onion and cardamom seeds
  6. Donal Skehan6 hr 30 min39 ingr.Only this one uses bird's-eye chilies, fenugreek seeds and kashmiri chili powder
Compare all 6 side by side

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