Why We Love This Recipe
Murgh Makhani or Butter Chicken, is easily one of the most popular curry recipes around the globe. This recipe is no wallflower. I wanted to create a show-stopping kickass low carb butter chicken and I know this is a great recipe.
Low carb – with just 6g net carbs per serving this butter chicken is not only delicious but also naturally low carb.
Everyday ingredients – Made mostly with everyday ingredients found in most pantries. There are just two specialty pantry ingredients (and also well worth sourcing).
Quick and easy – an easy butter chicken recipe that really is fuss-free.
Various Cooking methods – you can make this butter chicken in your Instant Pot, slow cooker, stovetop, low oven and thermal cooker e.g. Thermomix.
The Ingredients
Scroll to the bottom of this post for the amount of each ingredient needed to make this low carb butter chicken recipe.
As you can see from the picture most of the ingredients are very basic. Ingredients you would find in most household pantries and fridges. Below is just a little information about the ingredients you may not know of and where to find them.
- Black or brown cardamom pods. These add great flavour to the butter chicken. You can find these pods in Indian market grocers. The cardamom pods you get at most supermarkets are green and different in flavour.
- Fenugreek leaves (also known as Methi) – the leaves make all the difference in this recipe. Seeds or fenugreek powder are just not the same.
- Kashmiri chilli powder is actually a mild chilli powder that adds colour to the keto butter chicken.
How to Make It
Step 1. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add the chicken and coat with the marinade. Leave to marinate for 1-2 hours or overnight.
Step 2. Melt ghee in a pan over moderate heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger, cardamom, coriander, garam masala, turmeric, and chilli powder. Stir well and sauté for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add fenugreek leaves, tomatoes and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer and reduce by a third.
Step 3. Add the chicken to the sauce (or grill first then add) and reduce heat to a low simmer. Simmer chicken for 10-12 minutes or until cooked through. Add the butter, cream and almond meal.
Step 4. Stir continuously until the butter has melted and the sauce is thick and velvety.
How to Make Butter Chicken in the Instant Pot
1. Combine marinade ingredients in a non-reactive bowl coating chicken well. Cover and chill for 3-4 hours.
2. Add all ingredients to Instant Pot except butter, cream and almond meal. Set Pot to 10 minutes high pressure. Allow to naturally release for 10 minutes then release remaining pressure
3. Add the butter, cream and almond meal. Stir continuously until the butter has melted and the sauce is thick and velvety. (Add more almond meal as needed if the sauce is not thick enough). Season to taste. Serve with Saffron Cauliflower Rice, coriander leaves and extra yoghurt.
How to Make Butter Chicken in the Thermomix
Cooking butter chicken in the Thermomix is surprisingly one of my preferred ways to do it. I do have a lot of Thermomix chicken recipes. The keto butter chicken is one of my personal favourites.
Thermomix Butter Chicken is highly searched for among the Thermomix Australia community and we all know that Skinnymixers Butter Chicken gets a lot of testing.
Personally, I love my keto butter chicken that is a third of the carbs, easier and quicker and uses more authentic ingredients and flavours.
Here is how to make my keto butter chicken in a Thermomix.
1. Combine marinade ingredients in a non-reactive bowl coating chicken well. Cover and chill for 3-4 hours.
2. Place onion and garlic into the mixer; chop 3 sec/speed 6. Add the ghee, ginger, cardamom, coriander, garam masala, turmeric and chilli powder to mixer; cook 2 min/100℃/MC off/stir.
3. Add fenugreek leaves, tomatoes and tomato paste; cook 14 min/100℃/MC off/basket on top/stir.
4. Add the butter, cream almond meal and chicken. Stir using a spatula to ensure chicken is completely covered in the sauce. Cook 12 min/100℃/ basket on top/reverse /stir. (Add more almond meal as needed if the sauce is not thick enough). Season to taste. Serve as above.
What to Serve with Butter Chicken
To be honest I can just eat this butter chicken straight from the bowl. Just like our favourite Indian takeaway meals, this is a great way to enjoy Indian cuisine keto takeout with all the trimmings.
In the pictures, you are seeing a new product I am trialling Palmini Rice. It is made with hearts of palm and is super low carb. Palmini Rice has only 2g net carbs or 4g total carbs per serve.
Greek yoghurt (or our 2 Ingredient Yoghurt) and coriander leaves are essential, in my opinion. Simple and delicious.
The butter chicken is also perfect with Stuffed Keto Naan from our Keto Breads eBook.
Tips for Success and FAQs
Store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Otherwise, freeze in individual serves in an airtight container for when you need an easy meal.
I get mine from Indian grocers nearby. I have also ordered through iHerb before.
Grilling the chicken and adding a little char to it adds flavour. I quickly grill over very high heat to give the chicken extra flavour and colour then add to the curry gravy.
They are very similar but butter chicken is milder and creamier than a tikka masala.
The sauce is so good you will eat it with a spoon, trust me. There is never too much sauce in my opinion. Allow the butter chicken to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Or cook it the next day. The sauce will thicken upon resting.
Related Recipes
I do love a good keto curry myself. Here are just a few of my best keto dinner recipes.
- Saffron Chicken Korma
- Massaman Chicken Curry
- Thai Penang Chicken Curry
- Red Curry Chicken Chiang Mai Style
- Malaysian Meat Curry Powder
- Chicken Pepper Fry | How to Make Pepper Chicken
- Keto Chicken Tikka Masala
You will find a lot of keto chicken recipes here as well as keto Indian recipes. I am a little bit of a fan so you will find more each month.
Keto Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)
Ingredients
CHICKEN MARINADE
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder See notes
- 70 g Greek yoghurt plus, extra to serve
- 900 g chicken breast or thigh fillets (I recommend thigh) cut into 3 -4 cm cubes
CURRY SAUCE
- 2 tablespoons (40g) ghee or melted unsalted butter or coconut oil
- ½ onion (100g) finely minced
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons ginger paste
- 2 brown/black cardamom pods bruised. See Nots
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder See Notes
- 1 tablespoon fenugreek leaves See Notes
- 400 g tomatoes crushed
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 40 g butter
- 100 g thickened cream or coconut cream. See Notes
- 3 tablespoons almond meal or use 1 tablespoon of gelatin to thicken
- Salt and pepper to taste
TO SERVE
- Fresh coriander leaves cauliflower rice and extra yoghurt
- Palmini Rice optional, use link to order online
Instructions
CONVENTIONAL METHOD
- Combine marinade ingredients in a non-reactive bowl coating chicken well. Cover and chill for 1-2 hours or leave overnight.
- Melt ghee in a pan over moderate heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger, cardamom, coriander, garam masala, turmeric, and chilli powder. Stir well and sauté for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add fenugreek leaves, tomatoes and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer and reduce by a third. Add the chicken to the pan and reduce heat to a low simmer. Simmer chicken for 10-12 minutes or until cooked through.
- Add the butter, cream and almond meal. Stir continuously until the butter has melted and the sauce begins to thicken. Leave to rest, covered, for 10-15 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken. Season to taste. Serve with cauliflower rice, coriander leaves and extra yoghurt.
THERMOMIX METHOD
- Combine marinade ingredients in a non-reactive bowl coating chicken well. Cover and chill for 1-2 hours.
- Place onion and garlic into mixer; chop 3 sec/speed 6. Add the ghee, ginger, cardamom, coriander, garam masala, turmeric, and chilli powder to mixer; cook 2 min/100℃/MC off/stir.
- Add fenugreek leaves, tomatoes and tomato paste; cook 14 min/100℃/MC off/basket on top/stir.
- Add the butter, cream almond meal and chicken. Stir using a spatula to ensure chicken is completely covered in the sauce. Cook 12 min/100℃/basket on top/reverse /stir. Leave to rest, covered, for 10-15 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken. Season to taste. Serve as above.
INSTANT POT OR PRESSURE COOKER METHOD
- Combine marinade ingredients in a non-reactive bowl coating chicken well. Cover and chill for 1-2 hours.
- Add all ingredients to Instant Pot except butter, cream and almond meal. Set Pot to 10 minutes high pressure/naturally release for 10 minutes then release remaining pressure.
- Add the butter, cream and almond meal. Stir continuously until the butter has melted and the sauce is thickened. Leave to rest, covered, for 10-15 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken. Season to taste. Serve with cauliflower rice, coriander leaves and extra yoghurt.
Notes
- I recommend a small serving of Cauliflower Rice, or Palmini Rice, extra Greek yoghurt (or our 2 Ingredient Yoghurt) and coriander leaves. Simple and delicious.
- Serve with Stuffed Keto Naan that you will find in our Keto Breads eBook.
- This low carb butter chicken will also store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Otherwise, freeze in individual serves in an airtight container for when you need an easy meal. Then it will just be just like the best keto takeout meal ever.
- Kashmiri chilli powder is a very mild Indian chilli powder. It adds flavour and colour to the low carb Butter Chicken without adding heat.
- Black or brown cardamom pods are available at Indian/Asian grocers and have a different flavour profile than green cardamom pods.
- Fenugreek leaves are authentic to a butter chicken gravy. They are completely different to the powder or seeds for adding flavour and I strongly recommend sourcing them and using them in this recipe.
- To make this into a dairy free butter chicken or paleo butter chicken recipe simply replace the butter with coconut oil and the cream with coconut cream.
- The flavours will develop more when refrigerated overnight as well.
- Swap breast or chicken on the bone, if preferred.
- The chicken can be grilled before adding it to the gravy.
- For a vegan butter chicken alternative, use tofu or cauliflower.
Your Own Notes
Nutrition
Megan Ellam is an Australian keto recipes blogger living in Thornton, NSW. She is the author of amazing keto cookbooks such as Slow Cook Keto, Keto Loco, The Healthy Family Keto Cookbook and Every Day Keto.
Megan has been following a ketogenic diet since being diagnosed with insulin resistance in early 2017. After a long cooking career Megan simply swapped her “foodie focus” to easy keto recipes. Her keto Australian recipes all include both metric and US customary measures so that everyone can enjoy them.
Megan also makes all the recipes suitable for conventional cooks, Thermomix recipes and thermal cookers e.g. Magimix recipes.
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