Butter Chicken Recipe in a Pressure Cooker & Kadhai — Creamy, Smoky Restaurant Style

Butter chicken — murgh makhani — is the dish that introduced Indian food to the world. Created at Moti Mahal restaurant in Delhi in the 1950s, the original was made from tandoor-cooked chicken pieces added to a leftover tomato gravy enriched with butter and cream. It is simultaneously the most popular and most imitated Indian dish globally.

This recipe uses the pressure cooker for the chicken (faster, more tender) and the kadhai for the gravy (more control, better reduction). The result is restaurant-comparable murgh makhani at home — rich, buttery, slightly smoky, with the characteristic orange-red colour.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

Chicken Marinade

• 600g chicken (bone-in or boneless, as preferred)

• Half cup thick yoghurt

• 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste

• 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder

• 1 teaspoon garam masala

• Half teaspoon turmeric

• 1 tablespoon oil

• Salt to taste

For the Gravy

•  4 large tomatoes, quartered

•  1 large onion, roughly chopped

•  10-12 whole cashews

•  3 garlic cloves

•  1 inch ginger

•  3 tablespoons butter + 1 tablespoon extra for finishing

•  1 tablespoon oil

•  Half teaspoon cumin seeds

•  1 bay leaf

•  1 black cardamom

•  1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder

•  1 teaspoon coriander powder

•  1 teaspoon sugar

•  3-4 tablespoons fresh cream

•  1 teaspoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek), crushed

•  Salt to taste

Method — Step by Step

Step 1 — Marinate the Chicken

Combine all marinade ingredients. Coat chicken thoroughly. Marinate for a minimum of 4 hours, preferably overnight refrigerated. Deep marination is what gives the chicken flavour throughout, not just on the surface.

Step 2 — Cook the Chicken

Option A (Pressure Cooker — fastest): Add marinated chicken to pressure cooker. Cook on medium heat for 2 whistles. Natural release 5 minutes. The chicken will be fully cooked and tender.

Option B (Air Fryer — smokier): Air fry marinated chicken at 200°C for 20-25 minutes, flipping at 12 minutes. This gives char marks similar to tandoor and adds the smokiness that restaurant butter chicken has.

Step 3 — Make the Gravy Base (Restaurant Shortcut)

Add quartered tomatoes, roughly chopped onion, cashews, garlic, and ginger to the pressure cooker. Add half cup water. Cook on medium heat for 2 whistles. Natural release. Open and blend the entire contents to a completely smooth puree using a hand blender or mixer grinder. Push through a fine sieve for extra smooth restaurant-quality gravy.

Step 4 — Cook the Gravy

Heat butter and oil in a large kadhai on medium heat. Add cumin seeds, bay leaf, and black cardamom. When fragrant, add the smooth tomato-cashew puree. Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, for 10-12 minutes until the gravy darkens in colour and butter starts to separate on the surface. Add Kashmiri chilli, coriander powder, sugar, and salt.

Step 5 — Add Chicken and Finish

Add the pre-cooked chicken pieces to the gravy. Stir gently. Add cream and crushed kasuri methi. Cook for 5 minutes. Finish with a tablespoon of cold butter added off the heat — this gives the silky, glossy finish that restaurant butter chicken has.

Step 6 — Smoky Dhungar Technique (Optional)

For the authentic tandoor smokiness that separates restaurant butter chicken from home versions: heat a small piece of natural charcoal until red-hot. Place a small steel bowl in the centre of the kadhai. Put the hot coal in the bowl. Add a teaspoon of ghee to the coal — it will smoke immediately. Cover the kadhai tightly for exactly 5 minutes. Remove the coal bowl and serve. The smoke infuses the gravy without any direct flame contact.

Best Cookware for Butter Chicken

The Nigella 3L triply SS pressure cooker cooks both the chicken (2 whistles, tender) and the tomato-cashew gravy base (2 whistles, ready to blend) in the same vessel. The 304 SS non-reactive surface doesn't interact with acidic tomatoes. Use it as both the chicken cooker and the gravy base cooker for minimum cleanup.

The Eco-Glide 28cm ceramic is the best kadhai for butter chicken gravy — the cream-based, butter-rich gravy slides off the ceramic surface completely, making cleanup a single wipe. Chemical-free coating means no concern about PTFE at the high butter cooking temperatures.

Related Guides

→ Rajma Recipe in a Pressure Cooker — Slow-Cooked Kidney Bean Curry

→ How to Cook Dal in a Pressure Cooker — Perfect Every Time

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes restaurant butter chicken different from home-cooked?

Three things: (1) cashew paste in the gravy (adds creaminess and the characteristic texture), (2) Kashmiri red chilli powder specifically for the deep orange-red colour without harsh heat, (3) the dhungar coal smoking technique for the tandoor smokiness. The restaurant version also uses significantly more butter than most home recipes suggest.

Can I make butter chicken without cream?

Yes — replace cream with 3-4 tablespoons of full-fat milk, or use cashew paste (10 soaked cashews blended smooth) for a dairy-lighter version. Cashew paste gives similar richness and a neutral flavour that doesn't compete with the masala.

Conclusion

Restaurant-style butter chicken at home requires three key techniques: overnight marination, pressure-cooked then blended smooth gravy base, and the finishing touch of cold butter off the heat. The optional coal dhungar adds the tandoor smokiness that makes restaurant versions taste different from standard home cooking.

Shop Wonderchef Cookware for Butter Chicken
Nigella Pressure Cooker | Eco-Glide 28cm Kadhai | Royal Velvet Kadhai.