Let's be honest…butter chicken is the dish everyone orders at an Indian restaurant, but almost nobody attempts to make it at home. Most butter chicken recipes have an extensive list of spices and a long simmering process, and I get it; that can be intimidating!

Well, that's just not true anymore, because we made you a butter chicken spice blend that comes in single-use packets, with a 30-minute recipe printed right on the back. 

One packet, one pan, dinner on the table before you know it. 

The History of Butter Chicken

Butter chicken (AKA murgh makhani) was born in Delhi in the 1950s at Moti Mahal, a restaurant famous for its tandoori chicken.

Legend has it the cooks didn't want the roasted chicken that hadn't been sold to go to waste, so they simmered it in a rich tomato, butter, and cream sauce to keep it from drying out. A resourceful fix became one of the most beloved dishes to come out of India and eventually one of the most ordered Indian dishes on the planet.

Butter chicken is the ultimate comfort food, a little smoky, a little sweet, deeply savory and rich.

What's actually in the packet

This isn't a generic butter chicken seasoning we threw together. It's adapted straight from what we serve at Chai Pani, reworked so it shines just as bright coming out of your kitchen as it does off the restaurant line.

We ran through several rounds of testing and tasting with our owner Meherwan Irani to get the balance just right. We had to make sure it tastes like it was simmered all day, without losing the ease of a weeknight recipe.

We wanted something that could stand next to the version you would order at the restaurant, not a shortcut of it.

Here's what's in the packet, and what each one is doing for the dish:

• Tomato powder: the base of that rich, tangy sauce you know and love, concentrated down to a powder so it dissolves right into the sauce.
• Smoked paprika: brings the smoky depth that usually only comes from a tandoor, no charcoal required.
• Sugar: rounds out the acidity of the tomato for balance
• Cumin: earthy and warm, one of the backbone spices of this blend
• Black pepper: adds a gentle, steady heat 
• Kosher salt: ties every other flavour together and makes sure nothing tastes flat
• Green cardamom powder: floral and slightly sweet, it's a big part of what makes butter chicken smell and taste so good
• Turmeric: gives the sauce a subtle, earthy flavour that balances the richness
• Cinnamon powder: a touch of sweet warmth that rounds out the spice blend 
• Garlic: savory backbone, no peeling or mincing required.
• Onion: adds savory depth alongside the garlic, building out the base flavour.
• Citric acid: a little extra brightness that helps balance the richness of the butter and cream.
• Nutmeg powder: adds a cozy, slightly sweet warmth
• Cayenne: brings the heat, dialled in just enough to keep things interesting without overwhelming
• Clove powder: a small but mighty addition that deepens the aromatic quality of the blend
• Ginger powder: adds a little zing and freshness to cut through the richness of the sauce
• Coriander powder: citrusy and slightly sweet, it rounds out the savory spices with a lighter note.

And here's the recipe.

A few things worth noting:

• Tomato powder and smoked paprika lead the blend, and that's where a lot of the depth comes from. The smoked paprika especially is doing the work of mimicking that tandoor char, minus the tandoor.
• The warm spices of cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove are what give butter chicken its signature aromatic quality.
• Sugar and citric acid team up to balance the acidity of the tomato and round out the sauce, the same way a pinch of sugar does in a good marinara.
• Cumin, coriander, garlic, and onion build the savory backbone, while cayenne brings just enough heat to keep things interesting without turning up the temperature too far.

The Packets are Kind of a Big Deal

Butter chicken typically has a very long ingredient list that can be intimidating. Pulling ten jars out of the cabinet, guessing at ratios, and second-guessing whether you got it right can be a recipe turn-off. 

This blend takes all of that off your plate (pun intended). One packet, one dish, correctly proportioned every time. 30 minutes and you're ready to eat.

My Notes on Butter Chicken

Butter chicken is one of those dishes people assume is out of reach for a home cook. Too many steps, too much time, too much room for error.

Getting to take a recipe we're proud of at Chai Pani and turn it into something anyone can pull off on a weeknight, with total confidence, is exactly the kind of project that gets me excited to bring to our customers.

Helping people cook delicious meals for themselves or to share with their loved ones with ease is always the goal. If this packet is what finally gets butter chicken out of the “only if I have a lot of time” recipe category and into your weeknight dinner rotation, then we did our job.

So grab a packet, set a timer for 30 minutes, and let us know how it turns out. Tag us; we love seeing your kitchens in action.

Spread love, cook food! Alyse Baca, Spicewalla's Culinary Director