butter chicken
"one of your worst" - my taste tester ™️
The Duffer Brothers’ were rejected by 15+ studios before Stranger Things hitched it’s wagon to Netflix and became the absolute hit that it is today. (But I guess that’s up for debate after the finale… #ConformityGate anyone?) J.K. Rowling was rejected by 12 publishers. She tried one more time and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone finally saw the light of day.
Shifting gears to something that’s totally, absolutely, and completely on the same playing field as the feats mentioned above… I made the most disgusting bowl of butter chicken imaginable. It was like plug-your-nose-and-swallow-it-so-you-can-simply-satiate-your-hunger levels bad.
My taste tester and I eyed our oddly chunky bowls of butter chicken, tentatively nudged a piece of chicken onto a spoon, and simultaneously brought the spoons to our mouths. We silently chewed and after a painstakingly long 15 seconds I hear, sheepishly, from across the table, “It’s… something…” quickly followed by, “You can’t get hits without a few misses.”
Consider my ego crushed but also… I agreed. It was actually disgusting. (Scary photos below.) But I tried, and tried again, and had the most noticeable T3T comeback I’ve ever experienced.
I’ve spoken a lot about the personal cooking progress not being linear. You will make some downright narsty meals, but it’s your willingness to try again that opens up the opportunity for unimaginable success.
I’m glad I had a flat out failure of a first try, because now I have dubbed myself the Duffer Brothers’ of butter chicken. (That’s gotta be a first.)
Sources 👩💻
The 1st Try: I can’t find the recipe for the life of me, but it doesn’t matter. It was bad and called for diced tomatoes vs. tomato puree or passata. Butter chicken is traditionally a creamy sauce, so if you find a recipe that calls for diced tomatoes (and there’s no blending involved to smooth it out), immediately exit, close out, goodbye.
This video it slightly confusing because she shows a clip blending red pepper and onion to make a sauce but notes using passata (uncooked strained tomato) in the caption. Ignore that part of the video and just reference the caption for full instructions.
The 1st Try
What I Learned:
Never forget the rules of browning. I love when I try a new recipe and immediately forget all transferrable recipe skills. Browning principles apply across meats, pans, and marinades— meat needs space to properly brown, otherwise it’ll become a soggy mess.
Traditional butter chicken calls for passata or tomato puree. Passata is uncooked, strained tomatoes (no skins or seeds) for a fresh, smooth base, while tomato puree is often a cooked down, thicker, more concentrated puree. Either works!
Color differences are normal. My final butter chicken coloring looked nothin’ like restaurant butter chicken. My good friend Google told me that’s normal, some restaurants even lean on food coloring for that burnt orange look. You can naturally amp it up with additional Kashmiri chili powder. (This try was also catastrophic from the get, so I suspect there were many other reasons why it looked off.)
Water to thin your sauce. Never forget your trusty friend H2O if you ever find your sauce mega thick. Thin with water instead of cream, as extra cream may throw your flavors off balance. Mine was a smidge thick, it could’ve used a splash or two.
The 2nd Try
What I Learned:
Longer marinade for moist meat. A crucial step in butter chicken preparation is marinating your cubed thighs in a yogurt, spice mixture. The yogurt tenderizes chicken gently and deeply over time because it:
Breaks down tough proteins: Yogurt contains lactic acid that loosens the tight protein fibers and makes the muscle structures relax. AKA tender chicken.
Holds onto moisture: It acts as a shield reducing overall moisture loss. AKA juicier chicken.
Carries spices into the meat: As the yogurt breaks down those proteins, the spices can migrate deeper into the meat. AKA seasoned chicken.
Consider sizing up. My 9 inch pan was filled to the brim. If you want to feverishly stir without any consequences (a terribly splattered stove top), size up.
Seamless spice connection. I love spicing whatever plain veg I’m serving on the side with the same spices used in the marinade/sauce. It’s a nice way to dress up boring veg without taking it in a different direction than the main. I sprinkled a smidge of garam masala, cumin, paprika, and curry powder on cauliflower, tossed it in oil and it was delish. 😙
The 3rd Try
What I Learned:
Dutch oven supremacy. It was so much easier to mix everything together.
Wipe out the pot between browning batches. When browning the chicken, the yogurt and spices may burn or stick to the bottom. I’d recommend wiping out the pot between batches so you don’t get any weird burned bits in there, especially before you start building your sauce in the same pot.
Not a learning, you just have to serve butter chicken with a warmed naan.
Top 3 Tips ✍️
Give yourself at least an hour of marinating time.
Marinate your chicken in the yogurt mixture for 1 hour if you’re tight on time, 3 if you have a couple hours to spare, and overnight if you have the time to pre-plan. Longer marinating = juicier, more flavorful chickie.
Team passata base for the sauce.
Passata has been the game changer pantry item in our household. It’s so bright and fresh compared to tomato puree, it’s a fun alternative. Try both and let me know which you prefer.
Don’t let that nasty 1st Try get ya down.
We’ve all done it. Don’t abandon something if you fail the f*ck out of it. Redirect and try again.
me after the 1st try
©️ 2026 Jenna D’Ambrosio