Burwash on the Menu: Butter Chicken Recipe
Feb 26, 2026
Chef Antwann Hutchinson and the Victoria University food services team will be sharing some of their most popular recipes with our community! The Butter Chicken at Burwash Dining Hall is a student, staff and faculty favourite and gets rave reviews every time it's on the menu. Here is the recipe! If the recipe feels a bit too ambitious for your kitchen skills, make sure to come to Burwash the next time it's on the menu.
Burwash Butter Chicken
Portion size: 5 to 6 oz
Servings: 6
Ingredients
| Chicken Marinade | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1.5-inch pieces | 2 lbs |
| Cooking oil | 2 tbsp |
| Greek yogurt or sour cream | 4 tbsp |
| Patak’s Tandoori paste | 2 tbsp |
| Malt vinegar or lemon juice | 1 tbsp |
| Salt | 1 tsp |
| Pepper | 1 tsp |
| Sauce | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Cooking oil | ½ cup |
| Red onions, roughly chopped | 2.5 cups |
| Chopped ginger | 2 tbsp |
| Garlic, crushed | 2 tbsp |
| Canned tomato puree | 5 cups |
| Butter | ½ lb |
| Water | 1.5 cups |
| Brown sugar | 1 tbsp |
| Sea salt | To taste |
| Vegetable base | 1 tbsp |
| 35% whipping cream or coconut milk | ¾ cup |
| Spices | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Cayenne pepper | 1 tsp |
| Curry powder | 1 tbsp |
| Cumin seed powder | 1 tsp |
| Ground cardamom seeds | ¼ tbsp |
| Garnish | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Chopped cilantro | 1 tbsp |
| Chopped green chilis | 1 tbsp |
| Garam masala | 2 tsp |
| Whipped cream | 1 tbsp |
Method
- Marinate the chicken with all the marinade ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours.
- Heat oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, ginger and garlic and cook about eight minutes until lightly browned.
- Add spices and cook for five minutes to remove raw flavour.
- Add remaining sauce ingredients. Stir, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pot. Blend until smooth with a hand blender.
- Continue cooking on low heat until reduced to about three-quarters of the original volume.
- Place marinated chicken on a tray and cook in a 400 F oven for 20 minutes, stirring halfway through.
- Add chicken and cream to the sauce and bring to a simmer. Add butter and cook on medium-low for 10 minutes.
- Adjust seasoning and consistency as needed. Transfer to a deep serving dish and garnish, reserving some for the top along with whipped cream.
Best served with: Grilled naan or plain basmati rice.
Allergen: Dairy