Common Ingredients in butter chicken Recipes

We researched the most common ingredients in over twenty popular butter chicken recipes and found the top 15 ingredients.

The most common ingredients in butter chicken dishes are chicken and butter.

Chicken thigh, garlic, lemon, tomatoes and onion are also common ingredients in butter chicken recipes. For herbs and spices, garam masala and cayenne pepper are popular. Variations include:

• shallots in place of onion

Salt is in 85% of butter chicken recipes and pepper, 55%.

The average butter chicken recipe has about 14.2 ingredients, with a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 35.

In terms of directions, butter chicken recipes have about 4.7 steps on average, ranging from 2 to 10 instructions.

An average butter chicken recipe takes about 1 hour 41 minutes to prepare, ranging from 20 minutes to 6 hours.

Ratios of Common Ingredients in Butter Chicken

For 3.5 pound chicken (1588 g), the median and average amounts of other significant ingredients are below. Some ingredients are potential substitutes for others, meaning they almost never exist together in a single butter chicken recipe, and are marked below.

Ingredient	Median	Average	% of recipes with chicken	Potential subsitutions
garlic	4.2 clove (13 g)	4.9 clove (15 g)	50%
shallots	79.4 (794 g)	67.7 (677 g)	33%	onion tomato paste
rosemary	2.3 teaspoon (2 g)	1.1 teaspoon (1 g)	33%	garam masala cayenne pepper paprika cinnamon ginger cumin turmeric
olive oil	112.1 tablespoon (1513 g)	59.6 tablespoon (804 g)	33%	vegetable oil
cayenne pepper	7.1 teaspoon (13 g)	7.1 teaspoon (13 g)	17%	turmeric rosemary
paprika	3.5 teaspoon (8 g)	3.5 teaspoon (8 g)	17%	rosemary

Ingredients by Average Weight in Butter Chicken

We also found the average content of the significant ingredients by weight in butter chicken recipes. This would be: 30% chicken thigh, 24% chicken breast, 15% chicken, 11% butter, 6% flour, 5% tomatoes, 5% onion and 1% cream.

Here are the top ingredients, listed in order of popularity.

salt

Salt is the most popular ingredient in butter chicken dishes. In fact, over 85% of butter chicken recipes contain salt.

Salt is often included in butter chicken dishes in amounts of 2 teaspoons.

In butter chicken recipes that contain salt, it is on average, 0.2% by weight.

For butter chicken recipes, salt is frequently used with butter, black pepper, chicken thigh, garlic and garam masala.

chicken

Another popular ingredient in butter chicken is chicken. From the recipes we've sampled for butter chicken, over 80% have chicken.

Variations of chicken include:

• chicken thigh: 44% of recipes
• chicken breast: 24% of recipes

In recipes for butter chicken, chicken is often used with butter, salt, black pepper, garlic and rosemary.

Potential substitutions for chicken in butter chicken:

• chicken breast

Also, chicken is not often used with garam masala, onion, butter, ginger, cinnamon, tomato paste, heavy cream, yogurt, cumin, turmeric and vegetable oil.

chicken thigh

Chicken thigh is another common ingredient in butter chicken dishes. In fact, over 40% of butter chicken recipes contain chicken thigh.

Chicken thigh is often included in butter chicken dishes in amounts of 1 pound, 2 pounds or 6 chicken thighs.

In butter chicken recipes that contain chicken thigh, it is on average, 37% by weight.

In recipes for butter chicken, chicken thigh is often used with salt, butter, black pepper, garam masala and cayenne pepper. On the other hand, chicken thigh is almost never used with rosemary.

butter

Butter is another common ingredient in butter chicken dishes. In fact, over 80% of butter chicken recipes contain butter.

Softened is a frequent preparation for butter in butter chicken dishes.

Common quantities for butter in butter chicken dishes include a quarter cup, 6 tablespoons or 8 tablespoons.

In butter chicken recipes that contain butter, it is on average, 7% by weight.

Salt, black pepper, garlic, chicken and chicken thigh are commonly used together with butter in butter chicken dishes.

black pepper

Another popular ingredient in butter chicken is black pepper. From the recipes we've sampled for butter chicken, over 55% have black pepper.

Ground is a frequent preparation for black pepper in butter chicken dishes.

Black pepper is often included in butter chicken dishes in amounts of 1 pinch or 1 teaspoon.

In butter chicken recipes that contain black pepper, it is on average, 0% by weight.

For butter chicken recipes, black pepper is frequently used with salt, butter, chicken thigh, paprika and olive oil.

Potential substitutions for black pepper in butter chicken:

• turmeric

garlic

Another popular ingredient in butter chicken is garlic. From the recipes we've sampled for butter chicken, over 40% have garlic.

Minced, grated and peeled are frequent preparations for garlic in butter chicken dishes.

Common quantities for garlic in butter chicken dishes include 4 cloves, 1 tablespoon or 2 cloves.

In butter chicken recipes that contain garlic, it is on average, 0.5% by weight.

Salt, butter, garam masala, onion and ginger are commonly used together with garlic in butter chicken dishes. Conversely, garlic is not often used with flour.

lemon

Lemon is another common ingredient in butter chicken dishes. In fact, over 35% of butter chicken recipes contain lemon.

Variations of lemon include:

• lemon juice: 20% of recipes

For butter chicken recipes, lemon is frequently used with salt, black pepper, butter, olive oil and chicken breast.

Potential substitutions for lemon in butter chicken:

• lemon juice

Also, lemon is not often used with garam masala, onion, cayenne pepper, paprika, flour, ginger, cinnamon, honey, tomato paste, heavy cream, yogurt, cumin, turmeric, shallots and vegetable oil.

garam masala

Another popular ingredient in butter chicken is garam masala. From the recipes we've sampled for butter chicken, over 30% have garam masala.

Garam masala is often included in butter chicken dishes in amounts of 1 teaspoon or 1 tablespoon.

In butter chicken recipes that contain garam masala, it is on average, 0.4% by weight.

In recipes for butter chicken, garam masala is often used with salt, garlic, onion, chicken thigh and tomatoes.

Potential substitutions for garam masala in butter chicken:

• rosemary

Also, garam masala is not often used with flour and olive oil.

tomatoes

Tomatoes is another common ingredient in butter chicken dishes. In fact, over 30% of butter chicken recipes contain tomatoes.

Variations of tomatoes include:

• tomato paste: 16% of recipes

Garam masala, salt, chicken thigh, garlic and butter are commonly used together with tomatoes in butter chicken dishes. Conversely, tomatoes is not often used with flour, olive oil, vegetable oil and rosemary.

onion

Another popular ingredient in butter chicken is onion. From the recipes we've sampled for butter chicken, over 25% have onion.

Minced, chopped and diced are frequent preparations for onion in butter chicken dishes.

Onion is often included in butter chicken dishes in amounts of 1 onion or 2 mediums.

In butter chicken recipes that contain onion, it is on average, 10% by weight.

For butter chicken recipes, onion is frequently used with salt, garlic, garam masala, tomato paste and chicken thigh.

Potential substitutions for onion in butter chicken:

• shallots

Also, onion is not often used with flour, olive oil and rosemary.

cayenne pepper

Cayenne pepper is another common ingredient in butter chicken dishes. In fact, over 25% of butter chicken recipes contain cayenne pepper.

Cayenne pepper is often included in butter chicken dishes in amounts of 1 teaspoon or 2 teaspoons.

In butter chicken recipes that contain cayenne pepper, it is on average, 0.1% by weight.

In recipes for butter chicken, cayenne pepper is often used with salt, chicken thigh, paprika, butter and black pepper.

Potential substitutions for cayenne pepper in butter chicken:

• turmeric
• rosemary

Also, cayenne pepper is not often used with cilantro stems.

paprika

Another popular ingredient in butter chicken is paprika. From the recipes we've sampled for butter chicken, over 20% have paprika.

Smoked is a frequent preparation for paprika in butter chicken dishes.

Common quantities for paprika in butter chicken dishes include 1 teaspoon.

In butter chicken recipes that contain paprika, it is on average, 0.2% by weight.

Salt, butter, cayenne pepper, black pepper and chicken thigh are commonly used together with paprika in butter chicken dishes.

Potential substitutions for paprika in butter chicken:

• rosemary

Also, paprika is not often used with butter, chicken breast, shallots and vegetable oil.

flour

Flour is another common ingredient in butter chicken dishes. In fact, over 20% of butter chicken recipes contain flour.

Flour is often included in butter chicken dishes in amounts of 1 cup.

In butter chicken recipes that contain flour, it is on average, 14% by weight.

For butter chicken recipes, flour is frequently used with salt, butter, black pepper, chicken thigh and lemon juice. However, garlic, garam masala, onion, chicken breast, cilantro stems, ginger, cinnamon, tomato paste, heavy cream, yogurt, turmeric and rosemary are almost never used together with flour in butter chicken dishes.

cream

Cream is another common ingredient in butter chicken dishes. In fact, over 20% of butter chicken recipes contain cream.

Variations of cream include:

• heavy cream: 12% of recipes

Cinnamon, salt, garlic, garam masala and chicken breast are commonly used together with cream in butter chicken dishes.

Potential substitutions for cream in butter chicken:

• heavy cream

Also, cream is not often used with cayenne pepper, paprika, flour, olive oil, shallots, vegetable oil and rosemary.

Other butter chicken Ingredients

Other significant ingredients used in butter chicken recipes include:

• ginger - 20%
• cinnamon - 20%
• cilantro stems - 20%
• honey - 15%
• olive oil - 15%
• yogurt - 10%
• cumin - 10%
• turmeric - 10%
• shallots - 10%
• vegetable oil - 10%
• rosemary - 10%

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