Chicken Tikka Masala vs Butter Chicken: What Is the Difference?

Chicken tikka masala vs butter chicken is one of the most common questions in Indian food. Both dishes feature tender chicken in a creamy, orange-red tomato sauce, and they look so similar on the plate that even regular curry lovers mix them up. They are not the same dish. Butter chicken was born in a Delhi kitchen in the 1950s, while chicken tikka masala is widely believed to have been invented in the UK two decades later. The sauces, the spice profiles, and the texture differ in real, tasteable ways. At Indian Bites, where we have served more than 200,000 customers across our two Copenhagen-area locations, both dishes share the menu so you can taste the difference yourself. Here is a clear, side by side guide.

Quick Answer: The Core Differences

Butter chicken is a Delhi original with a smooth, buttery tomato-cream sauce, finished with dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi). It is mild, sweet, and rich. Chicken tikka masala is generally accepted as a UK creation, with a more heavily spiced tomato sauce and more chilli warmth. Both use tandoori-style marinated chicken. The sauce is where they part ways.

Origin: Delhi in the 1950s vs the UK in the 1960s

Butter Chicken: Born in Old Delhi

Butter chicken, known in Hindi as murgh makhani, was created at the Moti Mahal restaurant in Daryaganj, Old Delhi, in the late 1940s or early 1950s. The dish is credited to chef Kundan Lal Gujral, who simmered leftover tandoori chicken in a sauce of tomatoes, butter, and cream to give it new life. The result was a rich, comforting curry that quickly spread across India and the world. Butter chicken is a true North Indian dish, rooted in Punjabi cooking traditions and the tandoor oven.

Chicken Tikka Masala: A Curry With British Roots

Chicken tikka masala has a different story. The most widely repeated origin claim points to Glasgow in the 1960s or 1970s, where chef Ali Ahmed Aslam at the Shish Mahal restaurant is said to have improvised a tomato-cream sauce for a customer who wanted something less dry than plain tikka. Other versions credit Indian restaurants in Birmingham or London. The dish was developed for British palates and grew into one of the UK’s most ordered restaurant meals, with then UK Foreign Secretary Robin Cook calling it “a true British national dish” in 2001.

The Sauce: Where the Two Dishes Really Diverge

Both sauces start in roughly the same place: tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger, and a base spice mix. From there, the directions split.

Butter Chicken Sauce

The makhani sauce is built around butter and cream. Tomatoes are blended smooth and folded together with generous butter, fresh cream, and a pinch of sugar to balance the acidity. Spices are gentle: garam masala, kashmiri chilli for colour, and the all-important kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) crushed in at the end. Fenugreek gives butter chicken its slightly bitter, herbal aroma and is the single most important flavour cue. The texture is silky and the colour is a soft orange-red. Butter chicken should taste rich, sweet, and rounded.

Chicken Tikka Masala Sauce

Chicken tikka masala uses a more spice-forward sauce. Onions cook longer to build a savoury base, tomatoes are added with more body, and the spice blend goes harder: cumin, coriander, paprika, and kashmiri chilli. Cream is added in a smaller proportion than in butter chicken, so the sauce stays thicker and less buttery. Fresh coriander finishes the dish instead of fenugreek. The result is a deeper, slightly hotter, more savoury curry, often a darker red on the plate.

The Chicken: Same Marinade, Different Sauce

Both dishes start with the same idea: chicken marinated in yoghurt with garam masala, turmeric, cumin, ginger, garlic, lemon juice, and chilli powder, then cooked in a tandoor or on a high-heat grill to char the outside while keeping the inside juicy. “Tikka” literally means “pieces” in Hindi, so chicken tikka masala traditionally uses bite-sized cubes. Butter chicken can use the same cubes or larger pieces. At Indian Bites, both dishes are made with boneless cubed chicken cooked tandoori-style, so the cooking technique is identical and the flavour difference comes entirely from the sauce.

Spice and Heat: Mild vs Medium

Butter chicken is the milder of the two. The cream and butter dilute the chilli, and the fenugreek pulls the flavour towards earthy and slightly sweet. It is the dish we recommend for guests new to Indian food or eating with children. Chicken tikka masala is medium in heat: the spice is more present, the tomato is more pronounced, and the cream is dialled back. Both can be adjusted. At Indian Bites, tell the kitchen if you want your curry milder or hotter and we will adapt the spice level.

Try Both at Indian Bites

The best way to understand the difference is to taste it side by side. Order one of each and compare. You can do that at either of our two locations. Visit Indian Bites Pustervig at Pustervig 4, 1126 Kobenhavn K in Copenhagen city centre, open every day 11:00 to 20:30, with a 4.7-star Google rating from 533 reviews and dine-in, takeaway, and Wolt delivery. Or visit Indian Bites Bakken at Dyrehavsbakken 207, 2930 Klampenborg during Bakken’s season (Mon to Fri 11:00 to 20:00, Sat and Sun 11:00 to 21:00), reachable by S-tog to Klampenborg Station on lines C or F, with a 4.8-star Google rating.

Both butter chicken and chicken tikka masala are 149 DKK at both locations, served with basmati rice. Add a garlic naan (30 DKK) or cheese naan (35 DKK) to soak up the sauce. All chicken is halal-certified and our spices are imported directly from India.

Order today: Book a table or order takeaway at indianbites.dk, or stop by our Bakken location on your next park visit.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main difference between chicken tikka masala and butter chicken?

Butter chicken originated in Delhi in the 1950s and uses a smooth, buttery tomato-cream sauce flavoured with fenugreek. Chicken tikka masala is widely believed to have been created in the UK in the 1960s or 1970s and uses a more spice-forward tomato sauce with bolder chilli, cumin, and coriander notes. Butter chicken is generally milder and richer; chicken tikka masala is more savoury and slightly hotter.

Which is spicier, butter chicken or chicken tikka masala?

Chicken tikka masala is usually spicier. Butter chicken leans on cream and butter to mellow the heat, while chicken tikka masala carries more chilli and a sharper spice profile. At Indian Bites, you can ask the kitchen to adjust the spice level on either dish.

Are butter chicken and chicken tikka masala the same colour?

They look similar because both sauces are tomato-based and orange-red, but butter chicken is typically lighter and creamier in colour due to the higher butter and cream content. Chicken tikka masala often has a deeper, slightly redder hue from the kashmiri chilli and the more prominent tomato.

Is the chicken cooked the same way in both dishes?

Yes. Both dishes start with chicken marinated in yoghurt and spices, then cooked over high heat in a tandoor or grill to char the outside. The difference is in what happens next: butter chicken goes into a buttery cream sauce, while chicken tikka masala goes into a spicier, herb-rich tomato gravy.

Are both dishes halal at Indian Bites?

Yes. All chicken at Indian Bites is halal-certified. Both butter chicken and chicken tikka masala are halal at our Copenhagen city centre restaurant at Pustervig 4 and at our Bakken location in Klampenborg.

How much do butter chicken and chicken tikka masala cost?

Both butter chicken and chicken tikka masala are 149 DKK at Indian Bites, served with basmati rice. Pricing is the same at our Pustervig and Bakken locations.

Where can I try both dishes side by side in Copenhagen?

You can order both butter chicken and chicken tikka masala at Indian Bites. Visit our city centre restaurant at Pustervig 4, 1126 Kobenhavn K (open daily 11:00 to 20:30) or our Bakken location at Dyrehavsbakken 207, 2930 Klampenborg during Bakken’s season.