Name: Indian Butter Chicken I
Yield: 4 to 6
Ingredients: 400–500 g of skinless, boneless chicken thighs or breasts (with the bone, this will probably be 800 g); 50 g tandoori masala powder; ½ cup of unsweetened yoghurt; 1 small lemon or lime , juiced; 2 tablespoons of butter; 1 large onion , sliced finely; ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon (optional); 2–3 cloves of crushed garlic; 2 teaspoons of grated ginger; 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric; 1 tablespoon of ground coriander; 2–3 teaspoons of chile powder; 100–200 g tomato paste; 100 g full cream

Why it works: Cinnamon and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,189 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Cinnamon + gingertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,380 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,038 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Lemon + gingertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,154 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chicken: Provides the protein; cooking it gently keeps the meat tender and juicy.
Yoghurt: Its acidity and proteins tenderise the chicken and help the spice coating cling.
Butter: Carries the spices and adds richness and a rounded flavour to the sauce.
Onion: Softens and browns as it cooks, adding sweetness and body to the sauce.
Tomato paste: Concentrates tomato flavour, adds acidity and deepens the colour of the sauce.
Full cream: Adds fat and smoothness, mellowing the spices and giving the sauce a silky texture.

The step that matters

Do not overcook the chicken. Chicken turns white as it cooks; once it is firm and fully white, further cooking dries out the meat, and the later simmer continues to cook it.

Swap the cinnamon

The recipe marks cinnamon as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, lemon, butter, onion, clove, garlic, ginger):

Thymefits better
Cardamomfits better
Turmericfits about as well
Cinnamonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, lemon, butter, onion, clove, garlic, ginger. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Turmeric	1 tsp ground (3g)	9
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Coriander	not in our table	0

Indian Butter Chicken I