Chicken Curry
There are always some favorites & we can never get tired of cooking or eating over & over again, this simple chicken being one of them. I have grown up eating this on a lot of lazy weekends, when we all sat together & spent hours on the dining table, catching up with each other. There is nothing fancy about this chicken curry, it’s very simple, straightforward and quick to make.
There are endless variation to a Chicken Curry, every household having their own way to do it. This one does not have any special spice or magic in it, except for the very common ones used almost everyday in an Indian home. This brings back memories of my childhood & my mom, & how the aroma of this would make us hungry & we could not wait for lunch/dinner to be served. Based on the simple onion tomato Curry Sauce, this is probably the most commonly cooked chicken curry in our home & it is magic repeated every time.
Ingredients:
Chicken with bones but skinless -(about 15-20 pieces in all, each piece about 3 inches) approx. 4 lbs/2 kilos
For marinade:
- 2 Tablespoons of Ginger Paste (I use Fresh Ginger, & blend it into a paste at home)
- 2 Tablespoons of Garlic Paste (Use Fresh Garlic cloves & blend into a paste)
- 1/2 Onion Chopped
- 4 Tablespoons Yogurt
- Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
For Curry:
- 5-6 Tablespoons of Oil
- 1″ stick of Cinnamon
- 2 Green Cardamoms
- 2 Cloves
- 2 large Red Onion ( Peeled & sliced thinly lengthwise)
- 2 tablespoons ginger paste
- 2 tablespoons garlic paste
- 2 cups chopped Tomatoes (or 1.5 cup Tomato Puree)
- Salt
- 2 Teaspoons Red Chili Powder (Optional/more or less to taste)
- 1 Tablespoon Coriander Powder (Optional – skip it if you do not have any)
- 2 Green Hot Peppers like Thai Bird Chili (Optional)
- 1/2 Teaspoon Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- Fresh Chopped Cilantro/Coriander for garnish
Preparation:Wash the chicken well, & combine all ingredients of the marinade with the chicken pieces. Let it sit for a couple of hours, overnight being better.
Place a Thick Bottomed Stock Pot or Dutch oven on the stove. Add the Cinnamon, cardamoms & cloves & dry roast them at medium heat for a few minutes till they are fragrant. Take care they do not turn dark & burn.
Add the oil to the pan, & when the spices starts to sizzle, add the sliced onions, green chili & the sugar. Stir fry at high heat till the onions starts caramelizing & turns light brown.
Pick up the pieces of chicken from the marinade & add them to the pan. Save the marinade.
Fry the Chicken turning them sometimes so both the sides slightly brown & the oil & the onions coat the chicken pieces.
Add salt, turmeric, red chili powder, ginger paste, garlic paste, coriander powder, the rest of the marinade & tomatoes. At medium heat fry for about 15 -20 minutes till the oil starts to separate. Stir & scrape out the bottom of the pan frequently. If you feel that it is getting sticky at the bottom of the pan, sprinkle some water & scrape it out… (Don’t burn the mix, it should not turn dark brown or black… )
When the oil separates & starts to leave the side of the, add 2.5 cups of water. Stir to mix, Cover & cook for another 15 -20 minutes or till the chicken is tender & cooked.
This should have some gravy, like a soup, & enough to soak up the bread. If you need less gravy, uncover & boil it down.
Garnish with fresh cilantro/coriander & serve with Rice or Flatbread!
We usually enjoy this chicken curry over a weekend lunch, when we can all relax & sit together & eat. Sometimes with plain rice, & sometimes with some flat breads dunking them in the sauce. The chicken curry would be mostly accompanied with some cucumber tomato salad (Kachumber), fresh squeeze of lemon on the rice & the curry & ending with sweet Bengali Chutney.
Related Posts:
Curry Sauce
Curried Chicken in Cardamom Infused Coconut Sauce
Murgh Malai Tikka Kabab
Jamaican Curry Goat
Yum looking chicken curry-and it looks spicy too!!! Just my kind of curry 🙂
Great blog,great recipes!!
Mmmm, who can resist this! Looks so good!
Soma, absolutely true, nothing like a quick chicken curry to save the day. Anybody who sees it but never steps inside the kitchen would think we slaved away over the stove.
This looks delicious.
Totally! My fave is a dry roasted chicken dish that amma makes as a quick one. By far the yummiest 🙂
Bhaat … amar ektu bhaat diye chaaaai. 🙂 Ki darun rong hoyeche jholtar Soma! Dining table e khawar por o onekkhon boshe thaka … golpo shesh na howar ekta alada moja ache … tai na? 🙂
Soma chicken curry is always delicious and I adore this recipe has a lot of personality… really so mouthwatering! 🙂
Cheers!
Gera
looks so yum,,Soma i am droolin here,,,
Its hard for me to even recollect how does a chicken curry made by me tastes…it had been years since i last made …..and the last time i had it was when my mom send in some, and since we never like to eat any nonveg from restaurants or any food joints, i really miss our trip to Goa some 8 yrs back where i really indulged in chicken and mutton curries made by a cook in the Hotel, right in front of us(open kitchen).And honestly this one looks even better than that…really…
Dear , you should seriously think about opening some restaurant or atleast some TakeAway kind of facility …Indians around you will bless you for that, not to forget the moolah and creative satisfaction that comes along with it
Oh my…this reminds me of home =) I love curry and would buy lots of instant curry packets from home. I’ve never tried making from scratch…would love to try it one day!
Sounds and looks amazing!
I wish I could have a bowl with naan bead right now!
Wow that chicken curry looks so so delicous.
Just looking to the pic i am drooling here i can imagine eating them with rice, or appmos.
Soaking up all that gravy.
Yuumy yumm.
Chicken curry looks lovely !! I always love chicken in this simple yet so very tasty form !! U r more than just a sister to me…U r my mentor and am soo proud of you !!
I hear what you say….the simple chicken curry that one can never tire of, no matter how many times you make it! Yours looks yum 🙂
Hi Soma,
I can nod in acceptence for the home made chicken curry’s praise 🙂 it’s so true for every household….it’s a never fail recipe for a perfect family lunches. The aha’s and mmmmmm’s the family utters after the first bite/morsel is untradeable with anything in this world!! 🙂
The chicken curry u’ve cooked up looks so fingerlicking good…..
Enjoy!
Gorgeous looking chicken curry!
And you bet…nothing like mangsho/murgir jhol – bhaat on a Sunday afternoon….
There is magic in the everyday. A dish that brings back good times and those we love, that is beautiful magic.
It looks wonderfully tasty too ;o)
Aaaaahhhh… I love recipes that bring good memories with them! I still have to try this one. I’ll keep your recipe close ;D
love the color and looks yummy…
Hmm, the spicy look is just inviting, I had chick curry too today!
This looks so good! Love curries and love anything spicy!
This tomato based chicken curry looks excellent! Getting hungry just looking at it!
Looks good even for a vegetarian like me.
Color looks so good. This is the basic and hearty chicken recipe ever!
This is lot simpler than many vegetarian dishes. Looks amazing!
Shokal shokal dekhe kihide peye gelo, ar ajke amar niramish 🙁
Just give me a big bowl of Basmati and watch the curry vanish. Oh, a cold beer would be nice too!
What a beautiful looking curry! I love the sound of the side dishes too.
Wow, this looks incredibly good, Soma! I could eat a whole bowl of it now!!!
one of my favorite dishes of all time!
This definitely is something I would eat and be interested in making. As soon as I saw that plate, I thought of making it before even looking at the ingredients. The ingredients don’t seem too difficult to find. Can I use fresh garlic and ginger instead of paste? Would it make too much of a difference? I’ll put this recipe on my list to make. Thanks for sharing.
Nihal, I always use fresh ginger & garlic to make the paste at home.. just chop & blend them.. I should have mentioned that. I just took it for granted that it will be understood. Sorry about that.. I’ll update the post.:-)
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Great post – what a great inspiration to make chicken curry from scratch. Thanks!
This was tonight’s dinner and it was excellent!
Indian curry is one of the most ordered Indian cuisines in restaurants in London. A unique combination of hot spices and other ingredients and thick gravy has made Indian curry popular the world over.
Hi,
First time on this website but the curry and your other recipes look great! i’m not sure what type of chicken to buy but do you think boneless skinless breasts would work okay as well?
Thanks!
Any kind of chicken would work. It is just a personal preference. I use the leg part as dark meat tends to get softer and absorbs more sauce and flavor. If you use the breast pieces make sure to cut in to small pieces.
I have other chicken curries using chicken breasts & they worked out just fine: http://www.recipeforlove.com/curries/gravies/curried-chicken-in-cardamom-infused-coconut-sauce/
We prepared this dish for dinner last weekend. All the family loved it, most definitely I’ll be cooking it often now, it is always great to obtain innovative inspiration for tasty recipes in addition to straightforward approaches to create them. Thanks for coming up with some.
That looks really YUMMY!!!One question:Is it 15-20 pieces of chicken after being cut to 3inch pieces? Thanks!
Sorry about the confusion. I meant there should be 15-20 pieces of chicken in all, each sized about 3 inches. Updated the post.
Thank you very very much!!Keep up the excellent work!!
Classic! I love the way that there’s various ways of doing a great curry. There’s loads of places in Nottingham that can does this that are different with their own touch of uniqueness. For us, fresh boneless chicken does the job! Yum yum…
Hi there,
I would like to use a photo in my organisation’s publication as we are featuring an article on curry! Could you kindly email me please?
Thank you.
Soma, I do not have whole Cardamoms, is it possible to use it ground? And if so, in what amount? Thanks for the lovely recipe!
Sure you can use ground.. 1/4 teaspoon or a less to start with. (or more if you want. it won’t harm if you use more and if you like strong cardamom flavor… use a little to start with and then go ahead from there).. do not use it in oil. Use when you use the powdered spices (turmeric etc).
Can I use coconut milk instead of the yoghurt? Some of my guests are allergic to milk? And if so, how much coconut milk should I use? This is really a fantastic site.
Skip the yogurt. And you do not have to use coconut milk for this one. The yogurt is use in a little quantity here and in the marinade. This is mostly to soften the meat, and not so much for texture or flavor. Use 2 tablespoon of lemon juice instead of yogurt in the marinade. Will work just fine.
thanks
Hey soma! Just looove your blog. Could you pls tell me how much this chicken is in kg? Thanks a ton! Zara
about 2 kilos approx. have updated the post. Thank you!
Looks like a great recipe, and I love your blog….I am new to it.
Do you post an ingredient definition somewhere? I have not found one. For example, “Red Chile Powder” can take on many forms. Is the typical Cayenne Chili Powder a suitable example (it’s, of course, quite hot).
Mike
Hi Mike,
Thanks!
Here is a post on the spices I mostly use for my recipes (and also the basic spices that you would need to cook Indian food).:
http://www.recipeforlove.com/indian/indian-kitchen-basics/the-most-commonly-used-indian-spices/
I keep on adding on this existing post as and when I need to.
The Chile/Chilli/Chili Powder here is what is similar to Cayenne. In Indian cooking however we use the Indian Chilli Powder (the source chili peppers are Indian). But Cayenne may be used too. The above post has a little bit on the Red Chile Powder.
I hope it helps.
Regards
Soma
How do you get that kind of deep color in the curry? I have made this a couple of times and it tasted great but didn’t have the same color. Any suggestions?
The color mostly comes from the chili powder but also from cooking the onion, etc spice mix. If it is cooked well (without burning bits) and the oil is separating before adding the water, you will get the color.
I’m sorry i did make this i had high expectations but it’s too gingery for us it’s a cross between Thai and Indian I think if there was less ginger it would be lovely, I’ll still try some of your other curries though!!
Thanks for posting !!
Hi I have my chicken marinating from yesterday and will be making this tonight! I’ll let you know how it goes! I made the butter chicken recipe a second time and it came out perfect! I used fresh tomato this time and puréed in blender instead of food processor and it made a big difference…Thanks for the great recipes!!
Genevieve, so glad to know that you got the Butter Chicken right! Yaay for that. Yes I always use the blender. Hope you like this simple Chicken curry.
Aaaaahhhh… I love recipes that bring good memories with them! I still have to try this one. I’ll keep your recipe close ;D
I thought this recipe would be under seasoned, but it has perfect balance! A very good recipe without too many complicated spices.
I used extra garlic & ginger, 6 roma tomatoes which is probably more than the recipe calls for since it like it very tomtato’ey, and made an extra 1/2 half onion for the gravy.
This chicken curry looks delicious I wouldn’t mind trying this right now. I will put some extra spice while I’m at it I really love spicy to the extreme.