Simple Indian chicken curry made delicious, spicy and hot with minimum ingredients. This is a basic recipe that can be tried even by beginners. It pairs great with rice, roti or paratha.
Prep time: PT15M
Cook time: PT35M
Total time: PT50M
4.98 stars (926 reviews)
chicken curry
- On a medium flame, heat oil in a deep pan. Add the whole spices - bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves & green cardamoms.
- Stir in the chopped onions and chilies. Saute until deep golden in color, for 7 to 8 mins.
- Add ginger garlic paste and saute till you get a nice aroma, for about a minute.
- Then add tomatoes, turmeric and salt. Mix well and cook until the tomatoes turn soft & mushy.
- Turn down the heat to low, Stir in the yogurt (or cashew paste), red chili powder, garam masala & coriander powder.
- Cook on low heat, until the mixture smells good and aromatic.
- Add chicken and coriander leaves. Fry on a medium heat till the chicken turns white or pale in color. This takes around 3 mins.
- Cover and cook on a low heat for 3 to 4 minutes. This step is very important as the chicken absorbs all the flavors of the spices.
- Meanwhile in a separate pot, heat up 1 cup water. Using cold water most times toughens the chicken so it is good to use hot water.
- Pour hot water just enough (about ½ cup) to make a thick gravy. As you cook, chicken lets out plenty of moisture, depending on that add more water. Check the pictures in the post for consistency.
- Cover and cook on a medium flame till the chicken is soft cooked and the curry/gravy turns thick. When the chicken is cooked completely it will fall off the bone easily.
- Taste the curry & add more salt if needed. You can also add another ½ tsp garam masala at this stage if you feel it is less in flavors.
- Lastly garnish with coriander leaves, cover and off the heat. Serve chicken curry with butter naan or jeera rice.