Indian Chicken Curry Recipe

This chicken curry recipe is worth bookmarking if you are looking for a typical Indian-style spicy and soupy curry with onion and tomato masala.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Jump to:

• My Family’s Chicken Curry Recipe
• Why You’ll Love This Chicken Curry
• The Curry Paste
• Best Cut Of Chicken For Curry
• How To Make Chicken Curry
• Serving Suggestion
• Leftover Curry Usage
• Indian Chicken Curry Recipe

My Family’s Chicken Curry Recipe

In India, every family has its own chicken curry recipe. So does mine. It is rustic, spicy, flavoursome, and insanely delicious. Like any authentic Indian dish, it is a time and labour-intensive curry recipe. But is it worth it? I would say absolutely YES!

In my debut cookbook, The 100 Best Curries, I have included the instant pot method of this curry recipe.

Every Sunday, we have this chicken curry situation. With steamed basmati rice on the side, sliced onion salad, and plenty of soupy, spicy Indian chicken curry, our family lunch is a blissful experience.

The Curry Paste

You need two types of homemade paste for this chicken curry.

• Onion Paste: This one is a paste of fried onions. The sliced onions are fried in mustard oil till golden brown. Grind them to a smooth paste in a blender without using water.
• Tomato Paste: It is a ground paste of tomato, dried red chilli, garlic, and ginger.

Best Cut Of Chicken For Curry

To make an Indian chicken curry, the best choice would be bone-in meat pieces. The chicken bones lend a delicious flavour to the curry. You can use a combination of bone-in chicken thigh and the leg piece.

This curry can be made with boneless, skinless chicken pieces as well. Try to use boneless chicken thighs as they are much juicier and don’t get dry, unlike chicken breast.

If you are using boneless chicken breast pieces, try not to use frozen ones and avoid over-cooking them.

How To Make Chicken Curry

• Step 1: Make a fine paste of tomato, garlic, ginger, and dry red chillies. Use 1 – 2 tablespoons of water to make the smooth paste. Set aside (image 1).
• Step 2: Next, heat mustard oil in the Kadhai. Once it’s smoking hot, add sliced onion and fry till they are golden brown (images 2 & 3). Transfer onion to a plate. Allow becoming lukewarm.
• Step 3: Grind them to a smooth paste without water (image 4).

• Step 4: Add the bay leaf and cinnamon to the same kadhai in the leftover oil. Fry for 10 – 20 seconds to release their aroma.
• Step 5: Add the tomato paste, turmeric, red chilli powder, and coriander powder (image 6). Fry over low-medium heat till the oil starts separating from the masala.
• Step 6: Add the chicken pieces, season with salt, and fry till they become pale white (images 7 & 8). This usually takes 8 – 10 minutes. Do not rush this process.

• Step 7: Next, add the onion paste (image 9). Mix nicely. Cover and cook the chicken till its juices are released. Keep the flame at the lowest setting. Do not add any water.
• A good quality tender chicken does not take more than 10 minutes to get cooked. Open the lid, and check the chicken for doneness.
• Step 8: If cooked, add 1 Cup of water to make gravy (add coconut milk if you prefer) along with garam masala, dry fenugreek leaves, fresh coriander, and sliced green chilli (optional) (image 10).
• Step 9: Simmer the curry for 5 – 10 minutes for the gravy to thicken. Taste the curry and add more seasoning if required.

Indian Chicken Curry is ready to serve.

Serving Suggestion

The best way to serve Indian chicken curry is with hot basmati rice or jeera rice. During the summer season, we have an additional chilled raita bowl to this Sunday menu to cool off the heat of spices. Or a tall glass of masala buttermilk to settle all the spices.

You can serve the chicken curry with paratha, chapati, dosa, or naan.

Some favourite side dishes that complement chicken curry are – sliced onion salad, kachumber salad, pickled onions, or a garlicky rasam.

Is this chicken curry spicy?

Yes, this is a rich and spicy chicken curry. In India, classic chicken curry is hot, spicy, and greasy, with a lot of oil floating on top. It is not everyone’s cup of tea if your palate is not accustomed to eating spicy food.

To make a mild chicken curry to suit your tastebuds:

• use curry powder instead of Garam Masala
• add 1 Cup of thick coconut milk instead of water
• reduce the number of dried red chillies in the tomato paste
• use mild red paprika instead of Indian red chilli powder

Leftover Curry Usage

You can shred the leftover chicken curry pieces and use them as a curried filling for a wrap, taco, or sandwich. Or use the full bone-in pieces to make my cheat leftover chicken biryani.

The best way to store the leftover chicken curry is in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat it in a microwave or saucepan before serving. Add a splash of coconut milk or cream the next day to make it saucy.

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