Simple Chicken Curry
This is the kind of curry I throw together on a weeknight when I want something hearty but don’t have time for a 3-hour braise. It’s not from any one place, it's just something I built using what i had in the pantry and fridge. Simple ingredients, easy steps to follow and a tasty curry after 40 minutes.
My Chicken Curry Explained
Building the base
Every good curry starts with toasting whole spices in hot oil before anything else goes in. We use cinnamon stick and green cardamom pods here, both of which release their oils into the cooking fat and flavour everything that follows. Once they’re fragrant, the sliced onions go in with a pinch of salt and cook down until they’re properly golden. Don’t rush this step. The colour you get on the onions is the colour and depth you get in the finished sauce.
The chicken and dry spices
We're using chicken thigh so it stays juicy through the simmer and has more flavour than breast. Cut into bite-sized pieces, the chicken goes in after the onions and gets stirred through, then the dry spices (cumin, garam masala, Kashmiri chilli) hit the pan along with the grated garlic and ginger. We toast everything briefly in the fat for a minute before adding water to deglaze and lift the fond off the bottom of the pan. The fond is concentrated flavour, don’t leave it behind.
The simmer
Tinned tomatoes go in next, water swilled through the tin so nothing is wasted. Drop the heat to low and let the curry simmer gently for 5 to 7 minutes. The sauce will start to thicken and the chicken finishes cooking through. Asparagus goes in at the end for a 2 minute simmer so it stays bright green and crisp-tender.
Ingredient Notes
Chicken thighs:
Boneless, skinless thigh is the cut for this curry. It stays moist and tender through the simmer where chicken breast would dry out. Cut into bite-sized pieces (around 1cm x 4cm strips) so it cooks quickly and the sauce has plenty of surface area to cling to.
Kashmiri chilli powder:
This is what gives the curry its deep red colour without adding aggressive heat. The 0.5 to 2 tsp range lets you dial the spice level to your taste. If you can’t find Kashmiri, swap in regular chilli powder at half the amount and add a teaspoon of paprika for the colour.
Whole spices:
Cinnamon stick and cardamom pods release more flavour than the ground versions, and they’re essential to the base of this curry. Fish them out at the end if you don’t want anyone biting into a whole cardamom pod, or leave them in and warn everyone at the table.
Ingredients
- Basmati rice to serve (1 cup rice + 1.5 cups water)
- 2 brown onions, sliced thin
- 3cm piece ginger, finely grated
- 5 cloves garlic, finely grated
- 2 bunches asparagus, sliced into 5cm pieces
- 600g thigh fillets, cut into 1cm x 4 cm
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp neutral flavoured oil
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 7 green cardamom pods
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 0.5-2 teaspoons Kashmiri chilli powder
- 2 tbsp greek yoghurt, to serve
- coriander to garnish
Equipment
-
Chopping board
-
Chef’s knife
-
Microplane or fine grater
-
Heavy-based pot with lid
-
Wooden spoon
-
Small saucepan
Directions
Notes
Chef Tips
Bloom the spices in fat
The dry spices need a minute in the hot oil with the chicken to bloom. This activates their aromatic oils and stops them tasting dusty in the finished curry. Watch carefully and keep stirring, they’ll go bitter if they burn. Once you can smell them properly, the water goes in to stop the cooking.
Swap tomato for coconut milk
Swap the tin of tomatoes for a 400ml tin of coconut milk and you’ve got a coconut chicken curry. The cooking method is identical. You could also do half tomato, half coconut milk for the best of both.
Swap the veg to suit your fridge
This curry was built around what’s in the fridge, so substitute freely. Broccolini, zucchini or green beans all work in place of the asparagus, added in the last 2 minutes. Spinach wilted through right at the end works beautifully. Frozen peas thrown in for the last minute are a fast way to add green.
Storage
Leftover curry keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, and the flavour is often better on day 2 as the spices keep developing. Reheat gently on the stove or in the microwave with a splash of water to loosen the sauce. The curry freezes well for up to 3 months. Store without the rice and cook fresh rice when you reheat. Defrost overnight in the fridge.
FAQs
Is it spicy?
Can I make it vegetarian?
Why thigh instead of chicken breast?
Nutrition
Nutrition
- Serving Size
- 1 serving
- Calories
- per serving
- 735
- Carbs
- 79 grams
- Protein
- 40 grams
- Fat
- 28 grams
- Saturated Fat
- 6 grams
- Fiber
- 9 grams
- Sugar
- 14 grams
- Sodium
- 250 milligrams
- Cholesterol
- 115 milligrams
- Potassium
- 1050 milligrams
Cooked this? Comment and rate the recipe
Loading reviews...
Video
Print recipe
Choose what to include in the printed recipe.
Related recipes
Other recipes you may like
See all recipes
