Chicken Curry Recipe

This delicious homemade Chicken Curry Recipe is loaded with spices and herbs and slowly simmered with caramelized onions and tomatoes. The flavors are incredible, and you’ll never want store-bought curry again.

Making the same chicken dishes repeatedly can be bland for you and your family. Break out of your regular routine by making my delicious Arroz con Pollo or Butter Chicken.

Chicken Curry

Chicken curry is a classic Indian dish of seasoned and sometimes marinated chicken cooked in a sauce made of spices, herbs, caramelized onions, and tomatoes. The word curry comes from the Southern Indiana word Kari, which means “sauce.” My personal favorite recipe is red curry.

There are several different types of curry, but the most common ones are red, yellow, and green. Green and yellow stem from Thailand, while red originated in India and is said to be the original.

• Green curry is the spiciest of the three curries, loaded with spicy green chilies, eggplant, lime leaves, ginger, garlic, basil, and turmeric.  
• Yellow curry is extremely popular and is often associated with coconut curry since it contains coconut cream. It is medium in spice, usually served with chicken and vegetables, and heavy on turmeric.
• Red curry originates from India and is said to be the original curry. It is mild in spice and loaded with assorted spices and fresh produce for a flavorful taste.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Oil – Any neutral flavored oil will work for this recipe.
• Spices — I used a combination of whole cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, coriander seeds, cloves, and black peppercorns, all of which can be ground. I also used ground turmeric, coriander, cumin, and chili powder.
• Onions — You can use red, white, yellow, or sweet onions. However, red onions are most commonly used in Indian cuisine. You’ll also need garlic cloves.
• Ginger – Fresh peeled ginger is used in this recipe. Substitute with a 1/2 teaspoon of ground.
• Tomatoes – Any fresh in-season ripe tomato can be used. Substitute with drained canned diced tomatoes.
• Chicken – You can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs.
• Herbs – I finish the curry with fresh cilantro, but only if you serve it right after that.
• Seasoning – Coarse salt and pepper are used.

How to Make Chicken Curry

Grind or crack fresh whole peppercorns and whole coriander seeds.

Heat the cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon stick pieces, cracked peppercorns, and coriander seeds in a small amount of oil over low heat. At this point, you can grind them in a mortar and pestle if you want.

Sliced red onions and spices should be caramelized, which will take 30-40 minutes.

Add the garlic and ginger and cook for just a few minutes while stirring. Only use fresh garlic and ginger, and be sure to mince them finely.

Sprinkle in the turmeric, ground coriander, cumin, and chili powder, and mix in completely.

Pour the pureed tomatoes into a saucepan and cook over low heat for 20 to 30 minutes or until they become a paste.

Season with salt and finish with fresh chopped cilantro. Only finish with cilantro if using it right away; if you are storing it, then use the cilantro when adding it to something that will be served immediately after cooking.

Once your homemade Indian curry is finished, you can store it in the refrigerator or freezer or use it right away. Chicken curry is incredibly easy to make once the curry is finished.

Start by heating some oil in a sauté pan until lightly smoking. 

Add the cubed chicken and sear it quickly until it is cooked through about 7-9 minutes.

Finish the chicken by seasoning it with salt and mixing it in with some homemade Indian curry.

Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro and serve with vegetables, rice, and naan.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: For freshness, you can make this chicken curry up to 2 days ahead.

How to Store: This will hold in the refrigerator covered up for up to 4 days. It will also freeze well covered for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator for 1 day before reheating.

How to Reheat: To reheat the chicken curry, return it to a pan and cook over low heat until hot.

Recipe Chef Notes + Tips

• I use whole spices instead of ground that are also toasted. These will break down into the curry as it cooks. Yes, there still may be some chunks of spices in there, and if you do not like that, then I recommend using ground spices.
• The browning of the chicken will help bring about more flavor.
• You can roughly chop the tomatoes, finely mince them, or place them in a blender to rough puree, which is what I did.
• Chicken curry is commonly served and eaten with long-grain rice and some bread.
• Other popular curries are Massaman, Panang, Madras, Korma, and Vindaloo.
• Yellow and green curry will have different ingredients than this typical Indian curry.

More Chicken Recipes

• Authentic Chicken Cacciatore Recipe
• Chicken Fricassee
• Chicken Milanese
• Fried Chicken
• Smoked Chicken

Video

SaveSaved

Chicken Curry Recipe

Share

Print

5 from 12 votes

This delicious homemade Chicken Curry Recipe is loaded with spices and herbs and slowly simmered with caramelized onions and tomatoes.

Servings: 8

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

For the Curry:

• 3 tablespoons neutral-flavored oil
• 8-10 cardamom pods
• 3 broken pieces of cinnamon stick
• 2 tablespoons cracked coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon cloves
• 1 ½ tablespoons cracked black peppercorns
• 2 peeled thinly sliced red onions
• 8 finely minced garlic cloves
• 2 teaspoons peeled and finely minced fresh ginger
• 1 ½ tablespoons turmeric
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 ½ tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 ½ tablespoons chili powder
• 8 roughly chopped vine-ripe tomatoes, or 5 cups roughly pureed
• coarse salt to taste

For the Chicken:

• 3 tablespoons neutral-flavored oil
• 3 pounds of cubed boneless skinless chicken breasts
• coarse salt to taste
• ¼ cup finely minced fresh cilantro

Instructions

• Curry: Add the oil to a saucepot over medium-low heat and add in the cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, cloves, and peppercorns and cook for 3 to 4 minutes to bring out some aromatics and flavor.
• If you don't want these large spices in the sauce, it is best at this point to remove the spices and grind them down using a mortar and pestle and return them to the pan. If you plan to cook the sauce for long periods, the large spices will eventually break down.
• Next, add the onions and caramelize until soft and dark brown, which takes about 30 minutes, while frequently stirring.
• Next, stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or just until you smell it.
• Stir in the turmeric, coriander, cumin, and chili powder and cook for 2 to 3 minutes over low heat.
• Pour in the tomatoes and stew over medium heat for 20 to 25 minutes or until it becomes thick like a paste. Finish with salt.
• Chicken: Add the oil to a large frying pan over high heat. Once lightly smoking add in the chicken and cook for 7 to 9 minutes or until lightly browned and cooked through.
• Season with salt, add the homemade curry, and stir to combine over medium heat.
• Finish with cilantro and serve with optional cooked long-grain white rice, steamed peas, carrots and potatoes, and naan.

Notes

Make-Ahead: For freshness, you can make this chicken curry up to 2 days ahead.

How to Store: This will hold in the refrigerator covered up for up to 4 days. It will also freeze well covered for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator for 1 day before reheating.

How to Reheat: To reheat the chicken curry, return it to a pan and cook over low heat until hot.

I use whole spices instead of ground that are also toasted. These will break down into the curry as it cooks. Yes, there still may be some chunks of spices in there, and if you do not like that, then I recommend using ground spices.

The browning of the chicken will help bring about more flavor.

You can roughly chop the tomatoes, finely mince them, or place them in a blender to rough puree, which is what I did.

Chicken curry is commonly served and eaten with long-grain rice and some bread.

Other popular curries are Massaman, Panang, Madras, Korma, and Vindaloo.

Yellow and green curry will have differing ingredients then this typical Indian curry.

Nutrition

Calories: 354kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 39gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 109mgSodium: 235mgPotassium: 1127mgFiber: 5gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 1579IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 86mgIron: 3mg

Course: Main, sauce

Cuisine: Indian

Author: Chef Billy Parisi