Indian Chicken Curry Recipe
Published August 9, 2019. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Stop opening up a jar of imitation curry and learn how to make a delicious homemade authentic chicken curry recipe that comes together in only 1 hour.
I’ve long wondered what was in a homemade curry and I’m so happy I’ve done the research to find out. It’s a delicious blend of produce and spices that has tons of health benefits and has the ability to flavor food to another level. Homemade is much simpler to make then you may have thought, so now you can bring your favorite Indian restaurant right to your kitchen.
What Are the Different Types of 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, which is said to be the original.
- Green curry is said to be the spiciest amongst the 3 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 there is coconut cream in it. It is medium in spice and It’s usually served with chicken and vegetables and is obviously heavy on turmeric.
- Red curry which stems from India is said to be the original curry is mild in spice and loaded with assorted spices and fresh produce for an extremely flavorful taste.
There are other popular ones out there which are Massaman, Panang, Madras, Korma, and Vindaloo amongst others.
What Are the Best Curries
The best curry all lies in the eyes of the beholder. The flavor profiles of each red, yellow and green are different and have a varying level of spice. I am a huge fan of yellow and red because they are medium in spice and just so flavorful.
I believe you cannot say you don’t like something until you’ve tried it, so be sure to be adventurous when trying different ones.
What Is It Made Of
Homemade Indian curry is a blend of spices along with fresh ingredients that forms a paste-like consistency that can be used to flavor meat or vegetables. A basic recipe includes:
- Vegetable oil
- Cardamom pods
- Cloves
- Peppercorns
- Coriander
- Cinnamon Sticks
- Red Onions
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Turmeric
- Cumin
- Chili Powder
- Tomatoes
- Salt
Yellow and green curry will have differing ingredients then this typical Indian curry.
How to Make Indian Curry
1. Grind or crack fresh whole peppercorns and whole coriander seeds.
2. Heat some cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon stick pieces cracked peppercorns and coriander seeds in a small amount of oil over low heat. Doing this will help bring out more flavors from the spices.
3. Add in sliced red onions and caramelize along with the spices, which will take in between 30-40 minutes. Take the time to do this because the more caramelized the more flavor into your curry. Also, red onions are most commonly used in Indian cuisine.
4. Add in garlic and ginger and cook for just a few minutes while stirring. Only use fresh garlic and ginger and be sure to finely mince.
5. Sprinkle in the turmeric, ground coriander, cumin, and chili powder and mix in completely.
6. Pour in the pureed tomatoes and cook over low heat for 20 to 30 minutes or until it becomes a paste. You can roughly chop the tomatoes, finely mince or place in a blender to rough puree, which is what I did. You can also use canned in the off-peak season.
7. Season with salt and finish with fresh chopped cilantro. Only finish with cilantro if using right away, if you are storing it then use the cilantro when adding it to something that will be served up immediately after cooking.
Chicken Curry Recipe
- Once your homemade Indian curry is finished you can store in the refrigerator or freezer or use right away. Chicken curry is incredibly easy to make once the curry is finished.
- Start by heating up some oil in a sauté pan until lightly smoking.
- Simply add in the cubed chicken and get a quick sear on it and until it is cooked through about 7-9 minutes. CHEF NOTE: The browning of the chicken will help bring about more flavor.
- Finish the chicken by seasoning with salt and mix in some of the homemade Indian curry.
- Garnish with fresh chopped
What Do You Eat Chicken Curry With
Chicken curry is commonly served up and eaten with long grain rice and some sort of bread. In my case, I served it up in a traditional tiffin box along with long grain rice and a blend of carrots, peas, and potatoes that were tossed in butter and seasoned with salt and pepper. Of course, what would this be without a homemade garlic naan bread?
Recipe Chef Notes + Tips
How to Reheat: To reheat the chicken curry simply place back in a pan and cook over low heat until hot.
How to Store: It will hold in the refrigerator covered up for up to 4 days. It will also freeze well covered for up to 3 months. Simply pull it out as you need it.
More Chicken Recipes
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Video
Authentic Indian Chicken Curry Recipe
Ingredients
For the Curry:
- 3 tablespoon vegetable 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 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 6 cups roughly pureed
- sea salt to taste
For the Chicken:
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 pounds of cubed boneless skinless chicken breasts
- sea 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.
- Next, add in the onions and caramelize until soft and dark brown, about 30 minutes.
- Next, add in the garlic and ginger and cook for 2 to 3 minutes 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 and add in 1 ½ cups of the homemade curry in 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 bread.
Notes
- Cook the spices at the beginning will help bring out more flavors from the spices.
- Take the time to caramelize the onions because the more caramelized the more flavor into your curry. Also, red onions are most commonly used in Indian cuisine.
- You can roughly chop the tomatoes, finely mince or place in a blender to rough puree, which is what I did. You can also use canned in the off-peak season.
- Only finish with cilantro if using right away, if you are storing it then use the cilantro when adding it to something that will be served up immediately after cooking.
So the pods, cinnamon sticks, cloves are left whole? I’d hate to bite into that! Have I missed something?
They cook down quite a bit after all that time, however, you can remove them if you’d like. It is normal in traditional Indian cuisine to have these big pieces of spices in there.
I’m wanting to make this this week. Just making sure I have it right, you don’t remove the cloves or pods at any time?
Thanks
I do not. They cook down. However, if it weirds you out, you can remove them.
This recipe just made all the prepared curry taste subpar…
LOVE LOVE LOVE and will always make it this way from now on
thank you so kindly!!
This is as authentic as they come. My mother always said she hated curry anything. I believe she never tried it but had a pre-determined opinion based on all Indian food culture. She said she didn’t like what the food smelled like while it was cooking. She was kind of an Italian food snob and Indian food has a very different spice profile than what she was used to. One day after she was diagnosed with dementia, we took her to a restaurant that had curry chicken, which my husband and I typically get. By the time it was served, she had forgotten that we ordered it. She looked curiously at the serving plate and I asked her if she wanted some and she said “sure.” She liked it!! I didn’t remind her what it was for fear that her life-long perceived distaste for it would emerge. Some memories are best left undisturbed. Why would I want to spoil her newly found food pleasure? Every positive experience was a plus. I made it at home after that to her delight. ❤️
Thanks for sharing that story!
It was just amazing
thanks for giving it a shot!!
Yes! This was probably my 5th time trying to make a good curry; this time is was perfect! Funny this is it’s similar of recipes I had precious tried; details – cooking the spices and caramelizing the onion made a HUGE difference instead of ok it was incredible. Oh, the little details that made such an impact!
I tried this recipe to kick up our pallet. It was delicious. However, next time I’m using ground cinnamon and clove. I used whole cloves because one Tablespoon of ground seemed like a lot. And I brock up cinnamon sticks. In the end, everytime I bit into a clove, my tongue went numb. I’ll probably dry roast the spices because they burned when the onions cooked down and were bitter. But the dish was delicious! My husband loved it. Will definetely try again with the above mention changes. Thanks
Hi Billy
Can we use Kashmiri chilli or regular chili powder we use to make chilli.
Kashmiri is deadly, Ive got tons of that and some of the other stuff
Please let me know
Thanks
yes you can.
I’ve noticed a lot of curry recipes use garam masala. What is your take on that? Is there a specific reason why you didn’t include that in this recipe? Do the spices that you toast at the beginning act as a substitute for garam masala? Thanks!
Is it chili powder as in what we put in American chili or chili powder as in something like cayenne ?
American chili powder, which is a blend of dried chiles that are ground up.
Indian curries could be so intimidating to make at home but your videos are so helpful to overcome that fear. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
This dish is so tasty! I love it! Love chicken curry.
I have many curry dishes in my time but this is hands down the best! The flavor is delicious!
I love how you broke down the whole process. So easy to follow without feeling intimidated. Thank you!
So many delicious flavors in one dish! I love adding Jasmine Rice to complete my meal!