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.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 35 minutes
  • Total time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 3 · 3 people
  • Category: Main Course, Side
  • Cuisine: Asian, Indian

Ingredients

  • ½ kg (1.1 lbs.) chicken ((preferably bone-in, boneless is okay))
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons oil
  • 1 cup (3 medium) onions ((fine chopped))
  • 1 to 2 green chilies ((slit, omit for less spicy, Thai or Indian chili peppers or serrano peppers))
  • 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste (or ¾ inch ginger, 3 cloves garlic minced)
  • ½ cup (2 medium) tomatoes ((pureed or finely chopped))
  • ¼ cup yogurt ((or 1½ tbsp cashew butter or 12 cashews powdered & pureed with ¼ cup water, refer notes))
  • ½ to ¾ teaspoon salt ((adjust as needed))
  • ½ to 1 cup hot water ((or light coconut milk))
  • 2 tablespoons coriander leaves (or mint leaves finely chopped)
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder (or smoked paprika (½ tsp for less spicy))
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala ((½ tsp more if needed, adjust to taste))
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • 1 bay leaf (or 1 sprig curry leaves)
  • 4 cloves
  • 2 inch cinnamon piece
  • 3 green cardamom

Method

Preparation

  1. On a medium flame, heat oil in a deep pan. Add the whole spices - bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves & green cardamoms.
  2. Stir in the chopped onions and chilies. Saute until deep golden in color, for 7 to 8 mins.
  3. Add ginger garlic paste and saute till you get a nice aroma, for about a minute.
  4. Then add tomatoes, turmeric and salt. Mix well and cook until the tomatoes turn soft & mushy.
  5. Turn down the heat to low, Stir in the yogurt (or cashew paste), red chili powder, garam masala & coriander powder.
  6. Cook on low heat, until the mixture smells good and aromatic.
  7. Add chicken and coriander leaves. Fry on a medium heat till the chicken turns white or pale in color. This takes around 3 mins.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.

How to make Chicken Curry

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Lastly garnish with coriander leaves, cover and off the heat. Serve chicken curry with butter naan or jeera rice.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.