South Indian chicken curry

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4.93 from 13 votes

South Indian chicken curry

Classic south Indian flavours with a lush restaurant style sauce. How can you go wrong?

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Main

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: indian chicken curry, south indian chicken curry

Servings:

Calories: 498kcal

Author: romain | glebekitchen

Ingredients

South Indian spice mix

1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 inch cinnamon bark - aka cassia bark
1/4 tsp black pepper corns - pepper is key in this blend
1 clove
2 green cardamom - the whole pod
2 arms star anise - snap off a couple arms from a single star anise
1/2 tsp cumin seed
1/2 tsp poppy seed
pinch ajwain - aka carom seed
3 whole dried red chilies - I like Kashmiri chilies for this

The onion paste

2 cups onions - coarsely chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup water

south Indian chicken curry

6 boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 3 pieces per thigh or 2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts. About a pound and a half or 680 grams.
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp garlic ginger paste
15-20 fresh curry leaves optional but worth seeking out if you can
2-3 green chilies coarsely chopped
5 tsp South Indian spice mix - from above. The magical stuff you toasted and ground.
1/2 tsp black pepper - butcher's grind is great for this recipe
1 tsp kashmiri chili powder
1 tsp kosher salt - about half if using regular table salt
2 tbsp tomato paste diluted with enough water to get it to the consistency of tomato sauce or passata
1 tsp tamarind paste - not tamarind concentrate. Look for something that is 100 percent tamarind
1/2 cup coconut milk

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

The south Indian spice mix needs to be made before you start

You can't make this and keep to the 30 minute window. You have to make it up front. Because the toasted spices need to cool. You can't rush this. Sorry.
Grab two small bowls.
In one bowl measure out the coriander seed, cinnamon bark, black pepper corns, star anise, clove and green cardamom. These are your big spices.
In the other bowl measure out your cumin seed, poppy seeds and ajwain. These are your small spices.
Pre-heat a small skillet over medium low heat. You want to be a little gentle with the heat.
Add the big spices. Toast the spices, shaking the pan continuously until a wonderful smell starts hitting your nose. This should take under 2 minutes.
Add the little spices and toast around 30 seconds. Add the kashmiri chilies and toast another 30 seconds or so. Flip the chilies about half way through the final 30 seconds.
Remove the skillet from the heat and let cool. Don't rush this. Let them cool. If you want to speed things up transfer the spices from the pan to a bowl. Even still - let the spices cool.
Grind the spices. I use an old coffee grinder from the days before I knew about burr grinders. One with a spinning blade. Great for spices. Absolutely terrible for coffee. You now have more South Indian spice mix than you need but that's OK. You will find uses for it. It's magic fairy dust.

The onion paste

Place the onions in a microwave safe dish and cover loosely. Microwave at 70 percent until the onions are soft and translucent. This takes 10 minutes in my 1100 watt microwave. I can't predict how long it will take in yours...
Remove the onions from the microwave. Be careful. They will be hot. Let them cool slightly. Place the onions, 2 tbsp vegetable oil and 1 cup of warm water in a blender and puree until smooth. Set aside.

South Indian chicken curry

In a small bowl, combine the South Indian spice mix, the black pepper, the kashmiri chili powder and the kosher salt.
Heat 4 tbsp vegetable oil in a pot over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the green chilies and curry leaves if using. Cook for about 30 seconds.
Add the garlic ginger paste and cook until it stops spluttering.
Turn the heat to medium low. Add the powdered spices (5 tsp south Indian spice mix, 1 tsp kashmiri chili powder, 1/2 tsp of coarse black pepper and the salt) and stir continuously until it starts to smell really good - around 30-40 seconds. Pay attention. If you burn the spices at this point you have to start over.
Add the diluted tomato paste and stir to combine. Turn the heat up to medium. Cook for about 1 minute.
Add the onion paste and turn the heat up to medium high. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 4-5 minutes. Cover it loosely. It will splatter. If it doesn't your heat is too low. The curry will darken a bit as it cooks. Don't worry if it starts to look a little dry. The chicken in the next step will release those tasty, tasty juices and thin everything out so you get a lush sauce at the end.
Turn the heat down to medium low. Add the chicken and stir. Cover and simmer for about 5 minutes. Flip each piece of chicken and continue cooking until the chicken is done. You know it's done when it reaches an internal temperature of around 170F. I can't tell you exactly how long this will take. I don't know how big your chicken pieces are. Shouldn't take more than 10-12 minutes. Don't rush this step. You want a nice gentle braise.
Add the coconut milk and the tamarind paste and cook for about a minute.
Garnish with additional diced green chilies if desired.
Serve with rice and parathas. Parathas are amazing with this dish.

Notes

You can buy garlic ginger paste but it's easy to make and homemade is way better. Here's an easy recipe for garlic ginger paste. If you cook Indian fairly often it's so worth it to whip up a batch. It will keep for a few weeks in the fridge.

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