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simple chicken curry in a kadai from above
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5 from 24 votes

simple chicken curry

Serve this simple chicken curry over basmati rice and garnish with cilantro. Remember, the whole spices are not meant to be eaten.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Main
Cuisine: Indian
Servings: 4
Calories: 421kcal

Ingredients

Spice Mix

  • 1 Tbsp coriander powder
  • 2 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/2-1 tsp chili powder depending how hot you like it
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp kosher salt to start

Simple Chicken Curry

  • 3 Tbsp vegetable oil plus one Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 2 inch piece of cinnamon bark or cinnamon stick
  • 8 green cardamom pods
  • 3 cups onion finely diced. About one really large onion
  • 1 Tbsp tomato paste diluted with a couple tablespoons of water
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 1 inch piece of ginger
  • 2 plum tomatoes seeded and diced
  • 3 green chilis seeded and diced (or 1 jalepeno, seeded and diced)
  • 8 chicken thighs bone-in, skinless
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock

Instructions

Make the masala

  • Make your mix powder. Combine all the ground spices with the salt.
  • Use a food processor to finely chop the onion. It takes two seconds and it works way better. You are looking for a really fine dice. Almost a paste.
  • Now use your food processor to make a garlic ginger paste. It's already dirty so this comes for free. Combine the garlic and ginger with a bit of water and whiz until you have a puree. If you have a big food processor you may have to make more to get it to work or use a blender (more dishes though).
  • Heat 3 Tbsp oil in a 4-5 quart pot over medium heat. Add the cinnamon and cardamom and cook about 20-30 seconds. The spices should sizzle.
  • Crank up your fan hood to max. Really. Full blast time. Unless you want your house to smell like an Indian restaurant.
  • Add the onion and cook, stirring regularly until they take on a golden brown colour. You want them soft. Really soft. Take your time here. Give it 10 minutes at least. It takes as long as it takes and it is important.
  • Turn the heat down to medium low. You don't want your spices to burn. Add the 4th Tbsp of oil and your spice mix. Stir constantly for about a minute. If things start to stick you need more oil. If you really get into trouble toss the tomato paste in and move the pot off the burner.
    This is called blooming spices. There are oil soluble flavour compounds in spices. This gets them out of the spices, into your oil and then into you mouth. It's important.
  • Add the diluted tomato paste, green chilies and garlic ginger paste.
  • Continue to stir and cook another minute. Stir in the chopped plum tomatoes. Cook for two to three minutes.

Make the curry

  • Add the skinned chicken thighs and/or drumsticks to the pot, stir and add 1/2 cup of stock or water. Bring to a gentle boil, reduce heat and simmer about 25 minutes - until the chicken is cooked through. The chicken is done when the internal temperature hits around 170-175F.
  • Adjust salt to taste. I expect around another 1/2 tsp if you are using kosher salt. Probably none at all if you are using table salt.

Notes

I use an Indian chili powder called mild kashmiri. If you can't get that (or don't want to bother) go with 1/3-1/2 tsp cayenne topped up with enough paprika to make 1 tsp.

Nutrition

Serving: 4servings | Calories: 421kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 193mg | Sodium: 927mg | Potassium: 793mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 765IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 3.8mg