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Bowl of chickpea and chicken curry with rice from above.
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5 from 4 votes

chicken and chickpea curry

This is just good homestyle chicken curry done restaurant style. It's a meal in a bowl.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Main
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: chicken and chickpea curry
Servings: 4
Calories: 634kcal
Author: romain | glebekitchen

Ingredients

The onion paste

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

The spice mix

  • 2 tsp coriander powder
  • 2 tsp cumin powder
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp mild kashmiri chili powder
  • 1 tsp kasoor methi - dried fenugreek leaves
  • 1 tsp kosher salt - use a bit less if you are using table salt

Chicken and chickpea curry

  • 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 3 pieces per thigh.
  • 4 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 tbsp garlic ginger paste - see notes
  • the spice mix
  • the onion paste
  • 15 oz chickpeas one can
  • 1 cup small waxy potatoes - or chunks of a large waxy potato
  • 1 cup cilantro - coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 lemon juiced
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

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 about 10 minutes in my 1100 watt microwave oven.
  • Remove the onions from the microwave. Be careful. They will be hot. Like burn you with the steam 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.

chicken and chickpea curry

  • In a small bowl, combine the coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric, Kashmiri chili powder, kasoor methi and salt. This is your spice mix. It goes in after the garlic ginger paste.
  • Heat 4 tbsp vegetable oil in a pot over medium heat until it shimmers.
  • Add the garlic ginger paste. Cook until the garlic ginger paste stops spluttering.
  • Turn the heat to medium low. Add the spice mix. Stir continuously until it starts to smell really good. This takes around 30-40 seconds. Watch it carefully. If you burn the spices at this point you have to start over. This is called blooming the spices. It is one of the secrets to Indian cooking. Works well in Mexican cooking as well.
  • Add half the onion paste. Stir to combine. Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes. It is going to splatter. Be warned.
  • Add the remaining onion paste. Cook another 2 minutes or so.
  • Turn the heat to medium low. Add the potatoes and chickpeas. Cook for around 20 minutes. The potatoes should be nearly done.
  • Now add the chicken and stir. Cover and simmer until the chicken is done. It's done when you measure the internal temperature and it says 170F. That takes about 12-15 minutes. An instant read thermometer is a handy thing to have here...
  • If the curry is a bit thick add a bit of water or chicken stock and stir. Add the diced and cilantro and lemon juice. Let the chicken masala simmer another minute or so. Taste for salt and adjust as needed.
  • Garnish with a bit more cilantro if desired.

Notes

You can buy garlic ginger paste.  But  homemade is way better. And it's easy to make your own garlic ginger paste. It's so worth making it.
This recipe serves somewhere between two monster appetites and four people as part of a meal.

Nutrition

Serving: 4servings | Calories: 634kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Cholesterol: 161mg | Sodium: 768mg | Potassium: 1092mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 500IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 112mg | Iron: 6mg