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Easy Chicken Curry

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This is possibly my favourite home-made curry, it's a really easy to make and doesn't have too many ingredients, so it's a fantastic introduction to Indian cooking! Browning the onions is key to the look & taste of the final dish. Well browned onions result in a brown gravy, however, browning onions in little oil takes time and patience! This stage can not be rushed!

The flavour & aroma profile is kind of Indo-Chinese, this is due to the use of Fenugreek seeds, which create such a fantastic & familiar Chinese curry smell, particularly when you add the garlic & ginger paste to the browned onions, your kitchen will be full of the most fantastic fragrances of spices you can imagine. The end result is a beautiful light tomato-ey sauce. I really hope you enjoy this curry as much as I do.

Click the Method tab below to see a step by step guide with pictures.

Finished Curry in Pan

ingredients

Indian cooking can often use many, many spices & herb ingredients, but this one is minimalist!

Here's what you need :¬)

Serves 6

  • 450g chicken boneless thighs each cut into 8 pieces
  • 3 medium sized onions cubed
  • 1 x red, green, yellow bell pepper cubed
  • 1 400ml tin plum tomatoes
  • 1 Tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1 1/2 tsp extra hot chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
  • 1/2 tsp black onion seeds (nigela seeds)
  • A good handful of chopped coriander leaves
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp salt (coarse sea salt if you have it)
  • 1 Tbsp garlic paste
  • 1 Tbsp ginger paste
  • 3 green chillies, sliced into circles
  • 3 Tbsp vegetable oil

method

Browning the onions is key, but doing this with only a little oil takes a while, 15 - 20mins. Try not to stir too often while frying the onions, as this releases water, and they will take longer to brown. Just turn them over every now and again, so they don't burn. 20mins of your life browning onions feels like an eternity, but it is worth it to get the depth of flavour into the dish.

Note: Adding lemon juice during the cooking process cause the lemon to have a slightly bitter taste, which is what we want here. If we wanted a lemony taste, we would add it at the end, just before serving

  1. Firstly, chop your peppers & onions into large chunks
chopped onions & peppers on a board
onions & peppers on a board
  1. Cut your chicken into cubes
diced chicken on a board
diced chicken on a board
  1. Heat the oil to med-hot in a large heavy based pan
  2. Add the fenugreek & black onion seeds
  3. Wait until the fenugreek changes colour
  4. Throw in your onions, stir into the seeds
  5. Turn the heat down to medium
  6. Leave to brown, turning occasionaly, so they dont burn
browned onions with spices
browned onions in pan
  1. When brown (15 - 20mins) push the onions aside
  2. Add the garlic & ginger paste
  3. Fry for a few seconds until the smell fills the room
  4. Gently turn the garlic & ginger into the onions
  5. Fry for a few minutes more while the spices combine

Whilst your onions are browning, you can prepare the ingredients for the sauce:

  1. Tip the tomatoes into a bowl or jug
  2. Mash the tomatoes with a fork or masher
  3. Grind the coriander seeds & salt to a fine powder

Tip - If you do not have a pestle and mortar or a spice grinder, grab a zip bag, 2 chopping boards and a rolling pin or even a hammer put the coriander and salt in between the boards in the bag and bash rub bash then rub again it's very theraputic! You can even put the zip bag into a folded tea towel and bash them if you don't have two chopping boards ;¬)

tomatoes & spices in a bowl
tomatoes & spices in a bowl
  1. Add the ground coriander, salt, chilli powder
  2. Add the lemon juice
  3. Add tomato puree
  4. Stir with a fork to combine

Go make a coffee whilst your onions do their stuff for the remainder of the 20mins!

When your onions and spices are ready in the pan:

  1. Turn the heat up to med-hot
  2. Tip in the tomato mixture & tomato puree
  3. Stir continuously & quite vigorously for 7mins

Stirring like this combines the onions into the tomatoes and you will see that they start to emulsify to create a thick reddish brown sauce

  1. Add the chicken & stir for 7 mins, chicken turns white
  2. Add the peppers and stir
  3. Cover and leave to simmer for 5 – 10 mins
bell peppers added to pan
bell pepper added to pan
  1. Add the fresh coriander

Tip: I use loads of coriander bought in large bunches from my local Indian shop, it's cheaper and far tastier than the sad looking potted plants from the supermarkets. So, I just wash it, shake it, allow it dry in a tea towel & then chop it up, stalks & all then freeze it in a bag to keep

coriander added to pan
coriander added to pan

I like the bell peppers to be well cooked, so leave them simmering until they go soft, if that's the way you like them

  1. Remove the lid
  2. Turn up the heat to med-hot to reduce the sauce
  3. Allow the sauce to thicken a little
  4. Add the sliced chillies & stir
  5. Tip the curry into a serving dish (if using)
  6. Finish off with a sprinkle of fresh coriander leaves
ready to serve
chicken curry in pan
serving suggestion
curry rice in dish

served with basmati rice

Top, top tip: Your not going to like this idea as your kitchen smells amazing and you just want to eat, but until you've tried it you will never believe me. Allow the dish to cool completely and set it in the fridge overnight. Reheat the next day or even two days later, the taste will have matured fantastically!