Spicy Chicken Curry Recipe

Chicken curry is one of the most popular Indian dishes of all time. Almost every household in the Indian subcontinent has its own recipe for preparing this delicious dish. The recipes slightly vary but the overall process remains the same.

Chicken curry is easy to make, only requires a few ingredients, and does not take that much time. These factors make spicy chicken curry one of the best comfort food for millions if not billions of people.

This spicy chicken curry recipe is quite easy to follow and with just a few simple steps, you will be able to bring the magical taste of the Indian subcontinent right on your plate and impress your friends and family.

Ingredients

For Marination and Frying Chicken

• 1.5 kg bone-in chicken
• Salt, as needed
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil

For Cooking

• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste
• 3 teaspoons onion paste
• 3 teaspoons coriander powder
• 3 teaspoons cumin powder
• 2 teaspoons Kashmiri chili powder
• ½ teaspoon Garam Masala powder
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 cup yogurt
• Cloves 4
• Green Cardamom 4
• Cinnamon 2
• Peppercorns 6
• Hot boiling water as necessary
• Coriander leaves for decoration

Cooking Method

Preparing the Meat

Cut the chicken into small pieces but keep the bone in the meat. Indian chicken curry is always cooked with the bone in the meat. You can also score the meat lightly with a knife. This helps to get the spices deep in the meat and the flavor to spread more easily.

Keep the meat out of the fridge for several hours if you store it in a deep fridge and let it thaw well. Avoid using cold meat for cooking. This can ruin the texture of the meat.

Marination Process

Put the meat in a bowl. Add turmeric powder, chili powder, salt, and lemon juice to the chicken meat and mix with your hand. Make sure to spread the spices all around the meat and cover every inch of the meat. Also, make sure that no spices clump together and spread evenly on the meat.

Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and set it aside for at least 30 minutes and up to two hours. You can refrigerate for longer hours if you need to wait. Do not keep it for more than 12 hours.

Frying the Chicken

Some recipes do not include this step but it is essential to develop flavor in the chicken. It also helps to make the chicken a bit crispy. Here are the steps to fry the chicken.

Step 1

Put a pan on medium heat and add vegetable oil to coat the entire pan. Heat the vegetable oil well.

Step 2

Add the chicken meat slowly and carefully to avoid splashing hot oil when the oil is heated enough.

Step 3

Fry each side for about 3-5 minutes or until the skin starts to show golden brown color. Lower the heat if it starts to burn too quickly.

Step 4

Use a tong to get the chicken out of the pan and put it on a paper towel or cooking rack to get rid of the excess oil.

Preparing the Curry

Here are the steps to cook the curry. Follow accordingly.

Step 1

Put on a pan on the stove and add the vegetable oil. Adjust the heat to high to medium. Heat the oil for 2-3 minutes or until it is hot enough that adding a little spec of onion paste immediately starts bubbling. You can use the pan that you used to fry the chickens.

Step 2

Add the cloves, green cardamom, cinnamon, and peppercorns to the hot oil after lightly crushing them. This will prevent the cardamom from exploding the seeds. Stir them gently for 2 minutes.

Step 3

Add ginger garlic paste, onion paste, coriander powder, cumin powder, Kashmiri chili powder, salt, and chili powder to the oil. Add a tablespoon or two of hot boiling water if it feels like it will burn. Stir this mixture until the oil starts to separate from the mixture.

Step 4

Add the yogurt after lightly beating it with a spoon to make it smoother in texture. Stir the mixture again for a minute to make it homogenous.

Step 5

Add the chicken slices to the mixture and stir to coat every inch of the meat in the gravy. Stir gently to avoid splashing hot oil and liquid accidentally.

Step 6

After stirring for 3-4 minutes, you will notice that the oil is getting separated from the mixture again. This is an indication that your chicken curry is coming along nicely.

Step 7

Add hot water to the chicken but do not completely submerge the meat. Too much water will thin out the gravy and will reduce the flavor. Put on the lead and put it on low heat.

Step 8

It will take approximately 15-20 minutes for the meat to cook depending on the meat. Keep stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot but don’t take off the lead too often as it will leak out too much steam. Add more water if it feels like the cooking will get burnt.

Step 9

Do a final taste check and add chili powder and salt accordingly. Add the Garam Masala only a few minutes before taking the pot off the stove.

Step 10

Take the pot off the stove or turn off the stove and garnish with coriander leaves.

Important Notes:

• You can add vegetables of your choice to the chicken curry such as mushrooms, potatoes, carrots, cabbages, etc. but make sure that the vegetables are boiled before being added to the curry so it doesn’t stay undercooked. You can also add them as you are adding the chicken to the curry mixture, this will cook the vegetables enough.
• It is better to add fewer amounts of spices and salt while cooking if you are unsure about the heat as you can always add more but cannot take it out from the curry.
• Do not be conservative about oil usage as it will cause the curry to burn and stick to the bottom of the pan. You can use olive oil or mustard oil if you want to eat healthier.
• Get all the things ready before you start the cooking process because it will bring a better flow to the cooking.
• You can play around with the spices according to your taste and preferences but do not use excessive spices. More spice does not equal more flavor all the time.
• Chicken curry is traditionally served with white rice and flatbread but you can serve it with any type of bread or rice.