Delicious Indian Chicken Curry Recipe with Coconut Milk
This is a delicious recipe for an authentic Indian Chicken Curry. This is really probably my favourite authentic Indian chicken curry recipe of all time, because it is so easy to make and so delicious.
It is also my own favourite recipe, and the one I have probably made more than any other, just because it is so tasty. If we have guests to visit for dinner the likelihood is that I will cook this meal!
And, above all, you can decide for yourself how spicy you want to make it.
If you are looking for a tasty curry that everyone can eat, this is the one!
Another advantage of this traditional Indian curry recipe is that you can make it in a single pan which saves on washing up. I always use one of my trusted woks to make this dish.
As you can make this in a single pan or a wok it means it is also a good dish to make when you are camping. A single pan on the campfire or a gas burner.
Because it is so easy to prepare, I often make this when we have visitors. You can make it up front and just heat it up when your guests want to eat.
I have yet to find someone that does not love this authentic chicken curry recipe. Even people who are not used to Indian food like it.
The healing qualities of Indian spices
This recipe literally saved my life a number of years ago. I had some weird condition that made my skin extremely sensitive to being touched.
It meant I could not wear shirts and had to strip off. The doctors were flummoxed.
I spent a week eating a very strong version of this spicy chicken curry recipe with lots of hot spicy chillies, and hey presto – the problem went away, never to return!
How this happened I do not know, but they say that spices used in Indian cooking, like turmeric and ginger both have powerful healing properties, especially for pain relief.
I use turmeric and ginger quite a lot in this hot chicken curry recipe. So who knows?!
It may be a coincidence, but I have much faith in the healing powers of spicy food, and the beauty of this authentic chicken curry is that you can make it as hot and fiery as you wish.
But if we have guests, I often make it in two Woks – one mild version and one spicy version, so that people can choose which one they prefer.
The basic version without using any chillies has a lovely mild taste, and is great for people that prefer a less spicy version.
Simple Ingredients for an Authentic Indian Curry Recipe
The ingredients for this curry are very simple. Garlic and ginger, a few spices, some chicken and vegetables and coconut milk.
It is always a success, and the pan is nearly always emptied, however much I make.
Just vary the spiciness by changing the amount of chillies you use in the recipe.
Make sure you know which types of chilli you are using as some of them are wickedly hot!
Meal Prep this Indian Curry
If I am lucky enough to have any leftovers, this recipe freezes well and reheats beautifully in the microwave.
However, I normally meal prep a large batch in several woks and then freeze individual portions with some pilau rice and naan bread.
This makes things very easy when you need to make an individual meal quickly.
To re-heat in the microwave you can simply invert the container on your plate (as long as your storage container is microwave safe) and heat for about 3-4 minutes on full power, stirring once halfway through.
Curry is known to stain clothes and plastic containers so it is better to use some good glass containers rather than plastic, which will not absorb the colour and the smells from the curry. The coconut milk and the madras paste make this dish so good. Really the taste is amazing!
Chicken Jalfrezi
This curry is very similar to a chicken jalfrezi curry, which also includes chicken and bell peppers. Though a Jalfrezi may in some places be a bit drier, the taste is very similar.
I have recently made this curry using a Tandoori paste, as I could not find the Madras Paste in the recipe in Porto. The result was excellent and I compensated for the lack of hotness in the paste by using some extra garam masala, madras chilli powder and chillis.
It is quite unusual to have a curry with no onions in the recipe, but it means my daughter has nothing to complain about!
What to eat with Indian Chicken Curry
Indian curry is traditionally eaten together with some form of bread, leavened or unleavened, and/or Pilau rice. It may be accompanied by papadoms, mango chutney and other dishes like raita.
For the breads, I have recipes for naan bread, paratha, chapati (roti) and flatbread on my site that you can try.
I recommend the naan bread, which we cook these days in our Ooni Koda 12 Gas Powered Pizza Oven ! Delicious.
I hope you enjoy this curry as much as we do. Let us know how you get on in the comments section below!
How to make an authentic Indian chicken curry recipe with coconut milk
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Authentic Indian chicken curry recipe
This is a delicious chicken curry recipe that you can make as hot and spicy as you want. Really delicious served with pilau rice and naan bread or a paratha.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon of Ghee or vegetable oil
- 3 chicken breasts, diced into inch sized pieces (fat and sinew removed)
- 1 tablespoon of Madras curry paste
- 2 or 3 different coloured sweet peppers (capsicum/bell peppers) (red, orange, yellow or green)
- 1 box of cherry tomatoes, halved
- Red or green Chilli’s to suit your spice taste
- 1 can of coconut milk
- 1 inch cube of Fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 4 or 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon of cumin seeds
- 1 bunch of fresh coriander, chopped up
- A teaspoon of Garam Masala powder
- 1 teaspoon Tumeric
To serve:
- Mango chutney
- Pilao rice
- Naan bread
- Poppadoms
Instructions
Preparation
- Start by cutting and slicing up all the ingredients. The ginger and garlic into small pieces. I use a Pampered Chef food chopper for this (these things are great and do the work in half the time - see below).
- De-seed the peppers and cut into triangular inch sized pieces. Cut the chicken breast into inch size pieces. Half the tomatoes.
Cooking
- Heat up the ghee in a wok and fry the cumin seeds for about 30 seconds before adding the garlic and ginger. Fry this for another minute or so and then add the turmeric powder and a splash of water (about half a cup) – watch out for the vapour cloud this gives off – it can be pungent!
- Then add the madras paste and mix together and bring to a boil. There should be enough water added to the pan to ensure there is enough liquid to cover all the chicken when it is added, but it should not be swimming in it too much.
- Add the chicken pieces and coat them all with the delicious paste mix. Stir until the outside of all the chicken has been visibly cooked (no more pink bits). Then add the pepper and tomatoes to the pan, and bit by bit add the coconut milk.
- Stir everything together and then leave the mixture to cook for about 40 minutes on the hob on low to medium heat, stirring occasionally. After about 20 minutes add the garam masala.
- The mixture will bubble away nicely and will reduce down until the sauce becomes nice and thick. When the consistency changes significantly, then you know it is almost ready to eat. The sauce should be not too runny, and if it is too thick then add more water.
- When the consistency is right, you can add the chilli’s to suit your taste. (I will often make a hot version and a mild version to suit the people around the table). Adding the chilli’s at the end means you can plate up the mild version before you add the HOT stuff!
- Top off with the chopped coriander just before serving.
Notes
Accompaniments
Serve up with pilao rice and/or naan bread, paratha or chapati, poppadoms, raita and mango chutney. These recipe quantities will serve about 5 people.
The raita and mango chutney can help to cool things down if the curry is too spicy.
Freezing
If there is any leftover, which is highly unlikely, it freezes well. Remember to add a bit of water (or coconut milk) to the sauce when you freeze it, as it loses some moisture when it goes through the microwave when reheating. It is very easy to reheat in the microwave.
It is a good meal for doubling the quantity and cooking in a large batch (if your wok is big enough) and then freezing in portion sizes, so you have an easy meal to just put in the microwave after a hard day’s work.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 578Total Fat: 33gSaturated Fat: 20gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 88mgSodium: 629mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 3gSugar: 7gProtein: 36g
This nutrition information was automatically calculated by Nutritionix, but may not be 100% accurate.
Or perhaps some a delicious Coronation Chicken recipe:
Maybe a biryani perhaps?
Or some other Asian curry dishes: