This simple curry chicken recipe is so easy that anyone can make it at home.
Many people want to make chicken curry but are put off by the long list of ingredients. Cooking curry requires grounding various herbs and spices with a mortar and pestle. While this is by far the most authentic method to cook curry, there is a get-around way you can use to prepare a beautiful pot of curry in a short time.
I am using a good qualitystore-bought curry powderto prepare the curry chicken.It nearly cut the preparation time by half. The rest of the ingredients are freshly purchased from the local market.
Let’s deal with the nitty-gritty of the preparation.I will also highlight a few points that you need to pay attention to whenever it is applicable.
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A step-by-step guide – how to cook curry chicken
1. Prepare the chicken
Bone-in, skin-on
Chicken curry cooked with bone-in, skin-on chicken chunks are always tasted better than using meat alone.
The flavor from the bone and the marrow adds body to the curry, and therefore, the locals do not need a stock to cook. You can substitute the water with a cup of chicken broth if you prefer to use boneless chicken thighs.
The skin and fats under the skin also contribute to enriching the flavor of the curry. Therefore, lean breast meat is not the choice for making curry, as it lacks fat and connective tissue. Chicken thigh (dark meat) is the best part of making chicken curry. However, most of the restaurants cut the whole chicken into large chunks to reduce cost. Use skinless chicken thighs if you want to reduce animal fat in the curry.
Marinate
Marination is not the most authentic way of preparing the chicken curry, but rather my improvisation by injecting the Chinese cooking element into it.
I marinate the chicken for three hours to let the flavor penetrate deep into the chicken pieces. Marination will result in every bite of the chicken being flavorful, not just tasty on the surface.
I marinate the chicken without yogurt. I use all the salt required to marinate the chicken. There is no worry that it will be too salty as part of the salt will dissolve into the gravy and be absorbed by the potatoes.
Note: You can skip this process if you are using chicken breast meat that is cut into small pieces.
2. Prepare the curry paste
Blend the fresh ingredients
While the spices provide the flavor, the triumvirate that comprises onion, chili, and ginger gives the body and texture of the curry. My easy curry chicken recipe does include chili and lemongrass. Get an electric food processor to blend all of them to save time.
Cut the onions into large chunks. Onion is quite soft, so there is no need to cut it into small pieces.
Slice the ginger into thin slices.
As for the chili, remove the seeds and pith if you do not want the curry to be too hot. Cut it into short pieces. You may also want to adjust the quantity of the chili to suit your taste buds. The amount of chili in this consider moderately hot according to the locals (here in Malaysia). The perception of hotness varies vastly among different people, so you need to adjust accordingly.
Lemongrass is tough. Therefore, cutting the lemongrass into small pieces before blending. Make sure you blend it finely as we do not want any hard pieces of lemongrass in the curry.
The aromatic vegetables provide the texture of the dish. Add some cooking oil to facilitate blending. I would suggest using corn oil, palm oil or peanut oil. Olive oil may not be the best option as we do not use it in our recipe.There is no need to add water into the blender as the onion and chili will release enough water to facilitate blending.
Saute the curry paste
Saute the curry paste in a pan until it turns aromatic. There is no need to add any cooking oil at this point. There should have enough oil in the curry paste.
The curry paste will become aromatic once the water in the ingredients has evaporated. Now we can move on to the next step.
3. Cook the chicken
Add the marinated chicken and the remaining ingredients to a pan or a large skillet..
Stir from time to time. The ground spices tend to stick to the bottom of the wok when you cook the chicken curry. This problem can happen even if you cook it over low heat. You need to stir the curry from time to time to avoid sticking
Simmer until the chicken is tender and the potatoes are soft, and it is ready to serve.
How long should you cook the curry? The duration of cooking depends on some factors. You can cook a little longer for a thicker gravy. Make sure the potatoes are soft enough, and the chicken is fully cooked. Since the chicken chunks are large and with bone attached, it takes at least half an hour for the internal temperature to reach 70°C / 160°F. Use the kitchen thermometer to test the doneness of the chicken every time before turning the heat off.
The essential ingredients for chicken curry
The potatoes
Cut the potatoes into cubes, slightly smaller than the chicken chunks. Soak the potatoes in water to prevent them from changing color due to oxidization if you are not using them immediately.
Potato is the most common root vegetable to make curry. Potato serves two purposes. First, it helps to thicken the gravy. Secondly, it has an earthy flavor which enhances the flavor. If you do not include potatoes, you can add crushed cashew nut or candlenut to thicken the gravy.
Tomatoes
Fresh tomatoes enrich the flavor of the curry. It should not overpower the spices so a small amount should be sufficient.
Coconut milk
Coconut milk is a common ingredient for the curry. Its flavor greatly enriches the flavor of the gravy.
If you can get the supply of freshly pressed full-fat coconut milk, you are well on the way to making the best chicken curry. However, fresh coconut milk is not available worldwide. If you need to use the processed coconut milk available in supermarkets, make sure it has at least 20% of fat content. Otherwise, you need to use more than the amount provided by the recipe to get the sufficient flavor of the fresh coconut milk.
You can use milk and greek yogurt instead of coconut milk to enhance the flavor. You will expect the taste is different, but these substitutions are all workable.
Curry leaves
One of the key ingredients you should include in this easy curry chicken recipe is the curry leaves. You probably already guessed that this is indispensable as the name says it all. Curry leaves are abundantly available in Asian countries. Get the leaves from an Asian grocery shop if you can’t find them fresh at the market.
You can keep the curry leaves in the chiller in an airtight container for one to two weeks. Keep them in the freezer if you want to preserve them for longer.
Use the best curry powder available
Be generous with the amount of curry powder. The quantity of the spices in most of the western developed curry recipes is far less than the original spice level in Asian chicken curry recipes. You need to include sufficient spices, as stated in the recipe in order to get the authentic flavor.
The best way to prepare authentic curry is to ground all the fresh spices with mortar and pestle. Some traditional markets in Asia sell ground spices on the spot, in which you can ask the vendor to supply the spice mix based on your recipe.
Here is the recipe for the home-made Malaysia curry powder, should you decide to make it at home:
Method: Put all the dry spices in a spice blender to grind them into powder.
If this is too much work, using excellent quality store-bought curry powder is the next best option. The flavor and aroma of spices will inevitably deteriorate over time. Therefore, make sure you buy the curry powder with a long expiry date (or best before date).
Buy a small amount of curry powder, just enough for your cooking. Let the grocery shop keep the freshest stock instead of sitting in your kitchen cabinet.
Now it’s your turn to try this chicken curry recipe
When you mentioned curry, you will inadvertently relate it to the complex flavor derived from a myriad of Asian spices and herbs. You will think about the unique head and neck movements of Indian dance. You will be mesmerized by the love story of Shah Jahan, who erected the Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world for the beloved console Mumtaz Mahal. You will think about eating Indian rice served on a large piece of banana leaf, with the irresistible chicken curry seeping through the heap of fragrance biryani rice.
You would love to cook up a pot of curry with the curry smell strong that reaches your neighbor’s dining room. The flavor will be more authentic, and the aromatic fragrance will enter your neighbor’s dining hall from your kitchen making them envy. It best to serve with basmathi rice, naan or any other flat bread.
So now it is your turn to get your hand dirty in the kitchen. Let me know the outcome in the comment section below, and I will be happy to help 🙂
More about curry powder
This chicken curry recipe is what we prepare in Malaysia, and naturally involves the Malaysian curry powder. It is interesting to know the result with other variants such as Jamaican curry powder, Japanese curry powder. I also found some recipes mentioned about yellow curry powder and red curry powder, but I assume it is pointless to mention the color without specifically indicated the country of origin.
Other ingredients you may consider to add to the curry are tomato paste, fish sauce, garam masala, black pepper and even lime juice. I do not use them in the recipe but is should be an interesting twist of flavor. You may also like to try some Thai curries which taste differently. Here the Thai green curry on this food blog. If you like Indian food, here is the Indian style Chicken Madras curry for your reference.
Yield: 4 servings
This recipe is an authentic Malaysian chicken curry.
Kick off your curry by heating whole spices in hot oil to unleash their flavour. Choose from cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and seeds for the perfect base to your dish. Fresh spices are the best choice and will keep for longer in the freezer.
The most common ingredient in curry dishes is garlic. Onion, cilantro, tomatoes, vegetable oil, fresh ginger root, white sugar, coconut milk and chicken stock are also common ingredients in curry recipes. For herbs and spices, curry powder, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon and cayenne pepper are popular.
Meet Hing: The Secret-Weapon Spice Of Indian Cuisine : The Salt Uncooked, the Indian spice hing may smell of sulfur and onions to some. But add a dash to your food, and magical things happen.
Mild spices like coriander, cumin, pepper, and fenugreek are often used in everyday cooking. To generate a powerful flavor and taste, cardamom, star anise, cloves, nutmeg, and some other exotic spices are used. Quantity of Spices: The quantity of spices used in curry also influences its flavor.
Curry powder has a unique flavor due to the combination of both savory and sweet spices. Savory spices like cumin, turmeric, and bay leaf give the curry a deep, earthy flavor while sweet spices, like cinnamon and clove, add brightness and pep. The level of heat is determined by the type and amount of pepper used.
Your curry base should follow this order: first put oil, followed by whole spices (fried until fragrant), then onions that mixed well in the oil and cooked until they turn brown in colour, and finally ground spices, salt, ginger, garlic, and green chillies, which are mixed well and cooked about 30 seconds to one minute ...
Turmeric, cumin, chilies (red or green) and ginger are essential ingredients in many curries, but coriander, fenugreek, mustard, pepper, cinnamon, clove, cardamom and nutmeg can be just as vital, along with fresh aromatics such as garlic, onion, cilantro, lemongrass, lime and lemon to name but a few.
Kick off your curry by heating whole spices in hot oil to unleash their flavor. Choose from cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and seeds for the perfect base to your dish. Fresh spices are the best choice and will keep for longer in the freezer.
Spices give a dish its distinctive character, but the souring agent gives it the acid kick that brings it to life. Look how we squeeze lime on so many desi dishes, its clean fresh bite cutting through the grease and clarifying all the other flavours.
Add dairy. Many curry sauces have a creamy texture, so try adding more dairy—like Greek yogurt, heavy cream, or a thick non-dairy ingredient like coconut cream—to thicken a watery curry sauce.
Hot Tip #4 (Spicy) Add a real kick to your curry by tempering mustard seeds, crushed red chillies, and curry leaves. Add this mixture to your dish at the very end to create a sizzle in your sauce. These spices are guaranteed to leave you feeling hot, hot, hot!
Add equal parts sugar and salt, a teaspoon at a time, mixing well between each pair of additions and tasting until the curry is no longer bitter. Sugar and salt help to reduce bitterness. You can use any sweetener or salt you like.
You should have a rich, flavoursome sauce, add your RAW chicken into the sauce, keep the heat medium high and seal the chicken in the sauce, stir constantly and create the deep flavour in the chicken.
Ginger is essential to Asian cooking. Used fresh it can be sliced, crushed or in curry paste and dried in curry powder. It is a main ingredient for pulse, lentil and vegetable curries and in Pakistan is particularly popular finely chopped or crushed into a paste for chicken and meat based curries.
This Indian spice is what people say "smells like curry." Of all Indian spices, this spice may be the most essential. You may use up to a few tablespoons in a family size dish near the end of the cooking process, but start with a teaspoon. Fenugreek seeds also have many health benefits.
A famed tradition Indo-Guyana is 7 curry. It is generally served in a water-lily leaf, and is rice with seven different curries, which are traditionally pumpkin, bagee (spinach), catahar, potato/ channa (chick peas), balange (eggplant), edoe, and dahl.
There are many different types of Indian spice blends, but I'm going to focus on five of the most common: Garam Masala Powder, Tikka Masala Powder, Sambhar Masala Powder, and Chaat Masala. If you've had Indian cuisine before, it's likely that you've tasted one of these Indian spice blends without even realizing it!
Can you substitute turmeric powder for curry powder? You could if push comes to shove. The good news is that you'll get the yellow tone of curry. However, to mimic its wonderful blend of flavors, you need to complement the turmeric with a hint of coriander seeds and allspice.
Hence for Indian cooking, one can use coconut oil (preferably virgin coconut oil), mustard oil, groundnut oil or pure desi ghee. Olive oil which is one of the healthiest oils is good for salads and mild sautéing and not recommended for deep frying which is an integral part of Indian style cooking.
Tip 2: Top curry chefs recommend going the extra mile and adding in some spices to your sauce, even if you're using boxed roux already. For extra colour, add a pinch of turmeric, and for fragrance, cumin or coriander. If you want your curry to have some extra bite, meanwhile, throw in some cayenne pepper.
Vinegary tartness is as important an ingredient to Indian cooking as chilli or spice. Nearly all genuine Indian cooks call for the addition of fruit vinegar to their recipes and a generous slosh of real Cider Vinegar will make all the difference to your efforts!
You can simply leave out a bowl containing a few tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda near the cooking space and it will soak up all those strong smells.
Apple Cider Vinegar, ACV, has numerous health benefits that have been generally accepted by industry professionals to help chickens' bodies and health. ACV for chickens offers immune support by attacking bad bacteria in the digestive tract, and contains the added benefits of vitamins, minerals and trace elements.
Never cook it cold. By allowing chicken breast to come to room temperature, you'll ensure it cooks more evenly once it hits the pan. Plus, by opting for skin-on chicken instead of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, you'll get a more flavorful dish with more texture and moisture.
Use garlic powder, minced garlic, or roasted garlic to give chicken dishes more flavor. Garlic works well with Italian seasoning; or with any combination of parsley, rosemary, sage, and thyme.
To create a curry sauce out of a paste, all you need to do is add liquid; normally a combination of chicken or vegetable stock and coconut milk are used in Thai curries, whereas Indian curries may call for cream, sour cream, yogurt, or milk in addition to stock.
In Thai cooking, we use the cream to cook with the curry paste first to bring out the flavour and aroma.Then the rest of the liquid is added to the curry to bring to the right consistency. Cutting out on the fat will only make your curries watery and dilutes the flavour of the curry pastes.
A Yes, you can use cream or crème fraîche in your curries. What you will get is the same delicious creamy quality to the curry as if you had used yogurt, but it will simply be a little sweeter and milder in taste. You should spice your curry with this in mind.
Add some curry spice paste and gently cook for a few minutes. This allows the spices to release all their • wonderful flavours and aromas. Next add your meat or vegetables and cook until sealed. Finally add some water and leave to simmer for 15-30 mins depending on the recipe.
Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the chicken is cooked through and tender. When the chicken is done, add the thick cream and stir well. Continue to cook until most of the gravy has dried off. The result should be a dish with thick gravy.
Add dairy. Many curry sauces have a creamy texture, so try adding more dairy—like Greek yogurt, heavy cream, or a thick non-dairy ingredient like coconut cream—to thicken a watery curry sauce.
Your curry base should follow this order: first put oil, followed by whole spices (fried until fragrant), then onions that mixed well in the oil and cooked until they turn brown in colour, and finally ground spices, salt, ginger, garlic, and green chillies, which are mixed well and cooked about 30 seconds to one minute ...
Your curry can taste bitter if the spices and garlic are burnt or if you've added too much fenugreek to the dish. You see, the secret to cooking a delicious curry recipe is to create a spicy paste and slowly cook it before adding your meat.
The three sauces at Indian restaurants most commonly served are a green sauce, brown sauce and a red sauce. In order these are, mint cilantro chutney, tamarind chutney and garlic chutney.
You can use powdered chili peppers in the mix of spices that go into your curry, or you can add it to a pre-made commercial curry powder blend. Much of the heat in hot Indian or Indian-style curries comes from the use of hot peppers, and the powdered chili is one of the most convenient forms.
Curry sauce can of course be thick or thin, depending on your preference. But generally, the ideal consistency would be one that's not too runny and not too thick, either.
The most common way of making curries or gravies creamy and rich, is to add heavy cream or full cream to them. The second secret to making gravies for dishes like shahi paneer, shahi murgh masala etc. is the thickeners that are added along with the cream. This includes corn starch or maida (refined flour).
Introduction: My name is Errol Quitzon, I am a fair, cute, fancy, clean, attractive, sparkling, kind person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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