Directions
Chicken curry is one of the most popular Indian recipes globally, a splendid stew of chicken nuggets cooked with ginger, tomato, onions, and the classic Indian spices, including cumin and cardamom. But be careful, the recipes for chicken curry are endless, and coconut is not always there quite the opposite! And for this reason, the recipes of this Indian dish often change radically according to “local” tastes, turning into fusion dishes that have little to do with the original Indian recipe of chicken curry.
The recipe for chicken curry, even in India itself, varies from region to region: in the north, it is more spicy and spicy. In the south, it is enriched with coconut milk or yogurt, and therefore the chicken is more delicate and creamy.
But let’s clarify the chicken curry for a moment. The word curry (masala in Indian) is often used to define the powdered spice mixture found on the market, but curry also means a dish, which can be based on fish, meat, and vegetables, prepared with a spiced sauce with masala.
This is why it is called chicken curry, meat curry, eggplant curry, etc. So when you say chicken curry, you mean stew, and you are referring to the preparation method.
Get ready for some painstaking work, the chicken curry recipe is easy but long, and there are various steps to take, so take some time and don’t rush. We are not at the level of braised meat, but it is a dish to be made slowly and carefully.
Ingredients for making chicken curry
4 servings
- 800 grams of boneless, drummed, or breasted chicken is fine
- 1/2 lemon and a small piece of ginger
- 15 grams of ghee, which you can replace with olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon of cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon of mustard seeds or coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper
- 15 grams of ginger
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 onion
- 250 grams of ripe or peeled tomatoes in pieces
- 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
- 1/4 teaspoon of garam masala, depending on how spicy you want it
- fresh coriander leaves to decorate
How to make Indian curry chicken
Once you have made this dish, you will find that there are many steps, but all very natural, there are no oddities, so do not worry, just a little effort and you will be able to discover all the tricks to make a delicious dish. The recipe for this chicken curry is easy, but you will struggle to find a unique original recipe, so feel free to experiment, modify and calibrate the number of spices to your liking.
As the only piece of advice, try to use the spices in seeds and grind them with a coffee grinder only when needed: it is essential to preserve their flavors and aromas. And if you are not used to the spicy.
The trick to softening the meat
To make the chicken soft, cut it into 3 cm pieces and put it in a bowl to marinate for 30 minutes, with the juice of one lemon and the chopped ginger.
Like all Indian recipes, it starts with ghee (clarified butter), melted in a pan. Lightly toast the classic spices such as cumin, turmeric, chili, and cardamom, until you feel that scent that rises to the nose, tickling it: 30 seconds.
Slice the onion and fry it in a pan over low heat for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, reduce the garlic and ginger to a paste or blend, add to the onions, and cook for another two minutes.
Add the tomatoes you have blanched, peeled, chopped, and seeded, or the peeled tomatoes to do first. Season with garam masala (watch out for spicy) and cook until thick, stirring often.
Cooking chicken curry
All you have to do is cook the chicken well drained from the marinade. Start on high heat and then switch to sweeter cooking for 15-20 minutes. If the sauce gets too dry, add a little hot water.
Check the cooking, and when ready, serve the chicken curry dusted with fresh coriander with steamed basmati rice or naan.
Chicken curry with chickpeas is a delicious and even more “consistent” variant. Add 200 grams of dry boiled chickpeas 15 minutes before the chicken is cooked.
We finish by pointing out the latest typical variant of chicken curry, the version with peas and potatoes. Again, add 200 grams of blanched peas and three boiled potatoes cut into pieces to the sauce before finishing cooking.
Which wine goes well with chicken curry?
The dish is quite challenging: it all depends on the degree of spiciness. We choose a soft, floral red wine with gentle tannins to accompany this symphony of exotic spices: the sparkling Gutturnio Tomà of the Cardinali winery is the right wine: fresh, agile, with a beautiful mineral mouth, made lively by the bubbles. But let’s not forget fresh and drinkable wines such as Lacrima di Morro, Lambrusco, and Bardolino. If you want to make a different but very intriguing pairing, try important wines such as Champagne, Franciacorta, and Oltrepò Pavese.
The beer to pair with chicken curry
The perfect beer is Grunge IPA, from the Elav brewery in Bergamo: dense foam that encloses caramel, pulp, and delicious citrus notes, body, bitter note to finish. A masterpiece!
If you prefer to cool off with a cocktail, a classic Caipirinha is perfect for turning off any spiciness.
