This is a recipe for an easy chicken curry that you can make, even if you are a beginner in cooking. You just need basic ingredients like onions, tomatoes and some ginger and garlic to start off.
This chicken curry will also result in a yummy outcome, with robust flavors. The best part is that it uses just 1 and a 1/2 tbsp of oil!
Why to make this easy chicken curry:
- It is made in very less oil. (Yay! Good for the diet-watchers.)
- I have used pantry staples like onions and tomatoes for the curry.
- No need to add thickeners like cashew paste, cream, or coconut paste.
- No need to add curd.
- Can be put together and stored for later use. (the flavors only get better as time passes) 🙂
- It’s the only thing you need as a side for rice, breads, or chapattis.
- It’s perfect for lunch, dinner or even breakfast.
- Enough said!
Easy Preparation Method:
To make this curry flavorful, marinate the chicken, before cooking. The longer you marinate it, the better. You can even leave the marinated chicken in your fridge overnight, on the previous day of cooking. But, since I was short on time, I did not marinate it overnight.
Once you are ready to cook, all you need to do is prepare the gravy using a few whole spices (only if you have them), onions, tomatoes, ginger and garlic, with a few spice powders. Adding curry leaves will give it an authentic flavor, so do put them in if you can.
The main process is basically, to keep stirring the mixture of ‘onion – tomato – spices’ paste till it is comes together like a paste or till the oil separates. This step is what gives it its wonderful flavor.
(Since I used very little oil, you will not see oil separating from the onion-tomato paste, in the pics that I have attached below.)
Then, you can add in the chicken pieces and cook further till done. Garnish it with some onion rings and coriander if you like, and sprinkle a few drops of lemon juice. That’s all. Your easy chicken curry is done.
Usually, you find that this curry tastes better the next day, like most dishes made with meat.
Food combinations for this easy chicken curry:
This is my go-to chicken recipe, whenever I want to put something quick on the table. In my family, we usually have this with steamed rice and stir-fried veggies on the side. But, put this next to soft fresh chapattis (an Indian flatbread), and it’s wiped out in a jiffy. It’s a classic combination that you can try. 🙂
You can try this with a Spiced Buttermilk curry (Moru Kachiyathu) and Cabbage Stir-fry Thoran, with cooked white or brown rice, for a complete meal.
Other stir-fries that you can try with this chicken curry are:
- Long Beans fry (Achinga Mezhukupuratti)
- Raw Banana fry (Pacha Kaya Mezukupuratti)
- Ladies Finger / Okra fry (Vendekka Mezhukupuratti)
Do try my version of this chicken curry recipe. And if you liked it, please share this recipe with your family members and friends.
Also, do share your experience with me in the comments section below. I would love to know if you tried making any other variation of this curry and how it went for you.
Some other authentic Kerala recipes from my kitchen are:
- Inji Puli Curry (Spicy Sweet Ginger Pickle : Onam Feast special)
- Pumpkin Curry (Erissery)
- Raw Mango Curry (Pacha Manga Curry)
- Easy Egg Curry / Egg Masala
Thanks 🙂
Ingredients
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Ingredients for Marination of Chicken:
- Main Ingredients:
- Whole spices (Optional but really good to add to the oil at the beginning of cooking):
- Ingredients for Garnishing:
Instructions
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Put together ingredients, given under 'Ingredients for Marination of Chicken' with cleaned and cut chicken pieces, in a bowl.
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Nicely marinate the chicken pieces and keep it aside for a couple of hours at least. It will be best if you can marinate it at least for 7hrs. to 8 hrs. (or overnight) and keep it aside in the fridge.
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Keep ready whole spices such as cardamom, cloves, bay leaves and cinnamon.
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Heat 1 and 1/2 table spoon oil in a pan on medium flame. Once hot enough (do not smoke the oil), add in the whole spices that was kept ready. Sauté till you get a nice aroma. This should take about 10 seconds, on a medium flame.
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Next, add in chopped ginger and garlic to the oil and sauté, till it is slightly golden and the rawness is no more.
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Add in chopped onions and curry leaves and sauté, till onions turn a bit golden and translucent.
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Now, reduce the flame to low-medium and add in the spice powders. Take care not to burn the spices.
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Sauté the spice powders and onion mixture well. At this stage you can adjust the flame to medium. This should take about 2 to 3 minutes.
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Next, add in tomato to the onion mixture.
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Sauté the mixture well. If you have added in more oil earlier, keep sautéing this mixture till it releases oil from the sides. It will start coming together like a paste, and the color will change to a darker brown than the beginning. This may take anywhere between 10 to 12 min. This is an important step and we will need to patiently complete this step. It is called 'bhoona-na' in Hindi.
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Add in the marinated chicken pieces. (Ideally, if kept in fridge for a longer time, allow it to come to almost room temperature before adding it in.) Mix the chicken into the onion-tomato mixture till the chicken is coated well. Keep frying it on a medium flame for about 10 minutes, or till the chicken releases its own water.
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Next, add in about a cup of 'hot' water to the chicken and cook it covered on medium flame till the chicken is well done.
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Lastly, add in the garam masala and fennel seeds powder to the chicken curry. Close the pan and cook for another couple of minutes. Switch off the flame and rest the curry for at least half an hour before serving.
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Your easy chicken curry is ready, to be served. Garnish with a few fresh onion rings, a little chopped coriander and a dash of lemon juice. Yumm!
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Serve hot with rice, chapatti or any bread of your choice. I served it with soft hot dosas (pancake made of fermented rice and black gram batter). Enjoy! :)
Notes
- If you don't have a grinder to make ginger - garlic paste, you can substitute it with a similar quantity of chopped ginger and chopped garlic, during the cooking process.
- This curry can be prepared the previous day and stored in the fridge. It will taste better the next day.
- While cooking chicken, it is better to add hot water (no need for boiling water), for the gravy. Using cold water will bring down the temperature of the chicken. It may result in an odd flavor.
- This curry thickens as it cools. So, you may adjust water accordingly, for more or less gravy. Making it too watery may not give the desired taste.
- To reheat the curry, ideally allow it to come to room temperature before heating it.