30 Minute Chicken Curry

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Soft, tender chunks of chicken cooked with onions, garlic and ginger are swathed in a sweet tomato and creamy yoghurt sauce flavoured with fresh coriander and a classic combination of spices – madras curry, coriander, cumin, turmeric, garam masala, chilli and paprika. Serve with rice, naan or roti on the side. Some green vegetables and/or iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and red onion spritzed with lemon juice, are delicious too. Despite the fact it only takes 30 minutes to get on the table, this curry really delivers on levels and depth of flavour. I cannot recommend it enough.

Where is this recipe from?

I found the recipe for this fabulous curry whilst scrolling through insta. A reel from @rehanaxyasmin popped up, entitled 30 Minute Chicken Curry, and I tried it out immediately. I have a range of curry recipes on my site, which I love, but I was drawn to this particular recipe, not just because it looked so delicious and takes only 30 minutes, but also because I have most of the ingredients in my store cupboard. Plus, I normally have the fresh ingredients available, or I can nip out very quickly to get hold of them. Furthermore, this is a very healthy curry. I reduced the amount of oil used in the original recipe and, although creamy because of the yoghurt, it contains no cream. If you are dairy free, I’m sure you could make this curry with coconut milk instead of yoghurt, although I have yet to try it.

Changes I made to the original recipe?

Yes I have! Hopefully I have not affected the integrity and authenticity of the dish too much, but I have made a few changes to suit our palate and the ingredients in my cupboards. Feel free to use the original ingredients and quantities.

• I reduce the amount of oil used from ½ cup/125ml to 2 tabelspoons/30 ml
• I double the amount of garlic from 2 to 4 cloves.
• I up the quantity of fresh ginger from 5g to 15g.
• I reduce the salt from 1 tablespoon to ½ – ¾ teaspoon fine salt.
• I use skinned, cubed chicken breasts or chicken thighs rather than bone-in skinned chicken pieces.
• I replace the seven fresh chillies with chilli flakes.
• I double the amount of tomatoes and skin them.
• I pulse all the vegetables in a food processor

How to make 30 Minute Chicken Curry

Collect all the ingredients together:

Spice mix –

• mild madras curry powder – I only had mild madras curry powder available. The original recipe does not specify mild but it works perfectly.
• paprika powder
• coriander powder
• turmeric powder
• cumin powder
• garam masala
• chilli powder, or more to taste. How much you use will depend on your personal taste but also the chilli powder you use. Mine is fiery hot so I always add it gently
• freshly ground black pepper
• chilli flakes, or more to taste. My chilli flakes, like my chilli powder are also very strong. You may wish to add more.

For the curry –

• vegetable oil – although I often use olive oil
• onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
• peeled fresh ginger, roughly chopped
• fine salt
• skinned chicken breast or thigh meat, chopped into cubes
• tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
• water
• natural yoghurt
• fresh coriander, chopped

Topping –

• extra natural yoghurt
• chopped coriander
• chopped green chillies (optional)

How to make this amazing curry:

1. First, make up the spice mix.
2. Secondly, prepare the onion, blitz in a food processor and cook in the oil, over a moderate heat for 5 minutes. Stir from time to time.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the garlic and ginger and also blitz in the food processor. After the onion has been cooking for 5 minutes, add the garlic, ginger and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook for a further minute, until aromatic.
4. Add the cubed chicken to the pan and lightly brown – this will take around 5 minutes.
5. Tip in the spice mix, stir well and cook for another minute.
6. Meanwhile, cover the tomatoes with boiling water. Leave for around 1 minute, pour the water away and then, use a sharp knife to peel the skin away. Halve the tomatoes, remove the stem and blitz in the food processor, until broken down.
7. Add the pulsed tomatoes and water to the pan and cook over a moderate heat, without a lid, until the chicken is cooked and the sauce has reduced and thickly covers the chicken. This should take 10 – 15 minutes.
8. Stir through the yoghurt and most of the fresh, chopped coriander. Taste, adjust seasoning, and heat gently.
9. To serve, garnish with some extra yoghurt, the remaining chopped coriander and, if you like the heat, some sliced green chillies. Serve with rice, naan or roti on the side. Some green vegetables and/or iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and red onion spritzed with lemon juice, are delicious too.

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Made this recipe?

If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodil_kitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.