Chicken curry is one of my favorite dishes. It is spicy, creamy, full of flavor, and delicious. I consider it to be a great comforting food for a weeknight. It’s a healthy dish, and it can be easily adapted to suit your needs.
Jump to RecipeINGREDIENTS FOR CHICKEN CURRY
- Chicken thighs you can choose to either remove or keep the skin on. I personally will be removing the skin to reduce the fat content a bit. Plus I prefer chicken skin on the crispy side.
- Large onions
- Garlic cloves
- Grated ginger You can easily grate your ginger using a microplane grater . I keep my ginger in the freezer which makes this process super quick and easy.
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Curry powder
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Tomato paste
- Coconut cream, or milk you could use either one. Using the cream is going to give you a lightly thicker and creamier chili.
- Garam masala
- Chili powder
- Smoked paprika
- Large potato
- Green pepper you can skip the peppers and carrots if you choose to, but I personally believe that they add a great flavor to the curry that you would possibly be missing out on.
- Carrot
- Chicken broth is going to increase the depth of flavor.
- Bay leaves
- Lime, optional you can use it during serving by squeezing a bit of lime over your dish to brighten up the flavor a bit.
- Jalapeno this one is optional. I would love to use jalapeno in my curry, but then my kids won’t eat it.
- Fresh cilantro for garnish.
UTENSILS
- Medium bowl
- Large pan with lid
- Spatula
- Sharp knife
- Cutting board
- Wooden spoon
MARINATING THE CHICKEN
Marinating the chicken thighs is a very crucial step. Especially because we are using whole thighs.
The flavors from the marinade will penetrate the chicken thighs infusing the flavor in every part of the meat. The longer you marinate the meat, the more flavorful it will become.
2 hours are not necessarily enough to allow the meat to fully absorb the flavor, but it will be enough to flavor the chicken enough for the curry, and tenderize it a little.
The acidity from the tomato paste, will tenderize the meat. Salt also is a great meat tenderizer as it changes the protein structure in the meat, making it more tender, and allowing it to hold on to more moisture. So if you want a juicy steak, marinate it with salt for a while.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU CARAMELIZE ONIONS
First an enormous key factor here, is to not burn the onions when you are caramelizing them. To avoid that, you’ll need to cook the onions on low heat for about 15 to 20 minutes. Low and slow.
All vegetables and fruits have sugars in them. They may not all have the same amount of sugars, but they all have sugars.
As the heat penetrates the onions, something amazing happens. The complex sugars in the onion cells begin to break down into a more simple sugar. That process is called pyrolysis, which I still can’t pronounce. The breaking down of the sugar is what gives the onion it’s brown caramelized color, and it’s sweet flavor.
So being patient by allowing the onions to caramelize before you continue with the cooking process, pays off a ton. This process is going to elevate the flavor profile of your dish, giving you a complexity of flavor from the sweetness of the onions and coconut milk, the spiciness of the pepper, curry powder and chili powder, and the slight acidity of the tomato paste.
HOW TO SERVE CHICKEN CURRY
You can serve chicken curry with Gluten Free Roti, over over rice, with side of salad, or anything that can calm the heat down a bit, and cleanses the palate.
You could also squeeze a bit of lime over your personal dish to brighten up the flavor a bit.
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Chicken Curry
Equipment
- Medium bowl
- Large pan with lid
- Spatula
- Sharp knife
- Cutting board
- Wooden Spoon
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken thighs preferably skinless
- 2 large onions diced
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 6 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons curry powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 14 oz coconut cream or milk
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 large potato cut into cubes
- 1 green pepper julienned
- 1 carrot julienned
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 lime optional
- 1 jalapeno optional
- Fresh cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Add ginger, minced garlic, coconut cream, 3 tablespoons olive oil, tomato paste, curry powder, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, black pepper, garam masala, chili powder, and smoked paprika into a large bowl, and mix until well combined. Add chicken thighs, stir to coat chicken with marinate, cover, and chill for 2 hours to marinate.
- Into a large pan, add 3 tablespoons olive oil, and heat on medium low heat until the oil is glistening. Add the onions and sauté until caramelized. This can take up to 15 minutes.
- Add carrots, peppers, and ½ teaspoon salt, and sauté for 3 minutes.
- Add Chicken, along with the remaining marinade and 1 cup chicken broth. Gently stir to combine the marinade with the chicken broth. Add diced potatoes and 2 bay leaves. If you are adding jalapeno, now is the time to add it. Bring the heat up to medium heat.
- Bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to medium low. Cover and cook for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked through and tender, and the potatoes are fork tender.
- Serve over jasmine rice, or gluten free roti with a squeeze of lime, and a garnish of cilantro.
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