Simple and easy spicy Indian chicken curry recipe, under 30 minutes.Tender chicken is cooked in aromatic Indian spices similar to Dhaba style chicken curry. Perfect to enjoy it with rice, roti or naan!

Spicy Indian Chicken Curry Recipe

Did I say spicy? You heard it right! If you love spicy foods then you must definitely try this chicken curry. This is not a creamy curry with cashew or almond paste neither used coconut or cream for thickness, it’s a typical spicy chicken curry recipe with onion tomato base masala tossed with yogurt and Indian spices.

This is my most favorite chicken recipe and I learnt this from my roommate. She is from the northern part of India. While I was working we both stayed together and we will make this curry on alternate weekends without fail 🙂 Whenever I am make this recipe at home it makes me nostalgic!, I remember those good old days!

The color of the curry will tempt you to eat more.  I have used Kashmiri red chili powder which gives that vibrant red color to the chicken curry. It doesn’t mean than you cannot use the normal red chili powder, but the color differs for sure! This spicy chicken curry goes well with the rice, roti, parathas, idlis, dosa, etc.,

It takes only 30 minutes to make this spicy chicken curry. There is no soaking or grinding involved for making this gravy. It has mild sour taste coming from the yogurt which balances the spice level. Occasionally we eat spicy food like this 🙂

Whenever I buy some chicken, I usually plan in such a way that the gravy can be used for both lunch and dinner (Gravy/Curry that goes well with tiffin and rice) so spicy chicken gravy is one such option. It makes life easier!

Let’s see the ingredient list for making this yummy and delicious chicken curry.

Ingredients:

1lb or 450gm of skinless and boneless chicken pieces

¼ cup of thick yogurt/curd

3 tablespoons of oil

1 bay leaf

2 cardamom pods

2 cloves

1 inch of cinnamon stick

½ teaspoon of peppercorns

½ teaspoon of fennel seeds

1 whole red chili

1 cup of finely chopped onions

2 medium sized grated tomatoes (without skin)

1 tablespoon of ginger and garlic paste

1 cup of water

2 tablespoons of red chili powder

½ teaspoon of turmeric powder

3 tablespoons of coriander powder

1 teaspoon of roasted cumin powder    

 Garam masala – 1 tsp

 lemon juice – 1 tsp

Salt

Coriander leaves

Directions:

• Wash and clean the chicken pieces, finely chop the onions and grate the tomatoes and keep it aside.
• Heat a pan/kadai and add oil. Once the oil is heated add the whole spices one by one (bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom, whole red chili, peppercorns, and fennel seeds)
• Now add the chopped onions and cook until 80% of onion is done.

• Then you can add the freshly grinded ginger and garlic paste and cook till the raw flavor is gone.
• Next add the grated tomatoes and cook until the oil used oozes out.

• Add in the spice powders (turmeric, red chili, coriander and roasted cumin seed powder) and cook it for 3-5 minutes.

• Now add the chicken pieces and salt. Toss well with the onion tomato masala.
• Fianlly add in the yogurt and mix it well with the masala.

• Now add enough water to cook the chicken. Close with lid and cook it on a medium flame for 20 minutes until chicken is perfectly cooked.

• Once done add the garam masala, a dash of lemon juice and some coriander leaves and switch off the flame.
• Enjoy this spicy chicken curry with rice or roti.

If you tried this recipe let me know how it turned. Take a picture and tag me @veg2nonveg_kitchen on Instagram with the hashtag #veg2nonvegkitchen. I would love to see your creation 🙂

NOTES:

• In this recipe, I have used boneless breast piece for the recipe but you can also use both boned and boneless chicken.
• The curry is on the spicier side, so vary the spices according to your taste bud.
• Thick yogurt gives you the creamy texture so use Greek yogurt or normal yogurt without any water in it (Hung curd)
•  You can prepare this chicken curry in Instant pot or pressure cookware as well, for Instant pot version, cook the chicken for 4 min on high pressure and leave the pressure to release naturally.
• For Pressure cooker method, allow the chicken curry to cook for 3 whistles.
• The recipe gives you a thick gravy, I have added only one cup of water. You can increase another cup of water to make it nice and thin consistency gravy.
• Replacing the oil with ghee (melted butter) for richer taste. Use freshly grounded ginger and garlic paste to enhance the flavor.