Mrs. Chittaluru's Family (Authentic Indian) Chicken Curry Recipe

"My friend's mom comes to visit him each year from India and is a super cook. This is an amazing recipe which, once you have the ingredients in your spice collection and have done it once or twice, it is a breeze to make. Most of these ingredients can be stored for a long time. Buy them if possible from an Indian grocery store because they are usually cheaper and fresher than a supermarket. I have wowed many guests with this dish and it is time that this recipe goes into the public domain."
 
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photo by berkleeb photo by berkleeb
photo by berkleeb
Ready In:
1hr
Ingredients:
15
Serves:
6-8
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ingredients

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directions

  • Ginger/Garlic Paste: In a blender add peeled ginger and peeled garlic in equal parts and a little water and blend into a paste. You can also buy this in the Indian market, but it is much better when made fresh.
  • Meat Prep: Cut chicken into bite sized pieces.
  • In a bowl, mix chicken, salt, pepper, turmeric, cayenne (if using cayenne), cumin powder and coriander powder.
  • Set Aside.
  • Cooking: Use medium heat! Lower heat and longer cooking time gives the best results.
  • In a deep wide pan (using medium heat) heat oil till it's hot and add Cloves, Cardamom (give a small smack on each Cardamom pod to open up the pod just a little bit) and Cinnamon stick.
  • Move it it around for several minutes.
  • At this point, I remove the clove and cardamom because I hate biting into them later.
  • Add onions and saute until they are soft and golden.
  • Take your time on this as this is what makes the gravy creamy, (you don't want burned onions).
  • Add Ginger/Garlic paste and lower the heat to medium low and cook for several minutes scraping the bottom often.
  • If you have enough oil in the pan you will not have that much of a problem. Hey! it's Indian food, so oil is necessary evil :)
  • Add chicken mix from the bowl and cook till the chicken turns color.
  • Add butter if desired.
  • Keep stirring so that bottom is not sticking. This will take about 8-10 minutes or so.
  • Add tomato and cook for another 2 minutes
  • Then add hot water to the pan till it barely covers the chicken.
  • Cook on medium high till you see a lot of bubbling.
  • Lower the heat to medium/low and cover the pan and let it cook for about 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • When done, you should have smooth dark brownish gravy that is not runny and the chicken should be tender. Eat it with hot rice.

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Reviews

  1. Delicious!!! My first attempt at Indian. I couldn't find cardamom pods so I just used powder. In response to Luv2Garden, I added too much water as well, but I just reduced it. I also left cinnamon stick and cloves in until the end. I did not think it lacked depth of flavor in the least -- quite the opposite! Fantastic recipe, and it tastes even better the next day!
     
  2. Brilliant - it was not so dark as the picture but I cooked the cinnamon etc in the oil for a long time before removing and it was all very tasty. I cooked the onions on a very, very low heat for about half an hour or more and then later, thought I added too much water so removed the chicken and reduced. Other than that, I used all the ingredients mentioned (bought some new cardamom pods - they don't last forever). Turned out better than most Indian restaurants (including those in India). Thank you !!
     
  3. This recipe is just what I have been looking for! I may never buy jarred sauce or paste again when I can make this. This has great flavor and is easy to make. I think I added a bit too much water and added a bit of flour at the end to thicken it. Next time I would use chicken broth instead of water for more depth of flavor. I left in the cloves and cardamom pods till the end. They seem to float so they were not too hard to skim out. I served this with jasmine rice and naan bread yum! Thanks Mrs. Chittaluru! I will definitely be making this again!
     
  4. Fantastic recipe. Followed it closely. ..end result..very flavourful dish...taking time to cook it properly will reward you with beautiful flavors.
     
  5. This is my favourite chicken curry recipe so far. I love that you add the spices separately instead of using premixed spices. I used two medium onions, two tomatoes, added ground cinnamon and a little full fat organic yogurt at the end. The gravy was the right consistency: brown and thick. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
     
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Tweaks

  1. Don't use hot water... Debone your chicken and start a small pot of broth from the veggie trimmings and the bones. The turmeric doesn't say if powered or fresh grated... Let the user know with the correct quantity. Cooking white chicken meat that long results in nasty dry meat... Suggest thighs. The veggie oil could/should be ghee or at the least clarified butter. The ingredient "1 tomatoes" makes no sense. Clarify this please! And last but not least, list the ingredients in the order they are used in the recipe. The suggestion of salt and pepper to taste should be last, but perhaps throw 8 peppercorns in with the toasting seeds and blender... That way you know the cook is using the freshest version of pepper(s). I made this dish with the above tweaks, used two peeled/chopped plum tomatoes, and it was good.
     
  2. 2 tbsp Lemon Juice 1 can diced tomatoes 1/2 cup plain yogurt
     
  3. YUMMY!!! I grew up in South East Asia, and I've tried many recipes since living in the states, and this is my first review for a curry recipe. That's how good this recipe is. I left out tomatoes as I didn't have any at the time of cooking. Instead of a stick of cinnamon, I used probably a Tbsp of cinnamon powder, and also replaced ginger with galangal. To have a thicker gravy, I also used half the amount of water. I also added curry leaves that I have in my refrigerator. The outcome reminds me of 'rendang' that I grew up eating. This recipe is a keeper.
     
  4. This recipe is just what I have been looking for! I may never buy jarred sauce or paste again when I can make this. This has great flavor and is easy to make. I think I added a bit too much water and added a bit of flour at the end to thicken it. Next time I would use chicken broth instead of water for more depth of flavor. I left in the cloves and cardamom pods till the end. They seem to float so they were not too hard to skim out. I served this with jasmine rice and naan bread yum! Thanks Mrs. Chittaluru! I will definitely be making this again!
     

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