If you're looking for the best chicken curry that's also quick and easy to make, then this is it. This Indian chicken curry takes only 15 minutes to cook. It uses easy to find Indian spices and the chicken pieces are cooked in sour cream and tomato-based gravy. As a result, it is rich, creamy and delicious. So simple, easy and quick you will surely be making it often.
Being Indian, I love to eat Indian food often. It takes me back to that feeling of home food. My Aadi is the same, my Indian boy. So, if I don't cook Indian food for a few days, he will ask "mom when you going to make chicken curry again" or "mom can you make chicken biryani again?" Hence, no matter how busy I am, I love making good chicken curry.
Today I bring you another curry recipe and this one is probably the easiest of them all. When I lived away from home and worked for Singapore Airlines, I'd often come back to base tired after a long flight. And after an eight-day trip, there is nothing to cook at home and no energy to go shopping. I'd be so hungry. So, I would make this curry often. Because it is quick, and with basic Indian spices that I always have at home. And it was just the Indian comfort food I needed to feel home again after a long flight.
Most of all, we love this easy chicken curry! It's probably the one that my kids can never get enough of. And if you ask my kids what they want for lunch, they'll usually say - chicken curry with chapati.
What is curry?
Growing up I ate Indian food almost every day, and often chicken curry. That sounds like eating the same thing often. Nope! Do you know that there are many curries? I say countless because the numbers 100's or 1000's seem like a few.
If you look at an Indian menu in any restaurant, you will see a vast variety of Indian dishes. And the best part? The same dish is made differently in different parts of India.
So, if you go to India and ask for curry, they will ask you what curry? That's because curry is not one recipe. Rather, it's an umbrella of different methods. All unique. And almost all coming from different origins in India.
For example, if you eat a curry made in the North of India it probably has yogurt or tomato-based sauce, like the famous butter chicken. While a curry from the south of India will probably have a coconut-based sauce, like the famous Kerala Chicken curry. And both are delicious.
Curry in the north is served with chapati or naan because northern India grows wheat. While curry in the south is served with steamed rice or dosa, made from rice and lentils because rice and coconut are there in abundance.
And speaking of curry, India is not the only one that makes curry. There are also Sri-Lankan curries, Afghan curries, and Bangla curries. And let's not forget the popular Pakistani curries.
Consequently, I have already shared with you quite a few different curries here on this blog.
About this recipe
This quick and easy Indian chicken curry is a real treat. This simple, easy and effortless recipe uses simple Indian spices like cumin, coriander, and garam masala. Also, it has an added zing from tomato paste and sour cream. And it gets its gorgeous color from sweet hot paprika
As I said above, this is my fuss-free chicken curry. It takes only 15 minutes to cook and tastes heavenly. And the best part is that you do not need to do any chopping of vegetables. Just blitz in a food processor and your curry paste is ready. Then, saute with chopped chicken pieces and cook for 15 minutes. Honestly, an Indian chicken curry with this taste and flavor does not get any easier than this.
Recently, I shared this picture on my Instagram story, and everybody kept asking about the color!! And yet, don't be fooled by the color. It's not spicy at all. My kids are 8 and 10 and if they can enjoy this so can you. Since I use sweet paprika, I get a rich red color, and yet without the heat. And who doesn't love that nice rich red color for our curry? So using sweet paprika helps give that vibrant color.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Chicken - I always use thighs. Because I think it's more juicy and tender than breast meat. And yet, you can also use chicken breast of course.
- Tomato paste - I like using a little bit of tomato paste for the color and thickness it adds. But, you can also omit it.
- Sour cream- I like sour cream in this, but if you prefer you can use yogurt instead.
- Spice mix – Almost everyone has these common spices like cumin, coriander, turmeric, and paprika. They are found in most Indian or Middle Eastern dishes. And yet, if you don’t have these, you can substitute the powders in the recipe with 2 tbsp of curry powder.
- Curry powder - Curry powder is readily available in most supermarkets these days. So, if you don't have the spices below don't worry too much, just add two heaping tablespoons of curry powder. Make sure you buy the curry powder that is right for you, not-spicy, medium or hot. I make my own so you can find my homemade curry powder as well as garam masala. So, if you like making your spice mixes, you will love to try these.
Step by step instructions (pin)
Prepare
- Clean, wash and chop the chicken.
- Season with salt pepper and lemon juice - and set aside.
- Add all the paste ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth.
Cook the curry
- Heat oil in a saute pan large enough for the whole recipe.
- Add the ground paste and cook on medium heat for about 3 minutes.
- If necessary, add a few tablespoons of water to prevent the spices from burning.
- You will know the spices are cooked when you get a nice spice aroma in the house.
- Next, add the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir well.
- Add the chicken pieces and coat well with the mixture.
- Add one cup of water and stir.
- Cook for about 8 to 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked.
- Add sour cream and stir well.
- Check and adjust seasoning.
- Sprinkle with more chopped cilantro before you serve.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you sure can. If you don't have the spices on hand, you can use about 2 tbsp of curry powder and 1 tsp of smoked paprika. The smoked sweet paprika will give a beautiful color to this quick chicken curry.
I have shared a quick chicken curry using just 6 ingredients that uses curry powder.
Absolutely. This recipe will also work with 800 grams (approx 2 lbs) of beef.
You can. I have a slow cooker chicken curry that might be a better guide if you want to use your crockpot.
Yes, I have shown you how to make an Instant Pot chicken curry or Pressure Cooker chicken curry.
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Easy Indian Chicken Curry in 15 Minutes
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Ingredients
- 2 lb (1 kg) Boneless chicken
- 1 Tomato chopped
- 1 tbsp Tomato paste mostly for color
- ½ cup (120 ml) Sour cream
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
- 2 tbsp Canola oil
- ½ tso Salt
- ½ tsp Pepper
Grind to a Paste
- 1 medium Onion ½ cup chopped
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 2 tbsp Ginger
- ¼ cup Cilantro leaves
- 5 Curry leaves
- 2 tsp Red chilly powder Cayenne (med or hot)
- 1 tsp Sweet Paprika for color
- 2 tbsp Coriander powder
- 1 tsp Cumin powder
- ½ tsp Turmeric powder
- ½ tsp Garam masala
Instructions
Prepare
- Grind all the ingredients for the paste in a blender - set aside
- Clean, wash and chop the chicken.
- Season with salt pepper and lemon juice - and set aside.
- Add all the paste ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth.
Cook the curry
- Heat oil in a saute pan large enough for the whole recipe.
- Add the ground paste and cook on medium for about 3 minutes.
- If necessary add a few tablespoons of water to prevent the spices from burning.
- You will know the spices are cooked when you get a nice aroma in the house.
- Next, add the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir well.
- Add the chicken pieces and coat well with the mixture.
- Add one cup of water and stir.
- Cook for about 8 to 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked.
- Add sour cream and stir well.
- Check and adjust seasoning.
- Sprinkle with more chopped cilantro before you serve.
Equipment
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
What do you serve with Indian Chicken Curry?
This curry goes well with any Indian bread, such as chapati or naan. Our family's favorite is garlic butter naan or vegetable pilaf. And when I'm looking for a low carb option, I eat cauliflower rice. Since the no-fuss cauliflower rice works great for me in place of steamed rice. My kids also love the turmeric cauliflower rice or my mustard dill cauliflower rice.
Jasmin
I made this recipe vegetarian with butternut squash and chickpeas instead of chicken and it was really great.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Jasmin. I am so happy to hear that
Rajan N
Although the claim of "15 minutes chicken curry" was rather optimistic, the dish itself turned out to be amazingly tasty! I skipped the tomato paste ('just for colour'), because the tomatoes we get where I live (outskirts of Pune, India) aren't red enough, and tend to be a little tangy.
I used black salt (kaala namak) instead of the usual white sea salt. I believe that gave the flavour an additional exotic twist.
Hats off to you for this wonderful recipe!
Veena Azmanov
Hey Rajan. The 15 minutes refers to cooking. Depending on how quickly you work you may need a few more minutes for preparation.
If you use chicken breast it cooks in 6 to 8 minutes - if you use chicken thighs or legs these usually take about 12 to 15 minutes. Overcooking chicken can give you very tough meat.
Happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. I love using fresh tomatoes too - I bet it was delicious.
Thanks for coming back to write this feedback.
Hrelate
Yummy taste it has! Last night, I made Chicken curry using the ingredients that you have mentioned here. And everyone liked it very much!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Hrelate
Dawn Kragelund
Just made this in my own way but I'm confused about sweet hot paprika? I don't see paprika on ingredient list. I do see the soaked red peppers. I just skipped this all together. Just curious if I missed something. Thanks! House smells heavenly....... and everyones anxiously awaiting when I say dinners done 🙂
Veena Azmanov
Hey Dawn. Thanks - happy you are enjoying this recipe. The red chili powoder are also called paprika here. You can use cayenne or any red chili you like.
Dawn Kragelund
Thanks! It turned out fantastic! I cook hungarian food with paprika so I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something. I do see a lot of cayenne in Indian and British Curries so that makes sense to me :). I could see using hot paprika for that heat and color. I tend to leave any heat out of my curries so my kids will eat it. I know I drive them crazy with the smells, lol. When's dinner ready?
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Dawn. So happy you enjoyed my Indian curry. It really is very easy, isn't it? As I said in the post paprika is great to add that color to the curry. While cayenne makes it spicy which my kids can't handle either. Thanks for coming back to write this feedback. Have a wonderful day
Jaimi
I loved the recipe and would make it again. I just had one question, you said the onion should be chopped, but never said when to add them when cooking. Do I make a paste with it with all the spices or add it after cooking the spices.
Veena Azmanov
Hey Jaimi, So happy you enjoyed this recipe and will be making it again. Yes, the onions are included in the paste ingredients and then it says - add all the paste ingredients to the food processor. So they get ground in the chilies, ginger garlic etc. I hope that makes it clear. Thanks for coming back to write this feedback.
Suzan
Thanks for this clarification. I am not used to cooking and am not knowledgable of many cooking techniques. I was very confused when the recipe said to add all 'paste' ingredients but there was no separate instruction for making the paste or what are the ingredients that go into the paste!
Veena Azmanov
Sorry to hear that Susan. But it is very clearly mentioned in the recipe. In fact, I even listed the ingredients under the section - grind to a paste.