Quick and Easy Indian Chicken Curry in 15 minutes
Quick and Easy Indian Chicken Curry in 15 Minutes
This quick and easy Indian Chicken Curry is a real treat. Made with exotic Indian spices like cumin, coriander and garam masala with added zing from tomato paste and sour cream and the gorgeous color from sweet hot paprika.

Quick and Easy Indian Chicken Curry in 15 minutes
The best part? This curry takes only 15 minutes to cook and taste absolutely heavenly when served over steamed rice or Indian bread like chapati or naan.
I bet you saw the short video I shared on my Instagram story – about this recipe? I know it was so gorgeous! Everybody kept asking about the color!!
We love chicken curry! It’s probably one that my kids never ever complain. If you ever ask them what they want for lunch they’ll usually say – Indian Chicken Curry with Chapati.
And don’t been fooled by the color! It’s not spicy at all. My kids are 8 and 10 and if they can enjoy this you can. I use sweet paprika so I still get the rich red color but not all the heat. We love the nice rich red color for our Indian chicken curry – right?

Quick and Easy Indian Chicken Curry in 15 minutes
Let’s talk ingredients and Substitutes
- Chicken – you can use breast of course. I always use thighs. I think it’s more juicy and tender than breast meat.
- Tomato paste – I like using a little big of paste for the color and thickness it adds but you can totally omit it as well.
- Sour Cream– I like sour cream in this but again if you prefer you can add yogurt as well.
- Spice Mix – Almost everyone has these common spices because they are used in most Indian or Middle Eastern dishes. If you don’t have these you can substitute the powders in the recipe with 2 tbsp of Curry Powder.

Quick and Easy Indian Chicken Curry in 15 minutes
Quick and Easy Indian Chicken Curry in 15 minutes
Ingredients
- Boneless chicken – 800 grams boneless
- Tomato – 1 medium chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- Tomato – 1 tbsp (mostly for color)
- Sour cream – 1/2 cup
- Lemon juice – 1 tbsp
- Canola oil – 2 tbsp
- Salt and pepper to taste
Grind to a Paste
- Onion – 1 medium (1/2 cup chopped)
- Garlic – 4 medium cloves
- Ginger – 2 inch piece
- Cilantro leaves- 1/4 cup
- Red chili peppers – 3 large – (sweet or hot)
- Curry leaves – 5 nos.
- Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
- Cumin powder – 1/2 tbsp
- Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
- Garam masala – 1/2 tsp
Method:
Prepare
- Soak red chilies in hot water for 2 to 3 minutes. (to soften them)
- Clean, wash and chop chicken
- Season with salt pepper and lemon juice – set aside.
- Add all the paste ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth.
Cook 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 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.
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Quick and Easy Indian Chicken Curry in 15 minutes
Recipe Card – Quick and Easy Indian Chicken Curry in 15 minutes
Quick and Easy Indian Chicken Curry in 15 Minutes
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 8 servings
This quick and easy Indian Chicken Curry is a real treat. Made with exotic Indian spices like cumin, coriander and garam masala with added zing from tomato paste and sour cream and the gorgeous color from sweet hot paprika.
Ingredients
- Boneless Chicken - 800 grams boneless
- Tomato - 1 medium chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- Tomato - 1 tbsp (mostly for color)
- Sour Cream - 1/2 cup
- Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
- Canola Oil - 2 tbsp
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Grind to a Paste
- Onion - 1 medium (1/2 cup chopped)
- Garlic - 4 medium cloves
- Ginger - 2 inch piece
- Cilantro leavs- 1/4 cup
- Red chili peppers - 3 large - (sweet or hot)
- Curry leaves - 5 nos.
- Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
- Cumin powder - 1/2 tbsp
- Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
- Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Instructions
Prepare
- Soak red chilies in hot water for 2 to 3 minutes. (to soften them)
- Clean, wash and chop chicken
- Season with salt pepper and lemon juice - set aside.
- Add all the paste ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth.
Cook 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 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.
Courses Lunch, Dinner
Cuisine Indian
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 174 g
Amount Per Serving | ||
---|---|---|
Calories 194 | ||
% Daily Value | ||
Total Fat 7.9 g | 12% | |
Saturated Fat 1.8 g | 9% | |
Unsaturated Fat 6.1 g | ||
Cholesterol 78 mg | 26% | |
Sodium 81 mg | 3% | |
Total Carbohydrates 6.2 g | 2% | |
Dietary Fiber 1.1 g | 4% | |
Sugars 2.1 g | ||
Protein 23.9 g | 48% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Do you love Indian Food? Well then you must check out some of my other Indian recipes from slow cooked curries to quick and easy as well as Indian Biryani and desserts

A Collection of Modern Indian Recipes by Veena Azmanov

This looks delicious!
Thanks Jessica
Oh, yum! Been craving a recipe like this. Love how easy it looks!
Thanks Christine
I love Indian curry and can’t believe something that looks this good took only 15 minutes to make! Brilliant! Will definitely be trying this 🙂
You will be surprised Michelle. It’s really a simple and easy recipe. Indian curry can really take only 15 mins.
I had no idea chicken curry could be made so quickly! This is a perfect weeknight meal.
Absolutely Abby. It’s really simple and easy
I love Indian food – it’s incredible that you can get all that flavor in just 15 minutes!
Absolutely Ashley and it’s so easy to make too.
I love curry especially during the Winter. Delicious!
Thanks Erin.
Lovely! I’ve been wanting to try more Indian cooking at home, and a super fast dish like this would be a great entree!
Absolutely Monica. Love something like this on busy weekday cooking You must try it.
Yum! I just love Indian food! I dont’ eat meat, but I would make this sauce and put something vegetarian in it for sure! Looks delicious!
Oh this would be perfect with any vegetables too Kate.
Your pictures made me drool! Amazing recipe and lovely clicks.Love all the flavors in here.
Thank you Prasanna.
Absolutely delighted to see this lovely collection of indian delicacies. This chicken curry recipe looks simple but so inviting and rich that am going to surely try this out.
Thank you Aditi. Please do.. and let me know what you think. Thanks
I love chicken curry, but it takes too long to make. It’s so great that you have a quick and easy version that I could try on a week night. Looks great too 🙂
This one is really easy Cheryl. It’s quick and easy. If you prepare rice simultaneously it a perfect lunch.
I love curry, and I love that his recipe is so simple and is ready in such a short time. I can’t wait to try this one.
Than you so much Patti! I do hope you try it.
I love curry, and I love that this recipe only takes 15 minutes to prepare. I agree with you about using thighs. They ARE so much more flavorful; plus, they usually cost less than breasts.
Absolutely Patti. Really simple and easy to make recipe. You will love it. So true thigh do cost less than breast. I’m not really a big fan of breast in curries
I absolutely love Indian curry, but I’ve never made it on my own before. This recipe looks wonderful and simple enough for me to try for my first time. Bookmarking this!
Oh you must try Dominique – It’s really easy to make at home especially with all these spices so easily available. This ones real simple. Let me know if you have any questions.
Just tried this recipe today and I have to say its so simple and it came out pretty delicious too.. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes 🙂 Good job !
Thank you so much Kirthania!! So happy to hear you loved it. Thanks so much for the feed back.