Indian Coconut Chicken Curry

Indian spices bring layers of flavor to this coconut chicken curry dish that's easily prepared in 1 pan in just under 1 hour.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 35 mins
• Total Time: 50 mins
• Calories: 261 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup water, or as needed
• 1 pinch asafoetida powder
• 1 large bay leaf
• 1 pinch garam masala
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, or more as needed
• 1 large onion, finely sliced
• 1 dried red chile, broken in half, or more to taste
• 3 fresh curry leaves, or more to taste
• 0.5 teaspoon ground coriander
• 0.5 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 0.25 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 0.5 teaspoon chili powder, or more to taste
• 0.5 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
• 1.25 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into large pieces
• 0.5 teaspoon tamarind paste, or more to taste

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a large, deep pan. Stir in mustard seeds and cook until seeds have been sputtering for 20 seconds; add cumin seeds. Stir in red chile and asafoetida. Add onion and fry for 2 minutes. Add garlic, bay leaf, ginger, and turmeric powder and cook for 2 minutes more. Stir in curry leaves, chili powder, and black pepper and cook until onions are golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes.

Step 2

Add chicken to the pan and fry until almost cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in coriander powder and mix well. Pour in coconut milk; bring to a boil. Add tamarind paste and salt; mix well. Add garam masala; reduce heat and let simmer, adding water as necessary, until curry reaches desired consistency and chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 10 minutes more.