When I’m craving Indian curry at home, this chicken curry recipe is where I turn! Think deeply flavorful, tender chicken swimming in a thick, creamy curry sauce so irresistible that everyone will beg for the recipe.
One of my earliest food memories is eating out with my Mom and Dad at a local Indian restaurant, and I’ve been obsessed ever since. This intensely flavorful chicken curry, featuring yogurt and cream, is inspired by a traditional Indian dish called Malai wali murghi, or chicken with cream.
It’s also not spicy (unless you want it to be!), and you’ll fall in love with the incredible creamy sauce. We intentionally make sure there’s enough of it so you have plenty for serving over rice or scooping up with flatbread like naan or my homemade flatbread. For a Thai-inspired curry, see our yellow chicken curry!
Key Ingredients
- Chicken: In our video, we use boneless, skinless chicken thighs, but chicken breasts or bone-in pieces work just as well.
- Spices: We marinate our chicken in a mixture of salt, cumin, coriander, turmeric, black pepper, and cayenne. While 20 minutes is plenty, you can let the chicken sit with the spices in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
- Onion, Garlic, and Ginger: One of our favorite tricks learned from Indian cuisine is to puree fresh garlic, ginger, onion, and water before cooking the puree in oil or ghee. This flavorful base adds so much to our chicken curry. Fresh ginger lasts at least a week in the fridge so don’t worry about wasting it. We love to juice leftover ginger (like in these ginger shots) or use it to make this spicy garlic ginger edamame!
- Oil or Ghee: I love the flavor of ghee in this curry, but you can use oil if that’s what you have. Ghee is a clarified butter with a higher smoke point and shelf life, adding a lovely toasted butter flavor.
- Tomato Paste: Tomato paste adds a rich flavor to our curry. We love using the double-concentrated tubes because you can save any leftovers for another recipe.
- Yogurt and Cream: Don’t lighten up this curry with lower-fat options! Plain whole milk yogurt and heavy cream make this sauce rich and mouth-watering. It’s worth it, trust me! The yogurt helps tenderize the chicken, and the cream balances all the spices.
- Garam Masala: Some of the most delicious curry recipes we’ve tried, stir in Garam Masala in the last few minutes of cooking to preserve its aroma and flavor. We do the same in our chicken curry, adding it with the cream during the final 5 minutes. Garam Masala is a warm, sweet Indian spice blend that differs regionally and from home to home. I have a few in my spice cabinet!
How to Make the Best Chicken Curry
First, don’t let that ingredient list scare you. I realize it might seem long, but I bet you have almost everything you need already.
For the best flavor, marinate your chicken with the spices. If you are in a rush, you can do this for as little as 20 minutes, or leave the chicken for up to 24 hours in the fridge. It’s up to you!
Then, the secret to the most delicious curry sauce is an aromatic base of pureed onion, garlic, and ginger in a food processor (or blender). This adds so much flavor and helps to thicken our curry.
Finally, you’ll round out the sauce with tomato paste and yogurt. And last, but not least, cream and garam masala right at the end before serving. I cannot wait for you to try this curry. It’s genuinely one of my favorite dishes!!
Our Favorite Chicken Curry
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
This Indian chicken curry recipe is rich, creamy and saucy. Serve it with rice (try coconut rice) or naan bread so that you have something to pick up all of the creamy sauce. We do not recommend substituting the yogurt or cream in this recipe since they add richness and flavor to the sauce.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or chicken breast
1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional for heat, add an extra 1/4 teaspoon for medium-spicy
6 medium cloves garlic, peeled
A 1-inch cube of fresh ginger, peeled
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
1 ½ cups water
3 tablespoons vegetable oil or use ghee
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 tablespoons full-fat plain unsweetened yogurt
1 teaspoon Garam Masala, see notes
3 tablespoons heavy cream
Handful of cilantro leaves, chopped, optional for serving
Directions
- Marinate the Chicken
1Prepare the chicken: Cut the chicken into 1-inch pieces and add them to a bowl. You can leave the chicken whole if you prefer or if you are using bone-in pieces.
2Make marinade: Scatter 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander, 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and optional cayenne pepper over the chicken. Toss well and set aside to marinate for at least 20 minutes.
3Make ahead: The chicken can be left to marinate for up to 24 hours; it should be covered and stored in the refrigerator.
- Make Curry
1Blend the aromatics: Add garlic, ginger, onion, and 1/2 cup of water to a blender or food processor. Blend until mostly smooth. You can also use an immersion blender with a cup attachment.
2Brown the chicken: Heat the oil or ghee in a wide skillet (with a lid) over medium-high heat. Arrange the marinated chicken in the pan in one layer and brown on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the pan and place the skillet back on the heat.
3Cook the aromatics: Add the onion-ginger mixture and cook, stirring often, until all the water evaporates, about 5 minutes.
4Stir in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon coriander, and 1/4 teaspoon turmeric over the onion-ginger mixture and cook for about 20 seconds. Stir in 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, turn the heat down to medium-low, and cook another minute.
5Add the yogurt: Add the yogurt, a tablespoon at a time, stirring it into the sauce before adding any more. Adding the yogurt slowly prevents it from curdling.
6Simmer the chicken: Return the chicken pieces and any accumulated juices to the pan, along with the remaining 1 cup of water and 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer, and cover with a lid. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
7To finish: Remove the lid and stir in the Garam Masala and cream. Taste the sauce and add the final 1/4 teaspoon of salt if you feel that it is needed (we almost always add it). Turn the heat back to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced and thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve with fresh cilantro scattered on top.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Leftover curry can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Make-ahead tips: The chicken can be left to marinate in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
- Bone-in chicken: Use about 3 pounds. There is no need to de-bone or cut the chicken. You can make the chicken with whole chicken pieces and should not need to adjust the recipe since the simmer time should still be enough to cook the chicken until tender.
- Garam Masala: A warm, sweet spice blend that differs regionally and from home to home. The mix typically includes cardamon, cumin, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. The Garam Masala is added towards the end of cooking so that the spices perfume every bite. You can buy or make the blend. We especially enjoy this one from The Spice House.
- Ghee: A type of clarified butter popular in Indian cuisine. Butter is cooked until the milk solids separate and turn toasty brown. The butter is then strained. Ghee has a higher smoke point and longer shelf life than regular butter. You can make ghee at home or buy it.
- Recipe inspired by Madhur Jaffrey’s recipe for Malai wali murghi (Chicken with cream)
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Outstanding! We used extra greek yogurt to replace the cream. Easy to make and absolutely delicious, this is our favourite curry recipe.
Yay! We are thrilled that you love it 🙂
The recipe was super easy to make, love the flavors, really a keeper. I will next time add a stronger curry powder with as hubby prefers it hot!
Thank you Adam and Joanne
You are very welcome! Glad you enjoyed the curry 🙂