One of my earliest food memories is eating out with my Mom and Dad at a local Indian restaurant. Ever since, I’ve been in love with the aromas, flavors, and colors of Indian cuisine. This intensely flavorful chicken curry recipe with yogurt and cream is our attempt to bring some of those flavors and aromas into our kitchen. This chicken curry is inspired by a traditional Indian curry called Malai wali murghi, or chicken with cream. I absolutely love the creamy sauce, which we make sure you’ll have plenty of to enjoy with rice or flatbread, like naan or my quick and easy homemade flatbread.
Key Ingredients
Chicken: In our video, we use boneless, skinless chicken thighs, but chicken breasts or bone-in pieces work just as well. If you choose bone-in pieces, the simmer time should still be enough to cook the chicken. You can always add 5 to 10 minutes if it needs longer. Spices: We marinate our chicken in a mixture of salt, cumin, coriander, turmeric, black pepper, and cayenne. While 20 minutes is sufficient, you can let the chicken sit with the spices in the fridge for up to 24 hours. We call for ground spices in the recipe since that’s what most of us have available. If you have whole spices, simply grind them using a spice grinder or small coffee grinder before adding them. 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. We don’t recommend swapping the fresh garlic and ginger for dried in this recipe. 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: We prefer 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. 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 Chicken Curry
The ingredient list for this chicken curry might seem long, but I bet you have almost everything in your pantry. It’s also pretty simple to make! You’ll start by marinating the chicken with our spices. As mentioned above, 20 minutes is plenty, but you can do this up to 24 hours in advance (keep your chicken covered and in the fridge). When ready to make the curry, puree the onion, garlic, and ginger in a food processor or blender. This aromatic paste will become the base of our delicious curry and help thicken it. Brown your chicken in oil or ghee, and add the onion ginger puree. You’ll stir in more spices, tomato paste, and yogurt when the water evaporates. I add my yogurt a tablespoon at a time to prevent it from separating. (Using full-fat yogurt also helps to prevent curdling.) Simmer for 20 minutes, and then stir in Garam Masala and cream. Give it 5 minutes, then serve over rice or with some naan or homemade flatbread. For more curry recipes, try our coconut ginger vegetable curry. 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 2Scatter 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 1/4 teaspoon 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. 2Heat 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. 3Add 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 the tomato paste, turn the heat down to medium-low, and cook another minute. 5Add the yogurt, a tablespoon at a time, stirring it into the sauce before adding any more. Adding the cream slowly prevents it from curdling. 6Return 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. 7Remove 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). 8Turn 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.
