One pot easy Indian chicken curry

I made this one pot easy Indian chicken curry when I first met my husband. I had called him home for dinner and decided to cook chicken curry, which I feel is an absolute treat in wet and cold weather. The original version involves the cook standing at the hob for what feels like a whole day. But I wanted to spend time chatting and getting to know this new person I met, so I created an easy hack. I mixed all the ingredients and shoved them into the oven for two hours. It worked and since then, this has been my go-to recipe for chicken curry.

I used garam masala that I roasted and ground at home – here is the recipe. But you could use store-bought spices and garam masala mixes if that’s easier. Serve with basmati rice or chapati and for salad, mix some slices of tomato, onion and cucumber with a dash of lemon.

One pot easy Indian chicken curry

Author: Manasi Cooking Method:Baking Cuisine:Indian Courses:dinner Recipe Keys: Gluten Free N Non-vegetarian

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 30 minutesCook time:2 hours Rest time: 30 minutesTotal time:3 hours Servings:4 servingsCalories:300 kcal Best Season:Fall

Description

This chicken curry is baked and not cooked on a stovetop, as in the original Indian recipe. The taste is as good as the original, with a lot less work. You can use bone-in chicken thighs and legs, which taste much better, in my opinion, but feel free to replace them with boneless chicken breast pieces if you prefer.

Ingredients

• 1 kg chicken thighs and legs (4 pieces of each is a good mix) or cubed chicken breast
• 8 peppercorns
• 50g garam masala powder
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 6 medium-sized onions (preferably red)
• 4-cm-long piece of ginger
• 4 tbsps yoghurt (use lactose-free if required or leave out completely)
• 2 tbsps apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
• 4 tbsps of rapeseed or sunflower oil
• 2 bay leaves

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius (convection bake mode).
2. Wash the pieces of chicken and skin them, if needed. Many butcher shops offer skinned chicken, but supermarkets mostly keep skinned birds. This step won’t be necessary if you’re using chicken breast. If so, cut the pieces into 2-cm-thick cubes.
3. Peel the onions, ginger and the cloves. Pop into a blender and mix until a thick, coarse sauce results.
4. Place the chicken pieces in a large baking dish. Add the bay leaves, garam masala powder, turmeric, peppercorns, cumin seeds, lemon juice, yoghurt and vinegar, and mix everything with your hands until evenly combined.
5. Cover with aluminium foil and bake for at least 1 hour or until the chicken is done. I usually take out the baking dish from the oven and tear a bit off a piece with a fork and knife to check. If you have time, 2 hours in the oven means your chicken will be juicy and would have soaked in all the spices.
6. Let the curry rest for around half an hour before serving. Basmati rice or gluten-free chapati are perfect side dishes.

Notes

• Use store-bought garam masala for this recipe or try making your own garam masala. Click here for the recipe.

Keywords:Chicken, Dinner, Gluten-free, Indian food