OK - this is actually BEEF curry. I’ll update the picture the next time I make chicken curry. ;)
Table of Contents
Description | Ingredients | Method | Nutritional Info | Notes And OptionsJP’s Curry Recipe (Chicken Variations)
Curry has always been part of the background hum of my life. Growing up Mauritian meant Indian cuisine was never far from the table, and when it came to curry, my parents, aunts, and uncles all had their own way of making it, each with little tweaks that made their version distinct. I never had a recipe passed down directly, though. My own attempts started as a bit of detective work, trying to recreate flavours from memory, fumbling around with store-bought curry powders, and slowly refining until I found something that felt right. Over the years I’ve shifted from those pre-made mixes to building my own blend of spices, experimenting, adjusting, and learning from each pot.
It’s worth pausing on the word “curry” itself. According to Wikipedia:
“The word curry is derived from Dravidian kari in languages such as Middle Tamil. The Oxford Dictionaries suggest an origin specifically from Tamil. Other Dravidian languages, namely Malayalam (kari, "hot condiments; meats, vegetables"), Middle Kannada, Kodava, and Telugu have similar words. Kaṟi is described in a 17th-century Portuguese cookbook, based on trade with Tamil merchants along the Coromandel Coast of southeast India, becoming known as a "spice blend ... called kari podi or curry powder". The first appearance in its anglicised form (spelt currey) was in Hannah Glasse's 1747 book The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy.”
The English word "curry" now covers a staggering range of food traditions. There are the fiery vindaloos and spiced chettinadus of India, just two among MANY different variants, with each region having its own set of rules and flavour fingerprints. The Indian diaspora carried those influences abroad, shaping the rich curries of the Caribbean and Africa (and Mauritius of course!) There are curries from neighbouring Pakistan and similar dishes throughout the Middle East. And then there’s Southeast Asia, where Thai, Malaysian, Singaporean, Indonesian and other cuisines all express their own deeply distinct profiles. You’ll also find curries in the repertoire of some Chinese and Japanese cuisines. Wherever you find it, even within the same city, you’ll find that no two cooks make theirs exactly the same. That’s the beauty of curry: it’s endlessly adaptable, personal, and fiercely local, all at once.
All that to say that my recipe is just that: my own variation, mostly based on the flavours I remember growing up with, but with my own unique twists. Grated / minced onion rather than diced (influenced by my experimenting with Moroccan tagines), tomato paste and lime juice as part of the flavour base as a substitute for the tamarind I used to use to make it more easily accessible with ingredients from most grocery stores, my own blend of ground and whole spices, and of course options…LOTS of options! So many, in fact, that I’ve had to make this one recipe into four separate variations so it doesn’t get too muddled up.
Here are links to the other variations in case you want those instead:
This chicken variation is the second most frequently made around my home, usually with boneless, skinless chicken breast for an even leaner option than the lean cuts of beef I use. This requires some different timing than beef, lamb or even chicken thighs, because the chicken breast pieces can become dried out and stringy very easily. Pay special note to the different instructions for chicken breast in the “Method” section below.
NOTE: this recipe makes a BIG batch of curry, with 1.5 kg / 3 pounds of chicken. In theory, this is about 12 servings. The recipe scales really well if you want to make a smaller batch (I.E. for half the quantity, just divide everything by half), but you’ll eventually end up making big batches so you have more to enjoy…trust me - LOL!
Ingredients (Makes 12 Servings)
1.5 kg / 3 pounds boneless chicken cut into 2 cm / 3/4” cubes
1-1/2 tsp fine sea salt
2 TBSP vegetable oil or ghee
2 cups onion (grated or finely chopped; about 1 large onion)
8 cloves garlic (minced; about 2-1/2 tablespoons)
Equivalent amount of ginger (minced; about 2-1/2 tablespoons)
1 small can (156 ml / 5.5 oz) tomato paste
1x 2” long cinnamon stick
1 TBSP cumin seeds
3 black cardamom pods
2 TBSP garam masala
1 TBSP turmeric
3 TBSP ground cumin
1 TBSP ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/2 cup fat-free Greek yogurt or Skyr
Juice of 1 lime
Method
NOTE: There are certain steps with different instructions depending on whether you’re preparing this with chicken thighs, chicken breast or prawns.
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F / 190 degrees C
Pre-salt / dry brine chicken with 1-1/2 tsp fine sea salt for 15-30 minutes for best flavour
Cook onion in vegetable oil or ghee in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed stock pot over medium-high heat until it begins to brown (about 5 minutes or so)
Add whole spices, mix and toast for 1-2 minutes
Add garlic and ginger and cook for another 1 minute
Add tomato paste and ground spices and mix well
Add yogurt and mix well until fully combined
For Chicken Thighs: Add the meat to the mixture now and mix well until thoroughly coated
For Chicken Thighs: Add cold water until level with the chicken mixture and mix until combined -OR- For Chicken Breast: Add 3-4 cups of cold water and mix until combined
Heat until just starting to bubble, stirring frequently
Cover and transfer to oven
For Chicken Thighs: Cook for 45-60 minutes, until chicken is fully cooked and tender -OR- For Chicken Breast: Cook for 30-45 minutes
For Chicken Breast: When there is about 25 minutes cook time left for the sauce, brown off the chicken pieces in a non-stick frying pan, then transfer to the sauce, mix well and cook for the remaining time
Add lime juice, mix well, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper
Serve and enjoy!
Nutritional Info
(Using Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast)
Total Recipe (12 Servings)
Calories: ~ 3,240‑3,380 kcal
Protein: ~ 315‑345 g → ~ 1,260‑1,380 kcal → ~ 38‑41% of total calories
Fat: ~ 90‑105 g → ~ 810‑945 kcal → ~ 25‑28% of total calories
Total Carbohydrate: ~ 75 g
Fiber: ~ 13 g
Net Carbohydrate: ~ 62 g → ~ 250 kcal → ~ 7‑8% of total calories
Per Serving (1 of 12 Servings)
Calories: ~ 270‑285 kcal
Protein: ~ 26‑29 g → ~ 105‑115 kcal → ~ 38‑41% of calories
Palm‑size portions of protein: ~ 1–1.5 palms
Fat: ~ 7.5‑8.75 g → ~ 67‑79 kcal → ~ 25‑28% of calories
Thumb‑size portions of fat: ~ 0.5–1 thumbs
Total Carbohydrate: ~ 6.25 g
Fiber: ~ 1.1 g
% of RDI: Women under 50 ≈ 4‑5%; Men under 50 ≈ 3‑4%; Women over 50 ≈ 5%; Men over 50 ≈ 4%
Net Carbohydrate: ~ 5.2 g → ~ 21 kcal → ~ 7‑8% of calories
Cupped‑palm portions of net carbs: ~ 0.25 palms
Fist‑sized portions of non‑starchy vegetables: ~ 0.25 portions (from onion content)
This nutritional analysis is an estimate only, based on available knowledge regarding the nutritional content of the individual ingredients. Nutritional content of foods is HIGHLY variable, so you should always base your dietary intake on whether it meets your needs and progresses you towards your goals rather than any theoretical numbers on paper.
Notes and Options
If you like, serve the curry over rice or with your favourite Indian flatbread alongside! I love chapati roti, while my wife and kids tend to prefer tandoori naan.
The nutrition info above was calculated using boneless, skinless chicken breast. If you use boneless, skinless thighs, or bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces (which I know some of my family prefer), you will get a richer flavour, but with measurably greater fat content to go with it.
If you use bone-in chicken pieces, use the instructions for chicken thighs above, and increase the total cooking time in the oven to 60-75 minutes, or until the chicken pieces are fully cooked.
If you want to get a richer, more chicken-y flavour to the sauce while still using boneless, skinless chicken breast, instead of just water for the sauce, use a half-and-half mixture of chicken broth and water instead. This isn’t needed with the chicken thighs or bone-in pieces because they spend more time cooking in the sauce and transfer more of their flavour to it while doing so.
A note on spices:
If you like your curry spicy, double the cayenne pepper OR throw in a couple of whole, fresh chilies. This recipe is intentionally a bit mild to allow for the “baby tongues” of some of my immediate family…LOL.
If you prefer to use a store-bought curry powder mixture rather than buying all the individual ground spices and blending your own, that’s totally OK - just make sure it’s fresh. No stale curry powder that’s lived in your pantry for years! You can substitute 6 TBSP total curry powder (2 TBSP per 500 g / 1 pound of meat) for ALL the dry / ground spices.
You can also omit the whole spices if you like. The smoky flavour of black cardamom is not some people’s favourite, and I just like the cumin seeds for the little pops of cumin-y flavour they add - they’re not crucial. The cinnamon however, does add a specific flavour to the finished dish. If you don’t have cinnamon sticks on hand, you can substitute 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.
Feel free to tweak this to your preferences. If you prefer less cumin, and more turmeric or coriander? Have at it. If you want to go more Caribbean in flavour profile, drop the cardamom and cinnamon and add some allspice. The spice blend is how you make your curry your own!
If you want or need to avoid dairy (or are just looking for a different flavour), you can substitute tinned, unsweetened coconut milk / coconut cream for the Greek yogurt (NOT coconut milk from a carton - it’s not rich enough). It won’t quite achieve the same creamy consistency with the sauce as the yogurt, but it does add a good bit of richness.
Another worthwhile substitution if you can find it easily is to use tamarind puree in place of the tomato paste and lime juice. You can sometimes find it already pureed in jars (consistency similar to tomato paste), or more frequently as a block of tamarind that you’ll need to mix with water and puree with a hand blender. Just be careful you’re not getting tamarind sauce or syrup - they just aren’t the same because they’re missing the pulp of the tamarind that contributes to the texture of the finished dish, and they have a less pleasant, more concentrated flavour.
My Mauritian family are probably looking at this recipe and asking “where are the potatoes?”
Potatoes ALWAYS featured in our family’s curry growing up, and they do really pick up the flavours of the sauce really well. They are usually my wife and kids’ favourite part of the curry, so they are often included when I make curry. However, potatoes in the curry + serving it over rice + accompanying it with chapati roti or naan…that’s just starch on starch on starch, and I’ve been trying to make this a little more physique friendly…LOL. Thus, this recipe omits them.
If you do want to include potatoes, make sure they have some flesh exposed (I.E. if you’re using baby potatoes, cut them in half; regular potatoes I usually go in quarters), add them in (raw) to the mixture in step 8, and make sure the water level in step 9 just covers the contents of the pot (rather than being just below level with meat only)
You may wonder what the tomatoey stuff accompanying the curry in the photo is. That’s another lifelong staple of curry dinners in my family, a fresh tomato chutney. This exact same mixture is also known in Mexican cuisine as a salsa fresca or pico de gallo. Onion, tomatoes and cilantro, tossed with lime juice and sea salt, adds a fresh brightness to a portion of curry. Of course, my Mauritian family would also throw some chopped up fresh chilies in there to make things extra spicy!