Coconut Chicken Curry - quick, easy, fabulous

5 from 21 votes

Coconut Chicken Curry - quick, easy, fabulous

Recipe video above. This Coconut Chicken Curry proves you don’t need a long list of spices or a jar of curry paste to make a truly Indian-tasting curry - just 3 simple spices and very little effort. Tastes like a coconut-y Rogan Josh! I love that it's made from scratch rather than using a jar of paste.

I've used chickpeas to fill this out and add a nice nutty crunch just by opening a can, but you could use diced potatoes instead. Stirring in a handful of spinach at the end wouldn't go astray either.

Bonus - It makes a good amount so there's enough for lunch tomorrow.

Spice level - None. Feel free to add some with cayenne pepper or using a HOT curry powder!

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Course: Mains

Cuisine: Indian, Western

Keyword: Coconut Chicken Curry, easy chicken curry

Servings: - 7 people

Calories: 479cal

Author: Nagi

Ingredients

2 tbsp unrefined coconut oil (virgin), ie coconut flavoured, or butter, ghee, or any cooking oil you want (Note 1)
500 g/1lb boneless chicken thighs , cut into ~2cm / 0.8" pieces (Note 2)
1 large onion , diced
1 1/2 tbsp garlic , finely grated using a microplane (~6 large cloves)
1 1/2 tbsp ginger , finely grated using a microplane
2 1/2 tbsp curry powder , mild - just regular ones like Clives, Keens (feel free to use HOT for spicy!)
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 1/2 cups chicken stock/broth , low sodium
400g / 14oz coconut cream (substitute coconut milk), full fat (Note 3)
400g / 14oz can chickpeas , drained
1 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (halve for table salt, double for flakes)

Serving:

Plain yogurt , slightly thinned with water to make it drizzle-able
Coriander leaves (cilantro) , roughly chopped, recommended
Basmati rice (you'll need to cook 3 cups rice grains to make enough) or other rice of choice
Naan , optional

Cups - Metric

Instructions

ABBREVIATED

Melt oil, sauté onion, then garlic and ginger. Toast spices, then tomato paste, coat chicken. Reduce chicken stock by half (5 min), then add coconut, chickpeas and salt. Simmer rapidly 8 min, stand 5 min then serve over rice.

FULL RECIPE

Sauté - Melt the coconut oil in a large pot over medium high heat (or a large deep skillet). Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and ginger, stir constantly for 30 seconds (scrape base if it starts to stick).
Toast spices - Add the curry powder, turmeric and cumin. Stir for 15 seconds, taking care to make sure it doesn't stick and burn on base (if it does, add splash of water).
Coat chicken - Add tomato paste and stir to coat all the onion, then add the chicken and stir to coat.
Reduce chicken stock 5 minutes - Add the chicken stock, stir well, then once it starts bubbling, simmer rapidly for 5 minutes to reduce the liquid, stirring once in a while (adjust heat as needed, we want rapid bubbles - this is a speedy recipe remember!).
Simmer 8 minutes - Add the coconut cream, chickpeas and salt. Stir well, bring back up to a simmer then simmer rapidly for 8 minutes, stirring every now and then. The sauce should be creamy but a little thinner than you'd expect.
Serve - Remove the pot from the stove and leave to cool for 5 minutes, during which time the sauce will thicken a bit more. Serve over basmati rice with a drizzle of yogurt and sprinkle of fresh coriander. I wouldn't say not to a warm naan or flatbread either. :)

Notes

1. Coconut oil - Use unrefined (virgin) coconut oil which has a natural coconut aroma and taste, as it adds to the coconut flavour we're going for here! They are in jars, solid at room temperature then melts when heated (like butter). The other type is refined coconut oil which doesn't have coconut flavour but is better for high-heat cooking.

2. Chicken breast - If using breast instead, add it in with the coconut cream to prevent it from overcooking.

3. Coconut cream rather than milk gives this curry sauce a creamier, thicker finish without having to reduce the sauce for longer, plus it's got a stronger coconut flavour. But, this recipe works just fine with coconut milk as well! Full fat either way please - low fat is much thinner (you can thicken with a cornflour slurry - mix 1 tbsp cornflour with 2 tbsp water and add as much as required at the end, to make the sauce thicken).

Leftovers will keep for 3 - 4 days in the fridge or freezer for 3 months. This is the sort of meal we make at our food bank RecipeTin Meals - we put rice on one side of a container, the curry on the other, top with yogurt and chopped coriander. Fully cool, lid on, freeze. Thaw and reheat.

Nutrition per serving assuming 5 generous servings, excludes rice.

Nutrition