The Ultimate Chicken Curry Recipe – Latif's Inspired

Step 1: Prepare Aromatics for Curry Paste

Dice 2 white onions, finely chop a thumbnail-sized piece of ginger, and finely chop 7 cloves of garlic. Set these aside for the curry paste.

Step 2: Prepare Garnish Ingredients

Slice 1 red onion into thick rings and julienne a thumbnail-sized piece of ginger. Set these aside for garnish.

Step 3: Prepare Tomatoes

Dice 2 tomatoes and set aside.

Step 4: Marinate Chicken

In a bowl, add 500g chicken thighs, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder, 1 tsp ground turmeric powder, and 1 tbsp mustard oil. Mix well until the chicken is evenly coated. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Step 5: Fry Garnish Onions and Ginger

Heat 1 cup cooking oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the sliced red onions and fry until golden brown. Remove and set aside. Add the julienned ginger to the remaining hot oil and fry for about 2 minutes until slightly golden and fragrant. Remove and set aside with the onions.

Step 6: Fry Marinated Chicken

Add the marinated chicken to the same oil in the pan. Fry for 5 minutes on one side until lightly browned. Flip the chicken pieces and fry for another 5 minutes on the other side. The chicken should be cooked through and have a crispy texture. Remove the fried chicken from the pan and set aside on a plate.

Step 7: Prepare Curry Paste Base

Turn off the gas and carefully pour out most of the oil, leaving about 6 tbsp of the flavored oil in the pan. Turn the gas back on to medium-high heat. Add the diced white onions, chopped ginger, and chopped garlic. Add 1 tsp salt. Stir and cook until onions are softened and translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add 5-6 whole green chilies. Deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup hot water, scraping any browned bits from the bottom. Cook until the liquid reduces and the onions are soft, about 6-8 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add 0.5 tsp ground turmeric powder, 1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder, 2 tsp ground coriander powder, 1 tsp ground cumin powder, and 1 tsp curry powder. Stir well to combine the spices with the aromatics. Add 1 tbsp tomato puree and the diced tomatoes. Increase heat to high and cook, stirring frequently, until tomatoes soften and form a paste, about 5-7 minutes. Add 1 cup hot water to help the spices and tomatoes meld. Stir well and cook until the oil separates from the mixture and the sauce thickens, about 8-10 minutes.

Step 8: Combine Chicken with Curry

Add the fried chicken pieces and any accumulated juices back into the curry paste. Stir gently to coat the chicken with the sauce. Reduce heat to medium. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, to allow the flavors to meld.

Step 9: Final Garnish and Dum

Remove the lid. Sprinkle the fried red onions and fried ginger juliennes over the curry. Sprinkle 1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi) and fresh chopped coriander over the curry. Reduce heat to the lowest setting. Cover the pan with a lid and let it sit for 4-5 minutes (dum cooking) to infuse the flavors. Turn off the heat.

Step 10: Serve

Serve the ultimate chicken curry hot with rice. Garnish with sliced green chilies.

• Marinate chicken for at least 30 minutes for best flavor.

• Frying the red onions and ginger separately adds a unique flavor and texture to the garnish.

• Deglazing the pan after frying the chicken and cooking the aromatics helps incorporate all the flavorful browned bits into the curry.

• Dum cooking at the end on low heat allows the flavors to meld and the oil to separate beautifully.

• Adjust chili powder quantity for desired spice level (Madras hot: 2.5-3 tsp, Vindaloo hot: 4-5 tsp).

• Chicken can be cooked on the bone for extra flavor, if preferred.