You can dial the heat of this curry up even more or down to suit, but however you like it, this easy spicy chicken curry recipe makes a quick and easy midweek meal for anyone who likes a little spice in their life.
You may know that I am a self confessed chilli wimp but the same cannot be said for the rest of my family. They all like their curries hot hot hot! So to complement my mild Easy chicken curry I shared previously I'm sharing this Easy spicy chicken curry which is a lot spicer.
I almost called this recipe Will's chicken curry as this is how my son makes a curry and it is always much spicier than mine. His style of cooking has been noticeably influenced by three years with an Indian flatmate while at university.
Although he never follows a recipe closely and adapts according to what there is in the kitchen to hand, I got him to talk me through his basic recipe.
And this tasty spicy chicken curry is the result. As with many of my recipes you can adapt to suit both what you have to hand and your own tastes.
Cook's Tips
Ingredients and substitutions
Will likes the flavour that a mixture of fresh and dried chillies add to a dish, but for when he doesn't have any fresh chillies or can only get the really mild fresh chillies, he has a tube of chilli purée in the fridge as this gives the next best flavour. Ditto fresh ginger.
In this version of his curry I have used a whole large tin of tomatoes and got ticked off for doing so, as it made it too tomatoey for his liking. So if you prefer you can reduce this by half (use a small can) and increase the amount of water added to compensate for the reduced amount of liquid. A little sugar is added as this cuts through the acidity of the tomatoes.
I've used red peppers but the colour is not important.
Cooking times
Once the curry is assembled I cook it for about 30 minutes which is a good balance between keeping the dish quick to make (as is often required for midweek meals) and allowing sufficient time for the flavours to blend together.
If you are in a hurry you can reduce the final cooking time to 20 minutes. However, I think the improves if you give the flavours a little longer to blend, so if time permits you can also cook for a further 15 to 20 minutes more than the suggested time, up to 1 hour. Add a little water if the mixture starts to get dry.
If you use chicken breasts rather than thighs do not cook longer than the 30 minutes as the meat will tend to dry out.
To Serve
Serve with rice and or Naan bread or chapatis.
If you find rice tricky to get just right check out my post on how to cook basmati rice or if you prefer to eat brown rice you can cut the cooking time by cooking brown rice in a pressure cooker.
More curry recipes
For those of you who love curry, I asked my fellow food bloggers to share their favourite curry recipes.
- Lamb dhansak – A Strong Cup of Coffee
- Easy Cauliflower and lentil curry – Jo Kitchen Larder
- Chicken bhuna – Foodle Club
- Leftover lamb curry – Donna Dundas
- Butternut squash, cauliflower and chickpea curry – The Foodie Quinne
- Thai red fish curry – The Petite Cook
- Jeera chicken and chickpea curry - Joshi Cooks
- Egg Curry – The Mini Mes and mMe
- Vegetable and red lentil curry - Curly's Cooking
- Quorn curry with vegan korma sauce - Sneaky Veg
Step by step Spicy Chicken Curry
Cook the onion, pepper and garlic, Add the spices. Add the chicken. Add water and stock cube. Stir in tomatoes and tomato purée. Cover and cook.
Spicy Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 640 g chicken thigh fillets
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 onions cut into chunks
- 2 red peppers seeded and cut into chunks
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
- 1 2cm piece fresh ginger grated
- OR 1 teaspoon ginger purée
- 1 red chilli chopped or
- OR 1 -2 teaspoon chilli purée
- 150 ml water
- 1 chicken stock cube
- 400 g can chopped tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato purée
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- handful or fresh coriander chopped
- salt and pepper to tate.
Instructions
- Skin the chicken if required and cut into bite sized pieces.
- Heat the oil in a saucepan and gently fry the onions for 2 – 3 minutes until beginning to soften. Add the peppers and cook for another 2 – 3 minutes then stir in the chopped garlic.
- Stir in the garam masala,cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, dried chilli, ginger and fresh or chilli paste and stir well.
- Add the chicken pieces and stir to coat in the spice mixture and continue cooking the chicken until it has changed colour, stirring frequently.
- Stir in the water and add the stock cube. Then stir in the chopped tomatoes, tomato purée and sugar. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly then reduce the heat and simmer gently for about 30 minutes.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper, stir in the chopped coriander and serve.
Lesley Seddon says
I was looking for a warming curry on a cold day. Full of flavour, with the warmth that I was hoping for. This is a keeper !! It was a simple recipe to follow and I already had most of the ingredients.
I would happily make this curry again instead of a takeaway. Thank you.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Great news, glad you like it. Cheaper and more healthy than a takeaway too so a win win.
Rosie says
I made this curry for the first time tonight after being unwell and my oh my it was the medicine I needed. The flavours were absolutely bob on and the mixture of chilli flakes and fresh red chilli was the perfect heat which was consistent through the dish and was a zingy, tangy, tastey heat which didn't leave your mouth on fire at the end.
110% recommend!!!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
So pleased you liked it. Loved your comment it made me smile. and I hope you are now completely recovered
Tom Walker says
Made this curry tonight for me and my son.Its the best I've ever made.It had lovely flavours and a spicy kick.Will definitely be having again,much better than a takeaway.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
I'm so pleased you like it. I agree much better than a takeaway.
David Elcock says
Tried this last Saturday, we normally go out for a curry, but because of lockdown tried this, result, my wife & I absolutely loved it, doing it again this Saturday, can’t wait.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
This comment made my day and glad it made up for not being able to go out.
Ste says
I love all your recipes I’ve made this for the missus tonight my personal fav is the veg n lentil bake I get meal of the month every time I make it haha
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Hey, thats fabulous that you are getting brownie points from the misses. Pleased you both like me recipe. If you have time do give them a star rating (you can do this when leaving a comment or by clicking on the starsin the recipe card) as that tell google you like them and that they are worth showing to more people which in turn really helps me get seen. Thanks Jacqui x
Sheimar says
This was such an easy curry recipe and tasted delicious. I make quite a few homemade curries and this up there with one the best. Will definitely make again. I used the two people version and used shop bought normal red chilli but I also added a half spoon of Kashmiri chilli. Scrummy.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Thank you what a fabulous compliment. So pleased you liked it. My son was delighted to hear your comment although he claims he has refined it to make it even better.
Jade says
If there is an even better version, I would love to try it. Cooked up this one and it was absolutely delicious. Very nutritious and warming and I loved the Asian aromas that it produces when cooking. Thank you for this recipe, I highly recommend it
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
very pleased you liked it I must ask Will for his suggestions on improving.
Dave says
Made this last weekend for my wife - we both loved it - “the best ever home made curry” she’s had..... so much so that she’s asked for it again tonight.....off to the supermarket I go.. 🙂
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
What a win! I feel honoured you liked it so much. I will have to tell William you liked it too.
Carolyn says
Fantastic smell coming from the prep just now !! Looks lush - can’t wait for dinner time to eat it with some rice ! Thankyou for the recipe One question - can you freeze this and reheat it please ?
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Yes it will freeze for up to 3 months.
Monika Dabrowski says
Sounds really delicious and I love how quickly it comes together!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Thanks Monika I am being forced to like curry more and more although I still like mine mild
louise Gunstone says
Love spicy food so this is a winner. Great tips to 🙂
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Thank you Louise, glad you like it.
Veronica says
This is definitely on the menu this week. Hubby would eat curry for every meal if I let him - so I'm excited to have a new recipe to try on him.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Enjoy Veronica and do pop back and let me know if it gets hi=ubbies seal of approval.
Michelle Rolfe says
Chicken curry is one of those dishes that is made so often in my house too. Always made milder and then everyone adds as much fresh chilli or sriracha heat as they like! Thanks for linking up to #CookBlogShare. Michelle x
Jessica Cantoni says
I absolutely love the sound of this chicken curry - my sort of food! I don’t mind a bit of heat but not searing! xx
Cat | Curly's Cooking says
I love a bit of spice and over the years I have increased my spice tolerance. This sounds delicious! I wish I had gone to uni with friends that knew how to cook Indian food! I have neighbours that cook the most delicious smelling curries and so many times I've wanted to go and ask them what they're cooking!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
He was quite fussy what he ate before he went to uni now he eats so much more and loves cooking. I guess my spice tolerance is gradually creeping up too. I know what you mean abpout want to ask other what they are cooking when you walk past and get a lovely waft of cooking smells.
Chloe Edges says
I'm super excited about trying this, I've got a real craving for a hit curry - hopefully later this week!
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
I hope you like it feel free to turn the heat up as much as you like 🙂
Juanita says
I always stock chillies in the freezer so I can have fresh chilli to hand for such a recipe.
Jacqueline Bellefontaine says
Excellent idea