Resonantly fragrant with aromatic spices like ginger, black pepper, cardamom and coriander, this Garam Masala Chicken Curry is a cinch to make. It reheats like a champ. And you can even make it ahead and warm it up right before you plan to serve dinner.
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Rich with coconut milk and aromatic, warming spices, this chicken curry is both simple to make and deeply flavorful. Fresh ginger and garlic, sautéed in ghee with sweet onions, form the curry’s base while turmeric and garam masala give it a punch of deep, sweet spice. And there’s just the faintest hint of cayenne pepper for a little heat.
What spices are in Garam Masala?
Like a lot of Indian chicken recipes, the success of this curry depends heavily on its spices. Garam masala is a deeply aromatic spice mix from India. It features various Ayurvedic warming spices thought to warm the body and support digestive fire.
While precise formulations vary from one household to the next, most recipes contain some combination of various warming spices like cumin, peppercorns and cinnamon.
- Cumin has an earthy flavor and helps to support digestion.
- Black Pepper helps to support digestion and gives the curry a hint of heat.
- Black and Green Cardamom give the curry a fragrant, uplifting flavor.
- Nigella or Black Seed is a spice with an earthy flavor with peppery undertones.
- Cinnamon has a sweet, spicy aroma and helps support blood sugar balance.
- Cloves are sweet and spicy, and also good in mulled wine.
- Ginger has sweet heat and helps soothe the stomach.
- Mace comes from nutmeg and has a bright, peppery note.
Preparing Your Spices
The more diverse your spice mix, the richer your curry’s flavor will be. And I like to keep a pot of this Exotic Garam Masala spice mix in my cupboard because it contains diverse whole spices.
The moment you grind your spices, they begin to lose their flavor. So while you can use any garam masala in this recipe, I’d recommend buying or making a mix with whole spices. Then toast and grind the spices fresh right before you make the curry.
How to Make Garam Masala Chicken Curry
After preparing your garam masala, you’ll want to warm some ghee in a Dutch oven, and then toss in your chicken. Cook the chicken until it just turns opaque, and then stir in the onions. Cook them both together in the hot fat, and then toss in your spices.
Once the chicken is coated with spices, stir in some diced tomatoes and a can of coconut milk. Simmer it all together until the chicken becomes tender and the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Serve the curry over fragrant jasmine rice. And then top it with a sprinkle of chopped fresh cilantro for brightness.
Garam Masala Chicken Curry Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 large yellow onion chopped fine
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons finely grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon turmeric
- 2 tablespoons garam masala
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 cup diced tomatoes
- 2 cups coconut milk
- chopped cilantro to serve
Instructions
- Warm the ghee in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. When it melts, toss in the chopped chicken. Sauté the chicken in the hot fat until it turns opaque, and then stir in the yellow onions. Turn down the heat to medium, and sprinkle the salt over the onions. Stir frequently and allow the onions to cook in the ghee until translucent, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic, ginger, turmeric, cayenne and garam masala. Continue stirring the spices into the chicken and onions until they're completely coated. Then stir in the diced tomatoes and coconut milk.
- Simmer the sauce over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is fall-apart tender and the sauce thickens – about 20 minutes. Serve warm over rice with chopped cilantro.
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I am looking over this recipe,but don’t see where the curry comes in? What am I missing?
Hi Cathy,
By using garam masala and other spices, you don’t need to add curry powder. The dish is a curry.
Great receipt, however one comment:
If you add the coconut milk too early, it easily boils and the milk curds. If you want the coconut milk to maintain the original texture it should be one of the final ingredients to add in the dish. The actual cooking should be done by adding a bit of water.
Yummy! Best coconut curry sauce ever.
This is the first time I write reviews for a recipe even though I followed thousands of recipes online. I’m always lazy. I came across this recipe because I want to use up the 2 Ibs bag Garam Masala I bought from Costco. I tried a couple of Indian recipes online. They don’t taste very good and only use 1-2 teaspoon garam masala each time. I also don’t like that in most Indian recipes, you always need to mix up so many spices by yourself first. When I saw this recipe, I was hesitant to follow because it’s recently posted and there were only 6 ratings. I finally decided to follow since it’s the most simple Indian recipe with A LOT garam masala in it, LOL. It tastes so great! My husband and two boys finished all of them! Don’t hesitate and try it!
Hi. Tried this today and like it. However, I think I’ll cut back to a teaspoon of salt & eliminate the cayenne ( I have trouble with hotter spices). Just personal preferences. Will make again. Thanks for the recipes.
Wow this recipe was fantastic! I doubled everything except the coconut milk, onion, and salt and added some hunks of cream cheese as well (cooking keto).
I had nice little old Indian ladies bring me curry they made at home for me to try and since than I was hooked. I made those “easy pre-packaged curries ” the ones you add the meat and follow the instructions but nothing compares to the real thing. I looked online for a recipe and there was so many I finally picked this one and I’m so happy I did. It’s so delicious! And easy to make. The only difference I made was adding 1/4 teaspoon of extra hot chilli powder I bought from the Indian market but other than that I stuck with it. Delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
I was sad to see this had been updated and altered so much – I loved the old recipe and referred back to it often. Would it be possible to please post the old version somewhere? My family loved the apple and I much preferred the old measurements which were so much simpler easier for the home cook (eg. 3 tomatoes instead of a cup of diced tomato).
I will try this one but the old version was such a firm family favourite it’s hard to go past it
Hi Courtney!
I think you’ll really like this version if you try it. But you can find the original version on the wayback machine: https://web.archive.org/web/20180313132733/http://nourishedkitchen.com/garam-masala-chicken-curry.
Thank you so much! We will certainly try both 🙌🏽 I often made the old one without chicken and just with mixed veggies as we eat mostly vegetarian.
Wow! Utterly delicious recipe!
I LOVE curries and love cooking them too! I was a bit apprehensive about adding the apple. Could this be optional? Thanks for the recipe. Sundays dinner is organized!
Oh my, this was sooooo good. I purchased some garam masala recently and then went looking for recipes… I’m so glad I saw yours! This is one I’ll make again and again.
Do you happen to know if it freezes well?
this sounds heavenly! going to try it alongside some (lightly) sweet coconut jasmine rice!
I just arrived a couple of months ago and this is my first Ramadhan in US. I find it pretty hard to get all the elaborate cooking spices my mom would use in Malaysia for Indian and Malaysian style dishes. I’m glad I came across this simple recipe since I found some Garam Masala and Curry powder at a store nearby. We never use apples in curries but I gave it a try this time and it turned out pretty good! We usually use potatoes and I’ll use that when I make it again just because curried potatoes hits my spot haha. My husband loved this dish. Thank you for the recipe!
This looks delicious and it sounds like something I would actually make. It really does sound wonderful! 🙂
Made this last night before church. It was SO good. I bought a coconut at my Co-Op and made homemade coconut milk for the base. My two toddlers ate it up (I omitted the sweetener) and my hubby and I ate it with flatbread.
It was filling! Next time I’ll add a tad more chicken and let it simmer and thicken even longer.
Thank you so much
Here I am in Northern Ireland and really enjoyed this recipe. Instead of the coconut sugar I added some mango chutney and also a tin of chick peas. second time I made it I added some fresh peaches. Yum.
So glad to see this recipe! I went to India last fall for my friends wedding and picked up a couple bags of a Garam Masala mix. Luckily, organic and whole spices (so they’ll last longer!). But I didn’t have a recipe and they’ve just been sitting waiting. This look delicious, as does the garam masala lentil soup recipe you’ve linked, planning on making this soon!
I made this for dinner tonight, and it was delish! My husband loved it and so did my toddler! Success. I even used your garam masala blend because when I reached for my Penzeys bag, I found it empty. I didn’t need the sugar (I used mild curry powder), and I added English peas to my basmati rice. Will make again!
We made this last night and it was so yummy. The spices smelled so good while they were cooking. I made a comment to my husband that I am surprised we don’t have the neighbors stopping by and asking if they can join us for dinner!
I can’t wait to make this! I had the same experience of garam masala being a revelation. I think it was Emeril’s mulligatawny stew that introduced me to it. That stew’s flavor is incredible but is a lot of work. I love that you made this simple and quick.
This sounds absolutely delicious! My husband and my children do not care for curry dishes, but I love them. The answer, in our home, is that I make a huge pot for me and eat it for lunch each day while I feed them something else. I don’t make a habit of doing this often, but curry is the one exception. Thank you for this recipe – I can’t wait to try it!