This easy restaurant-style chicken curry is simple, spicy, and delicious with soft, tender, and juicy chicken pieces. This is one of the easiest Indian-style chicken dishes that even a bachelor or beginner (novice) can cook.
This chicken curry can be served with steamed rice, paratha, parotta, naan, roti, chapati, phulka, etc.
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Indian Chicken Curry or Murgh Curry
Indian chicken curry in the traditional and authentic style starts with whole spices in oil, to which onion, tomato-based sauce, and spices are added. The chicken pieces are then added and simmered until cooked through, during which the flavors get blended well. Some even add coconut milk or heavy cream to thicken the dish and add curry leaves for additional flavors.
To make your chicken dish spicy, use red chilies, green chilies, peppercorns, or a combination of all, according to your preference.
The recipe below is an easy version of restaurant-style chicken curry or desi murgh curry that requires a few basic ingredients from your pantry and can be prepared on busy weekdays or weekends when you crave a chicken meal.
I love to marinate my chicken as it helps in tenderizing the meat, and it is optional. If you do not want to marinate, you can skip it.
The ingredient list may look lengthy but let me tell you, these are very basic ingredients that most of you already have in your kitchen.
Ingredients for Easy Restaurant-Style Chicken Curry
Chicken Marination (Optional)
250 grams Chicken thighs
Juice of 1 lemon
½ teaspoon Red chile powder
Turmeric, a pinch
Salt, a pinch
Prepare the masala (Check for an easy substitute in tips)
4 to 5 Dry Red chilies
¼ cup broken Cashews
3 medium-sized Tomatoes
3 Green chilies (adjust to taste)
Other ingredients
2 tablespoon Oil
1 Onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoon Ginger-garlic paste
1 teaspoon Garam masala powder or Curry powder
½ teaspoon Salt
1 to 2 teaspoon Kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves, optional
1 tablespoon Cilantro or coriander leaves, finely chopped, optional
How to make Easy Restaurant-Style Chicken Curry
Prepare masala for curry
In a pan on medium heat, add dry red chilies and cashews and dry roast for about 4 to 5 minutes or just until fragrant.
Transfer this to a blender along with chopped tomatoes, green chilies, and ¼ cup of water and blend it to a smooth paste.
Making of Indian Chicken Curry or Murgh Curry
In a pan on medium heat, add oil. Once the oil is hot, add onions and saute until golden on medium flame. Around halfway through the sauteing process (i.e., about 4 to 5 minutes), add ginger-garlic paste and continue sauteing for about another 3 to 4 minutes. Check the video for a better understanding.
Add chicken pieces and saute for about 4 minutes on medium flame. The chicken will firm up and start developing color. At this point, add the ground masala paste and mix. Add garam masala powder, salt, ¼ cup water, mix, cover with a lid, and simmer on low flame for 10 minutes.
Garnish it with finely chopped cilantro (coriander leaves) and Kasuri methi. This step is optional.
Serve this curry as a side with steamed rice, kori rotti, or any flat breads of your choice. If you need some flatbread options, check these out: naan, roti, chapati, phulka, etc.
Tips for Bachelors and Beginners
- If you do not have a mixer or grinder at home, you can finely chop tomatoes, add them along with ginger-garlic paste, and cook until they turn soft and mushy. You can also use canned tomatoes. I sometimes cheat by substituting tomatoes with a can of tomato sauce (not ketchup), or a tablespoon of canned tomato paste. You can substitute cashews with heavy cream or full-fat milk. Use red chile powder, black pepper powder, or their combination to adjust the spiciness - thereby skipping green chilies and dried red chilies altogether in the recipe.
- Adjust the amount of spices (e.g., red chili powder) in the curry depending on the heat you can tolerate.
- You can substitute Garam masala powder with Chicken masala powder or Tandoori masala powder.
- I have prepared and used homemade ginger-garlic paste. Store-bought ginger-garlic paste is also a convenient option. You can even add finely chopped ginger and garlic to the gravy.
- Marination is optional. Because I have marinated it, I just covered and cooked for 10 minutes. If you are not marinating, add little extra water and cook for another 5 minutes extra. The more you cook, the better the flavor. Having said that, do not overcook the chicken as this may make your chicken rubbery.
My secret tip:
The flavor in the chicken dish comes from cooking chicken in onion tomato gravy on low flame for 15 minutes. So the main and only ingredients needed are onion, tomato (fresh, puree, or canned), ginger and garlic, and finally, some green chilies or red chile powder for heat. All other ingredients are optional and are added to enhance the flavor of the dish.
LOOKING FOR MORE CHICKEN RECIPES FOR DINNER? CHECK THIS OUT:
- CURRY LEAF CHICKEN (CHICKEN KADI PATTA)
- CHICKEN TIKKA
- BUTTER CHICKEN
- CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA
- ORANGE CHICKEN
- CHICKEN TIKKA BIRYANI
Video recipe for Homemade Easy & Simple Restaurant-Style Chicken Curry (Murgh Gravy)
Detailed recipe for Homemade Easy & Simple Restaurant-Style Chicken Curry (Murgh Gravy) for bachelors, beginners
Recipe card
Easy Restaurant Style Chicken Curry | How To Make Chicken Curry | Murgh Curry
Ingredients
Chicken Marination (Optional)
- 250 grams Chicken thighs
- Juice of 1 lemon
- ½ teaspoon Red chile powder
- Turmeric , a pinch
- Salt , a pinch
Prepare The Masala (Check for an easy substitute in tips)
- 4 to 5 Dry Red chilies
- ¼ cup Cashews , broken
- 3 medium Tomatoes
- 3 Green chilies (adjust to taste)
OTHER INGREDIENTS
- 2 tablespoon Oil
- 1 medium Onion , finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon Ginger-garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon Garam masala powder or Curry powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 to 2 teaspoon Kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves, optional
- 1 tablespoon Cilantro or coriander leaves, finely chopped, optional
Instructions
Chicken Marination
- In a bowl, add chicken thigh pieces, juice of a lemon, red chilie powder, turmeric, and salt, and mix well. Let it marinate for 30 mins in the refrigerator. Marination is optional.250 grams Chicken thighs, Juice of 1 lemon, ½ teaspoon Red chile powder, Turmeric, Salt, ½ teaspoon Salt
Prepare Masala for Curry
- In a pan on medium heat, add dry red chilies and cashews and dry roast for about 4 to 5 minutes or just until fragrant.4 to 5 Dry Red chilies, ¼ cup Cashews
- Transfer this to a blender along with chopped tomatoes, green chilies, and ¼ cup of water and blend it to a smooth paste.3 medium Tomatoes, 3 Green chilies
Making of Indian Chicken Curry Or Murgh Curry
- In a pan on medium heat, add oil. Once the oil is hot, add onions and saute until golden on medium flame.2 tablespoon Oil, 1 medium Onion
- Around halfway through the sauteing process (i.e., about 4 to 5 minutes), add ginger-garlic paste and continue sauteing for about another 3 to 4 minutes. Check the video for a better understanding.2 tablespoon Ginger-garlic paste
- Add chicken pieces and saute for about 4 minutes on medium flame. The chicken will firm up and start developing color.250 grams Chicken thighs
- At this point, add the ground masala paste and mix. Add garam masala powder, salt, ¼ cup water, mix, cover with a lid, and simmer on low flame for 10 minutes.1 teaspoon Garam masala powder
- Garnish it with finely chopped cilantro (coriander leaves) and Kasuri methi. This step is optional.1 tablespoon Cilantro, 1 to 2 teaspoon Kasuri methi
- Serve this curry as a side with steamed rice, kori rotti, or any flat breads of your choice. If you need some flatbreads options, check these out: naan, roti, chapati, phulka, etc.
Notes
TIPS FOR BACHELORS AND BEGINNERS
- If you do not have a mixer or grinder at home, you can finely chop tomatoes, add them along with ginger-garlic paste, and cook until they turn soft and mushy. You can also use canned tomatoes. I sometimes cheat by substituting tomatoes with a can of tomato sauce (not ketchup), or a tablespoon of canned tomato paste. You can substitute cashews with heavy cream or full-fat milk. Use red chile powder, black pepper powder, or their combination to adjust the spiciness – thereby skipping green chilies and dried red chilies altogether in the recipe.
- Adjust the amount of spices (e.g., red chili powder) in the curry depending on the heat you can tolerate.
- You can substitute Garam masala powder with Chicken masala powder or Tandoori masala powder.
- I have prepared and used homemade ginger-garlic paste. Store-bought ginger-garlic paste is also a convenient option. You can even add finely chopped ginger and garlic to the gravy.
- Marination is optional. Because I have marinated it, I just covered it and cooked it for 10 minutes. If you are not marinating, add little extra water and cook for another 5 minutes extra. The more you cook, the better the flavor. Having said that, do not overcook the chicken as this may make your chicken rubbery.
Nutrition
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Jay
My go to recipe for a fabulous chicken curry, thank you sharing, your images are tempting!