Meera Sodha’s Chicken Curry

Name: Meera Sodha’s Chicken Curry
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: indian
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or ghee; 1 tablespoon neutral oil, like canola; 1 teaspoon cumin seeds; 2 cinnamon sticks, approximately 2 inches long; 2 large white or yellow onions, peeled and finely chopped; 1 2 1/2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated or minced; 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed; 2 green cayenne or jalapeño peppers, stemmed, seeded and cut into half-moons; Kosher salt, to taste; 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons puréed tomatoes; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin; 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric; 3 tablespoons whole-milk yogurt, plus 1 cup to serve with the meal; 1 3/4 to 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks; 3 tablespoons slivered almonds; 1 teaspoon garam masala; Pinch ground cayenne pepper, or to taste.

Recipe from Meera Sodha

Adapted by Sam Sifton

Updated Jan. 3, 2023

Meera Sodha’s Chicken Curry — Photograph by Grant Cornett. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Theo Vamvounakis.

Total Time: 60 minutes
Rating: 5(4,536)
Comments: Read comments

This simple curry serves as a fine introduction to the Indian home cooking of Meera Sodha, a British cookbook author whose “Made in India: Recipes From an Indian Family Kitchen” was released in 2015. The recipe for this curry, her "ultimate comfort food,'' derives from the one her Indian-born mother cooked for Sodha when she was growing up in Lincolnshire and for which she pined for during her college years in London. It provides a thick, gingery, garlic-flecked tomato sauce with deep notes of cinnamon and cumin, and a low flame of chile heat, surrounding small chunks of skinless chicken thigh, with slivered almonds scattered over the top at the end. —Sam Sifton

Featured in: Curry for Comfort

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

2tablespoons unsalted butter or ghee
1tablespoon neutral oil, like canola
1teaspoon cumin seeds
2cinnamon sticks, approximately 2 inches long
2large white or yellow onions, peeled and finely chopped
12½-inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated or minced
6cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
2green cayenne or jalapeño peppers, stemmed, seeded and cut into half-moons
Kosher salt, to taste
¾cup plus 2 tablespoons puréed tomatoes
2tablespoons tomato paste
1½teaspoons ground cumin
½teaspoon ground turmeric
3tablespoons whole-milk yogurt, plus 1 cup to serve with the meal
1¾ to 2pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
3tablespoons slivered almonds
1teaspoon garam masala
Pinch ground cayenne pepper, or to taste.

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Melt the butter or ghee in the oil in a large Dutch oven set over medium heat, and when it is hot and shimmering, add the cumin seeds and cinnamon sticks. Cook for a minute or two, stirring often, to intensify their flavors, then add the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they are golden, approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
Step 2
Meanwhile, put the ginger, garlic and peppers into a mortar and pestle with a pinch of salt, and smash them together into a coarse paste. (You can also do this on a cutting board, with a knife.)
Step 3
Add the paste to the onions, and cook for 2 minutes or so, then pour in the tomatoes, and stir. Allow to cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes, then add the tomato paste, ground cumin, ground turmeric and another pinch of salt, and stir to combine.
Step 4
Add the yogurt slowly to the mixture, using a wooden spoon to whisk it into the sauce. It may be quite thick. When it begins to bubble, add the chicken. Lower the heat, put the lid on the Dutch oven and allow the curry to cook gently for 30 minutes or so, or until the chicken is cooked through. Add the almonds and the garam masala, along with a pinch of cayenne, and cook for 5 minutes more or so. Serve with basmati rice or naan, and the additional yogurt.

Ratings

5 out of 5

4,536 user ratings

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Comments

Brian7 years ago

I keep seeing a fundamental rule of Indian spice addition/cooking often not followed. For enhanced taste as well as possibly avoiding a stomach upset when spices are not cooked properly please avoid adding such spices to a liquid without having first cooked them even briefly in hot fat/oil. In this case, just add the spices in step3 in step1. I promise it wont take away from the dish!

Sheila6 years ago

I thought that the first time I made this too. Then I decided to marinate the chicken in half a cup of Greek yogurt, the juice of one lemon, and all of the spices in the recipe -- ground cumin, turmeric, garam masala, cayenne, and a teaspoon of ground coriander as well. I let it sit for about 30 minutes while I prep the rest of the dish, then add the bowl of marinated chicken, yogurt, and spices in Step 4. The dish turns out far more flavorful, it's now a staple in my house.

sangeeta ray6 years ago

As an Indian, I must say that this is perfect everyday chicken recipe. You may want to add more of each spice if you want and a bit more onions (red onions work best for Indian cooking). This is a thicker sauce not a thin curry so...

pforsyth1 month ago

It’s really a very good recipe! I’d make it again in a heartbeat but my husband from S. India prefers a S. Indian chicken curry that includes curry powder, cardamom, saffron. But I loved it! Made it as directed.

Susan2 months ago

Well, I used what was in my pantry, and the onions were less than half of the recipe. Also, I didn't have garam masala, so I used curry powder instead. In addition, I used a teaspoon of paprika instead of the two peppers.

JU2 months ago

Generally followed the recipe as written, but used 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder instead of the green cayenne/jalapeno (chili powder is listed as an alternative in the “Made in India” cookbook) and substituted 3 Tbs cashew butter for the slivered almonds (the cookbook calls for ground almonds). We all found the curry to be bland and one-dimensional - the tomato flavor dominated. The subtle heat from the chili powder was fine, but otherwise it needed more spicing.

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