Yogurt ChickenCurry - The chicken curry from Northern India which is must try for every Indian food lover. This flavorful curry has no sugars, no nuts, no creams but a simple and flavorful Indian mother sauce base made with yogurt, onion, garlic and spices.
This is a kinda curry which Indians love to enjoy with homemade whole wheat bread, crispy charred naan, or fresh steamed rice... any day of the week.
Time and again, when people ask me for a good chicken curry recipe.... I feel necessary to reach out and tell everyone what is a good chicken curry or how to make a chicken curry?
Now, every restaurant has a different definition of chicken curry and that's what locals in that area are known too. Actually, even in India, every region has local variation of chicken curry. Yogurt based curry is, by-far, the most popular and authentic chicken curry of Northern India... where in South, coconut milk or tamarind is used as mainsubstitute for yogurt.
In different regions... few change in spices originate a new kind of Chicken Curry. Like:
1) Addition of tamarind and potatoes and it becomes - Vindaloo
2) cream and it becomes Korma
3) greens instead of turmeric and it becomes saag chicken curry.
4) Lots of chilies and it is Kashmiri Chicken Curry
5) or lots of warm spices and you have the Khara Chicken Curry.
This list is so endless that it will be unfair if I just list one ingredient and say a name of curry.
This post I'm dedicating to making a perfect, homemade Indian-style... I mean, North Indian-style chicken curry which is made with thick Greek-style yogurt, warm spices, chicken, onion, and garlic. The curries you taste in buffets in US are nothing like this home-style curry. There is no sugar, no creams in this to mask the flavor of spices. It is not hot spicy curry but you will be able to taste every bit of love that has gone into it.
To make chicken curry, I start by grating the base mother sauce ingredients. Mother curry sauce or masala is grated mixture of onion, garlic, ginger and green chili. It is not a paste but coarse grated mix which is sauted in oil or clarified butter until oil shows on sides and onion, garlic are lite golden brown. These mild caramelized bits of onion give subtle sweetness to the curry. In this brown mixture, grated tomatoes are cooked until they fully disintegrate. This cooked mixture of onion and tomatoes - a.k.a mother curry sauce can be prepared up-to one week in advance.
Now, it is time to add the spices. A quick saute of spices awaken flavor, taking curry to whole new level.
After sauting the spices, the star ingredient - yogurt is added. Mostly, yogurt is hung or allowed to drain while masala cooks. This removes water content from yogurt leaving behind thick and creamy, whey like yogurt. I usually use Greek yogurt because it is closest and ready-to-use match of hung-curd (yogurt). I add yogurt in small batches and mix well after every addition to avoid curdling.
Once, yogurt is fully mixed... Only step left is to add chicken, water and then cook until chicken is fully cooked and gravy is thick. I complete this step in variety to vessels. In instant pot pressure cooker, slow cooker, dutch oven or simple heavy bottom deep sauce pan too. The time taken is usually same as time taken to cook the chicken in any of these.
Not that hard, right?
Make masala, mix-in add yogurt, add chicken!
Viola! Curry is ready!
Note: Coconut milk is a non-tangy non-dairy substitute for yogurt. If you want to keep curry dairy free.. You can also use almond yogurt instead.
For my family, it is a meal we grew-up with. So, no one say "no" or no one even speak while enjoying a bowl of chicken yogurt curry with their favorite side of naan/bread/rice. The only voice you will hear is to ask for some more gravy!! :)
I'm wrapping-up today's post very quickly because I need to get up to cook dinner... I might cook the same chicken curry again... feeling nostalgic after sharing this post with you...
Honestly, all ingredients for this recipe will be in your pantry. I bet! If you can't find spices, use mix of garam masala and curry powder instead. Enjoy a cozy winter night with a hearty chicken curry, made Indian home-style!
Enjoy and don't forget to share with me your favorite childhood recipe that you still fell nostalgic about.
Have a wonderful day! -Savita
