If you love garlic and chilli then this this South Indian Garlic Chilli Chicken is for you! It’s fragrant, layered and complex with just the perfect hint of spice. It does take some effort, but you'll be glad of your investment once you've produced a takeaway quality meal!
You’ll find a lot of recipes online saying that you need a ‘base gravy’ for making curries. And that’s because most Indian takeaways use a base gravy for making all their curry recipes. And that includes Garlic Chilli Chicken. But that's because they need to be able to produce things quickly to order.
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This recipe is more authentic and doesn't require you to make an element in advance to create it.
Its straight-forward, easy to follow and will rival any takeaway option you could get!
Why I Love It
- It is a curry that it perfect for batch cooking and meal prep - as it stores and reheats well.
- People really won't believe you made it yourself!
- Perfect to save money and make for your Indian-style Fakeaway at home when trying to spend less cash.
Ingredients
- Protein: Chicken / Lamb / Beef - I personally prefer using lamb for this curry, but chicken is the more popular choice. Whatever your preference, the cooking method stays the same.
- Fat: Ghee / Oil - ghee is the traditional choice, but opt for vegetable oil if you don’t have any
- Vegetables + Aromatics: ginger, garlic, chillis, onions, tomatoes
- Store Cupboard: tomato paste, tinned tomatoes, stock
- Spices: Cardamom Pods, Cumin Seeds, Fennel Seeds, Coriander Seeds, Tumeric, Fenugreek, Ground Cinnamon, Curry Leaves
- Salt + Sugar
Substitutions for South Indian Garlic Chilli Chicken
- Chicken thighs - I occasionally use lamb in this dish and its delicious!
- Cardamom pods - substitute for ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
- Coriander seeds - substitute for 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- Cumin seeds - substitute for 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- Fennel seeds - substitute for ½ teaspoon ground fennel
- Ginger - use 1 tablespoon ginger puree
- Garlic - use 1 tablespoon garlic puree
- Ground cinnamon - you can use 1 cinnamon stick and add with other whole spices (ensuring to remove before serving)
- Fenugreek/Tumeric/Curry leaves - if you don't have any of these spices, then simply omit them from the recipe (as per my first point above)
All whole spices should be added to the melted ghee/oil after the chicken has been removed from the pan. Frying them in oil first releases their fat-soluble aromatic compounds; intensifying their natural flavours. It also enhances aromas and creates a more complex, brighter, and fresher taste profile than dry-roasted pre-ground spices.
All pre-ground spices (powders) should be added at the same time as the onions, ginger and garlic. This is to retain as much flavour as possible, whilst ensuring they don't burn.
As is the case with lots of curries, don’t worry too much if you don’t have one specific spice. Missing one ingredient will not alter the course of the whole recipe. Just make sure you keep the garlic and chillis in!
How To Make South Indian Garlic Chilli Chicken
Melt ghee (or vegetable oil) in a pan. Season cubed chicken with salt & pepper and cook until browned.
Remove meat from pan and set aside (this will be added back in later)
Slightly crush coriander seeds and cardamom pods in mortar and pestle then add to pan with fennel & cumin seeds - fry for few minutes until fragrant. If swapping any of these whole spices for their ground counterpart, then add them with the rest of the spices with the onions.
Add onions, ginger, garlic, curry leaves, turmeric, fenugreek and cinnamon to pan. Add more ghee (it’s a curry!), cook on medium heat for approx 30 minutes with lid on, stirring occasionally. Cooking with the lid on will retain moisture in the curry.
Add tomato paste and chillis and fry for a few minutes. Then pour in chicken stock, tinned tomatoes, chopped vine tomatoes and previously browned cubed chicken. Simmer on medium heat for approx 1.5- 2 hours (keep an eye on it and stir every 10-15 minutes or so).
Ensure to stir at regular intervals to make sure the curry doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Add sugar & salt when it’s reached desired consistency and stir through a generous helping of fresh chopped coriander.
Serve with rice, naan etc. - I personally opt for both!
FAQs
Yes - use vegetable oil and substitute the chicken / lamb for paneer or chunks of vegetables and use vegetable stock. Add the cooked paneer/cooked vegetables in at the end so they don't get mushy though.
Yes - the recipe is wholly dairy free if using vegetable oil (and not ghee, which is clarified butter).
As is the case with lots of curries, don’t worry too much if you don’t have one specific spice. Missing one ingredient will not alter the course of the whole recipe. Just make sure you keep the garlic and chillis in!
As it requires time to reduce and develop complexity of flavour by layering elements, I wouldn't recommend it.
Please refer to my 'Ingredient' section above or the Notes of the recipe card below. Or let me know in the comments if you have any specific questions that I haven't covered off already.
Storage and Reheating
The South Indian Garlic Chilli Chicken curry is freezable once cooked or can be stored in the fridge for 4-5 days.
It can be stored in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Either reheat in the microwave straight from frozen, stirring throughout, until piping hot. Or defrost in fridge overnight and heat in microwave until piping hot when you'd like to use.
Other Fakeaway Recipes You Might Love
If you like this Garlic Chilli Chicken curry recipe and are looking for more Fakeaway recipes, then why not try my:
If you have any questions please leave a comment and I'll get back to you. Or I would really appreciate it if you left me a review below.
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South Indian Garlic Chilli Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 650 g chicken thighs chopped into bite sizes pieces
- 100 g ghee or vegetable oil
- salt & pepper
- 4 cardamom pods
- 2 teaspoon coriander seeds see Notes for full list of substitutions
- 2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- 4 onions finely diced
- 30 g ginger see Notes for full list of substitutions and when to add them
- 8 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon curry leaves crushed
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon fenugreek
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 chicken stock cube
- 350 ml water
- 8 tomatoes large vine - chopped into cubes
- 400g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 10 small green chillis stalks removed & roughly chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- coriander optional garnish
Instructions
- Heat up 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a pan
- Add 650 g chicken thighs with salt & pepper and cook in pan until browned
- Remove meat from pan and set aside
- Melt 100 g ghee (or vegetable oil) in the pan
- In a mortar and pestle - crush 2 teaspoon coriander seeds in mortal and pestle with 4 cardamom pods (removing outer shells) then add to pan with ½ teaspoon fennel seeds & 2 teaspoon cumin seeds - fry for a couple of minutes until fragrant and popping (see Notes for full list of substitutions and when to add them)
- Add 4 onions (finely diced), 30 g ginger & 8 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon curry leaves, 1 teaspoon turmeric, ½ teaspoon fenugreek and ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon to pan
- Cook on medium heat for approx 30 minutes with lid on, stirring occasionally
- Add 1 tablespoon tomato paste & 10 small green chillis and fry for a few minutes
- Pour in 1 chicken stock cube dissolved in 350 ml water, 400g tin chopped tomatoes, 8 tomatoes (chopped into cubes) and previously browned cubed chicken - simmer on medium heat for approx 1.5-2 hours with the lid off
- Ensure to stir at regular intervals to make sure the curry doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan - and the sauce will start to reduce and thicken
- Add 1 teaspoon sugar & ½ teaspoon salt when it’s reached desired consistency and stir through a generous helping of fresh chopped coriander
- Serve with rice, naan etc.
Notes
- Chicken thighs - I occasionally use lamb in this dish and its delicious!
- Cardamom pods - substitute for ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
- Coriander seeds - substitute for 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- Cumin seeds - substitute for 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- Fennel seeds - substitute for ½ teaspoon ground fennel
- Ginger - use 1 tablespoon ginger puree
- Garlic - use 1 tablespoon garlic puree
- Ground cinnamon - you can use 1 cinnamon stick and add with other whole spices (ensuring to remove before serving)
- Fenugreek/Tumeric/Curry leaves - if you don't have any of these spices, then simply omit them from the recipe (as per my first point above)
kevin Joyce says
Hi pal am goin to make this tomo , is it 6 small/large vine tomatoes ?
Thank u
Lauren says
hi, it's 6 large vine tomatoes - I'll update it on the recipe - thanks for pointing out that I'd missed the clarification
Nancy says
So easy to make, and it was one of the nicest curries I’ve made in a long time And the one I froze actually tasted even better
Thank you Lauren x
M.J.H says
This has to be the best "cook at home" curry I have ever tasted.
Lauren says
that's so kind, thanks so much!
Cheryl says
This may be a stupid question, but should you simmer with the lid on or off?
Lauren says
not a stupid questions at all - I'll update the method to specify! lid on for duration of the cook - otherwise it dries out quicker.
Adam says
Off the chart good! 😋
Lauren says
this makes me happy, thank you!
Adam says
But better with Fries than Rice 😏
Mel Arbuckle says
My favourite curry!
Amanda Jollie says
Made this a few times now with lamb, unreal!! Hard to decide if I prefer this or the chasni recipe 👌🏼 great work Lauren! X
Nic says
Made this today an it was beautiful. I do feel it could be doing with more chicken though. Next time I’ll add 750g instead of 500g.
Claire says
This worked exactly as written, delicious!
Linsey says
Really tasty, we only used half the amount of chillies specified as we are wimps! Loved it
Paula MacLeod says
Hands down the best curry we’ve ever made. Exactly like an Indian curry! Close contender with the chasni!
Kazmci says
Loved this, really delicious. I found it easy to make. The closest to the restaurant version of any recipe I have tried.