Chicken and Pepper Curry
User Reviews
4.7
Chicken and Pepper Curry
Description
This curry starts by sautéing sliced onions in oil until golden before adding finely ground garlic and ginger paste. Ground spices such as cumin, coriander, turmeric, paprika, and chili powder are added and cooked until fragrant to form the flavorful masala base. Canned tomatoes are incorporated and cooked down with water to create a thick, richly spiced sauce. Chicken pieces are added and simmered fully in the masala until tender.
The dish combines mildly spicy and earthy flavors with a slightly tangy tomato backdrop. The bell peppers add a subtle sweetness and texture contrast to the tender chicken chunks. Cooking gently with covered lid and stirring ensures the spices meld well, and the sauce thickens with the evaporation of moisture.
Chicken and Pepper Curry works well as a main course served with rice or flatbreads. It is suitable for a weekday meal or special occasion, embodying classic South Asian curry techniques through its careful slow cooking and spice layering.
Notes advise using either boneless chicken thighs or a whole small chicken. Fresh tomatoes can replace canned tomatoes if needed, chopped finely. Patience in cooking the masala is key to developing a smooth thick sauce with the aromatic oil separating from the spices, an indicator of doneness and flavor development.
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds chicken I usually use skinless and boneless chicken thighs, boneless
- 2 medium-sized bell pepper
- 2 small onion
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1- inch ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons Coriander ground
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons paprika
- ½ teaspoon chilli powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground black pepper or coarse
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ can tinned tomatoes see the note.
- 1 cup water
- ⅓ cup cooking oil
Instructions
- Clean and cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes. Set aside.
- Peel and slice the onions.
- Peel the garlic and ginger then grind them into paste OR chop them as fine as possible. Set aside.
- In your cooking pot, heat the oil then put the chopped onions in. Fry until the onions become light golden.
- Add in the ginger-garlic paste to the onions. Continue frying for a minute then put all the spices and salt in. Stir well and cook further until you can smell the aroma from the spice.
- Then put the tomatoes in the spice mixture, give it a stir and cook further with a lid on at low heat. Keep checking and stirring every now and again. Try to mash the tomatoes every time you mix it.
- When you see the liquid evaporate from your spice mix/ masala, put ½ cup of water in and give it a good stir and mash the tomatoes. Your mixture will look like a thick sauce by now.
- Give another ½ cup of water to your spice mixture and keep stirring until all blended well. And let it cook further at low heat until the sauce becomes thick and the oil separates from the spice.
- You can now put your chicken pieces in. Give a good stir until all chicken pieces coated with the sauce. Put the lid on and cook at medium-high heat.
- Take care of your curry and keep checking and stirring every now and then.
- The chicken releases quite a bit of juice that it will make your curry very runny. If this happens, you can slightly open the lid and put heat on high. Just make sure you keep checking and stirring so that the chicken won’t get burned.
- When all the liquid evaporates, and the oil separates (again), you can put your peppers pieces in.
- Give your curry a good stir, put the lid back and let it cook.
- The regular chicken and peppers curry that most people or restaurants make always have softened peppers. Because they cook the peppers until fully and thoroughly cooked. So if you like softened cooked peppers in your curry, you can let your pepper chicken curry to cook for about 10-15 minutes more after you put peppers in.
- Just make sure you keep checking because the peppers release their juice as well. And that can make your curry a little runny. Although there is nothing wrong with that. It’s just that this pepper chicken curry is supposed to have thick masala and not runny.
- My family and I prefer to have the vegetables crunchy. So I only cook the peppers for about a minute or two after I put them in the pot. I leave that to your personal choice, ok?
- When your chicken and pepper curry are ready, you can enjoy it with chapati/ roti, naan bread, pitta bread, or plain Basmati rice.
Notes
- You may use a whole small chicken or bone-in chicken instead of boneless thighs as preferred.
- If canned tomatoes are unavailable, substitute with two medium fresh tomatoes chopped finely.
- Slow cooking the masala with spices and tomatoes until thick and oil separates is essential to develop rich flavor.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 6Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 312 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 1g | |
| Calories | 312kcal | 16% |
| Carbohydrates | 6g | 2% |
| Protein | 30g | 60% |
| Fat | 18g | 28% |
| Saturated Fat | 3g | 15% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 14g | 82% |
| Cholesterol | 89mg | 30% |
| Sodium | 440mg | 18% |
| Fiber | 2g | 8% |
| Sugar | 2g | 4% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.7
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