Simple Street-Style (Dhaba) Indian Chicken Curry

Step 1 – Marinating the Chicken

In a large container, place the chicken pieces – add 4 heaped tablespoons of yoghurt, 1 teaspoon of garam masala, and 2 teaspoons of ginger & garlic paste. Mix well so that the mixture coats the chicken well. Cover the container and leave it in the fridge for at least 2 hours, the longer the better.

Step 2 – Making the Base Sauce – Onion Tomato Masala

In a pot, add ghee or olive oil to your liking and let it heat through. Now add finely chopped onions. Let the onions cook on medium-high heat until they turn golden brown. Add half a teaspoon of salt to speed up the cooking process. Remember that the chicken masala spice blend has some pink Himalayan salt in it. So, go easy on the salt at this stage. Constantly stir the onions to avoid burning them.

Once the onions turn golden brown, add 2 pureed tomatoes (in a blender) and 1 teaspoon of ginger and garlic paste. 

After about 3-4 minutes, add a heaped teaspoon of the chicken masala spice blend and coriander powder, each into the mixture.

Let this mixture fry off until the tomatoes are completely cooked and you start seeing oil emerging on the top of this mixture.

Keep the flame on medium-high throughout the cooking process and stir constantly.

Step 3 – Adding the Chicken

Once the base sauce is cooked, add the marinated chicken pieces and turn the flame on high. Now constantly stir the chicken so that the base sauce or masala you made integrates well with the chicken curry.

After about 5 minutes bring the flame to medium-high and add half a cup of water. Remember that the chicken and the yoghurt we added to the marinade will also leave water as they get cooked.

Cover the pot and let the chicken get cooked through. Stir after every 10 minutes.

In about 30 minutes the chicken should be cooked and you should see a layer of oil floating on top of the sauce.

Check the salt level, and add some more if required.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.