This creamy chicken curry is inspired by butter chicken, a popular Indian style curry dish. It reminds me of one of the popular dishes on my blog: coconut curry chicken, except heavy cream is used in place of coconut milk. Like butter chicken, this curry dish starts off by caramelizing onions. This crucial step adds the necessary sweetness that makes this dish so good. After caramelizing the onions, garlic, garam masala, paprika and salt are added and cooked until fragrant. Garam masala is a blend of spices used in Indian cuisine. It is typically used in curries and gives this dish its distinct curry taste. After that, the cream and tomatoes are added to the pan and finally the chicken breast. The chicken is simmered until fully cooked. The result is a delicious curry dish that is not too hot. The dish is creamy and savory with a hint of spice. Serve it with steamed rice and garnish it with cilantro and you have the perfect dinner! Enjoy!
Creamy Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken breast , cut into 1 inch cubes
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 large onion (about 1 lbs), chopped
- 2 tomatoes (about 1 lbs total), diced, pureed or blended
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 2 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- ¾ cup of whipping cream or heavy cream
Instructions
- In a large pan, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the onions and slowly cook them until golden and caramelized, about 15 minutes.
- Add garlic and stir for about 1 minute. Add the garam masala, paprika and salt.
- Stir in the tomatoes and the cream and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the chicken breast and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until cooked through and meat is no longer pink, about 15 minutes.
- Serve over rice and garnish with cilantro.
Cece
Currently making this now a let me tell you jus taste testing it taste amazing I added cinnamon for a touch of flavor and it’s do good I’ll be making this dish again soon. Thank you for sharing your recipe
Diana
Good recipe! Thanks! I also used an immersion blender, and I used tofu instead of chicken and added frozen green peas. Topped it with some mango chutney.
Jo
Can i use natural Greek yoghurt instead of cream?
Liza Agbanlog
Hi Jo,
I have not used natural Greek yogurt to replace the heavy cream in this recipe. I think it should be okay to use Greek yogurt but it might change the texture of the dish. Hope this helps!
kay newnham
Just made this tonight it was very tasty and for a quick curry surprisingly full of flavour will use this recipe again. Thank you
Liza Agbanlog
Hi Kay,
You are welcome! Glad you were able to try this recipe and enjoyed it 🙂 Take care!
Darren Roberts
I blitzed mine with a stick blender so ended up with a lovely smooth sauce that i added to the chicken to cook thru. Now my wifes favourite dish.
Liza Agbanlog
That’s awesome!
Donavin
Made this tonight – so divine. I was sceptical but wow! Thank you so much.
Liza Agbanlog
You are welcome Donavin! So glad you were able to try and had success with this recipe. Take care!
Vanessa
There was way too much tomato and onion. Other than that it was good.
Ian
This is really delicious. We used a block of tofu instead of chicken and added some butter to compensate. Was craving Indian food like crazy since the quarantine started
Liza Agbanlog
Hi Ian,
This recipe is one of my family’s favorite curry dish. Glad you were able to try it and made adjustment to fit your taste. Take care and thanks for writing!
Nagishima
Hi Ian. That’s a really creative alternative. I’ll have to try that for my family. Thank you for sharing!
Rosie Mendez
Wonderful recipe, simple enough for a weeknight if paired with rice, I reserve for the weekend if also paired with homemade naan. I use a can of diced tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes, 3 garlic cloves crushed with a garlic press, and cooked the chicken in a separate pot until juices ran clear before combining with the other ingredients and simmering for 10-15 minutes to ensure the chicken was well cooked. Creamy, simple to prepare, layers of flavor. A huge hit with my husband and brother in law who love spices but dishes that aren’t very spicy. Thank you!
Liza Agbanlog
You’re welcome Rosie!
Luke
Simple,to make, I added halb a banana in quartered slices and a sliced spring onion and thought that there weren’t enough spices in this one. But no, it was quite nice
Georgie Andrews
Oh wow!! I’ve never left a review online before for food I’ve cooked but this was delicious!! Even my husband had second helpings!
The only thing I did differently was add a little tomato purée & teaspoon of turmeric.
Wow. Fabulous dish.
Liza Agbanlog
Thanks Georgie! I am so glad you were able to try this chicken curry and had success with it. Take care and thanks for the feedback!
Tracy Woods
Made this and it was delicious. Not too hot which is great for my hubby who has reflux.
Do you think this meal could be frozen? I’m almost 7 months pregnant and looking for things to make and freeze before bub arrives.
Liza Agbanlog
Hi Tracy,
Here’s a link that I hope answers your question; https://www.nigella.com/ask/freezing-curry.
Badeeia Khawaja
This was an easy recipe and I just added a level tsp of red chilli powder for a chilli flavour and it turned out perfect. It was actually mainly made by my 13 year old son who can’t cook well but it was so simple to do he could follow jt.
Camryn
I’ve been craving good curry for so long and I love this! Followed exactly except I used coconut milk and its amazing.
John Huitson-Broom
Added some harissa paste for extra heat and peas and mushrooms to the onion and massala base. Tastes delicious – thank you for the recipe Liza x
Liza Agbanlog
You’re welcome John!
Anonymous
This is the best!
Anonymous
can you make this with ghost peppers?
Liza Agbanlog
I have not tried adding ghost peppers to this dish so I don’t know what the taste would be.
Janice Gibbons
Liza Agbanlog, Thank yoo for the recipe. Ive just made it, it’s delicious.This is the best Indian style curry recipe I’ve used. Usually too many different spices in recipes, never really work out very good. I added some extra spices that I know we like and natural yoghurt as well as cream, worked perfect. Thanks again, from Janice💞
Liza Agbanlog
You’re welcome Janice! I am glad you were able to try the recipe and had success with it. Take care and thanks for writing 🙂
Paul
I made it with créme fraiche and, like Sara, added some chilli. Delicious! And so simple to make. Thanks Liza.
Liza Agbanlog
Hi Paul,
You’re welcome! Glad that you were able to try and had success with the recipe. Take care and thanks for the feedback 🙂
Sara
This was a really, really good curry. I was trying to find something without coconut milk because I was out and doubted it would be as good with cream. Was I wrong! My husband could not stop complimenting how good it was. I followed directions exactly except for adding 10 dried chili peppers while simmering for lots of extra heat. Just commenting now because my husband requested it again so had to get recipe again! Thanks!!!
Liza Agbanlog
Hi Sara,
Thanks so much for writing and glad it turned out great!