Name: How To Make Chicken Chilli Garlic
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: British Indian Restaurant (BIR)
Ingredients: 3 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil; 8 garlic cloves, cut into thin slivers; 1/2 onion, finely chopped; 1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste; 2 (or more) fresh green chillies, sliced into thin rings, plus extra to serve (optional); 1 tsp chilli powder; 1 tbsp mixed powder or curry powder; 1 tbsp tandoori masala; 70ml (1/4 cup) tomato purée; 300ml (1 1/4 cups) base curry sauce, heated; 300g (11 oz) tandoori chicken tikka; 1 handful of dried garlic flakes (optional); 1 tsp dried fenugreek (methi) leaves; 2 tbsp chopped coriander (cilantro); Juice of one lime (optional); Salt

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Chicken chilli garlic curry is a curry house favourite!

Now you can make chicken chilli garlic curry that is just as good as, if not better than what you find at the best curry houses. This recipe is straight forward, authentic and easy.

If you like garlic and a spicy kick to your curries, this chicken chilli garlic curry is one you need to try. Make your curry into a feast with a side of rice, naans or chapatis, a selection of chutneys and dal. Of course, don't forget the samosas!

Who should make chicken chilli garlic curry?

Garlicky and spicy, chicken chilli garlic curry has to be one of my all time favourites.

I have experimented with this recipe many times and talked my way into a few restaurant kitchens for tips. This is a winner!

Anyone who loves garlic and spicy chillies needs to give this chicken chilli garlic curry a try.

This recipe is quite spicy but not numbingly so. You can always add a few more chillies at the end if you want to turn the zing into a zap.

If spicy curries aren't your thing, just reduce the amount of chillies and/or chilli powder.

Getting curry house style curries right...

At curry houses, the chefs make their curries using a base sauce. This is an essential ingredient for achieving that famous flavour and sauce texture.

This means that there is some prep work you need to do before starting a curry house style curry.

I usually make my tandoori meats and base curry sauce in large batches so I always have some on hand for that last minute curry craving.

Once the preparation is done, both the sauce and tandoori meat can be frozen with excellent results.

If you want to take you Indian restaurant style curries to a whole new and delicious level, try my spice blend recipes too.

PLANNING AHEAD

Getting your ingredients together

It is always a good idea to get your ingredients together before starting cooking. This saves time and also ensures you don't have to go looking for ingredients once you start.

Curry Sauce
I have written a large and small version of my curry sauce recipe which will need to me made before cooking this recipe.

The large version is made just like they do in the best curry houses. Make a large batch for best results.

It keeps in the fridge for three days and freezes well. The small batch version works well too though it's not as authentic.

Pre-Cooked Chicken
I pre-cook chicken in two ways. Most restaurant use this method to prepare their chicken for this curry. You could also add tandoori style chicken tikka to this recipe if you'd like to create tandoori Chicken Chilli Garlic.

Mixed Powder

One of the ingredients added to curry house style curries like this chicken chilli garlic curry is mixed powder.

This is an Indian restaurant curry powder. I have a link to my recipe for it in the recipe below but you could use a good quality curry powder if you must.

Alternative Ingredients...

So this might be a chicken chilli garlic curry but the recipe is really all about the sauce.

You don't have to use chicken! Just like when you go out for a curry and see chilli garlic curry on the menu, you can decide what goes into it.

Try this with tandoori lamb tikka, paneer, keema or vegetable kofta for example.

If it sounds good, it will be.

Following are step by step photos of the cooking process.

frying garlic slivers and onion — Heat the oil over medium heat and fry the garlic slivers until soft but not burnt. Stir in the onion and fry for a further 3 - 5 minutes.

Adding chillies and garlic/ginger paste to the pan — Stir in the chopped chillies and garlic and ginger paste. Fry for about 30 seconds.

How does this chicken chilli garlic curry recipe differ to the one in my books?

Not a lot really.

In my cookbooks 'The Curry Guy' and the new 'The Curry Guy Bible', the recipes are made to serve 4 or more as part of a multi course meal.

In this recipe I make it to serve 1 - 2 people. It is a curry house portion.

In my books I also explain how to get some more amazing flavours into the sauce but you will get excellent results with this recipe.

Adding chilli powder and mixed powder to the pan — Stir in the mixed powder and chilli powder.

Stirring tomato puree into the pan — Stir the tomato puree into the pan and bring to a simmer.

Adding base sauce to pan — Add a ladle or two of the base sauce.

Simmering chicken chilli garlic sauce — Bring to a simmer.

Adding pre-cooked chicken to the pan — Add the pre-cooked chicken and stir to coat with the sauce.

Stirring in dried garlic and coriander (cilantro) — Add a little dried garlic and some coriander. (optional) and stir it into the sauce.

Adding dried fenugreek — Add the dried fenugreek (methi) and stir it in.

finished chicken chilli garlic curry — Top with some more coriander and dried garlic flakes if you like. A twist of lime juice is also nice. Season with salt to taste.

Here are some more curry house favourites you might like to try!

Chicken Tikka Masala
Chicken Korma
Chicken Madras
Chicken Dhansak
Lamb Rogan Josh
Lamb Vindaloo
Chicken Patia
Lamb Bhuna

Yield: 2