Restaurant staff curries are awesome. Try this simple chicken curry!
A few years after I started writing this blog, I was invited to Punjabi restaurant, Sachins in Newcastle to learn some of their recipes.
One of the recipes that I learned was this simple chicken curry which also happens to be one of their staff curries.
Since then, I have seen staff curries like this made on numerous occasions at different restaurants. Now I would like to show you how it's done.
What is a staff curry?
Most restaurants will have a lamb, seafood or something like this simple chicken curry cooking in the kitchen for staff.
In Sachin's case, I think this Punjabi chicken curry was also on their menu.
Usually, however curries like this are served to staff as they are much more like the curries they eat at home.
It might be the chicken tikka masalas, lamb madrases and vindaloos that get people in the doors of a restaurant but that is not what the staff want on their plates.
Make this simple chicken curry your own...
This simple chicken curry is delicious as it is. There is so much you can do with it though.
If you like spicy curries, you might like to add some Mr Naga pickle to it to taste. This makes an amazing naga chicken curry.
You could also add black mustard seeds, curry leaves and coconut milk to the mix for a more south Indian flavour.
Like saag curries? Why not blend up some spinach and fresh chillies and pour it in with a little cream?
I often add chicken tikka to this simple chicken curry along with the bone in thighs. Then I take the tikka out with some of the broth and use it in my BIR (British Indian Restaurant) style curries.
Other ideas...
In the winter months I like to cook this simple chicken curry but with mild flavoured game birds such as pheasants and partridges. When I do, I cook the whole birds cut into about three or four pieces.
There really is no reason why you couldn't use other meats too. Lamb leg cut into small chunks on the bone is always a big hit at my house. This is also a popular staff curry at some restaurants.
Just in case you like cooking with step by step photos, I have photographed the method for this simple chicken curry for you...
What makes this curry so easy?
One thing I really like about this authentic Punjabi chicken curry recipe is its simplicity! You only need one pot. Get your ingredients prepared before starting and the recipe is so easy.
The flavours are out of this world too. Just let the curry simmer slowly and you will be in for a real treat.
Working ahead...
Just like most curries, this Punjabi chicken curry is even better the next day.
I thought I should point this out. If you are having friends over or a curry feast, cook everything the day before and then just heat it up to serve. Your friends will be amazed at the flavours in this easy curry and you won't be left standing in front of the oven. Get your curries cooked and then enjoy the party!
How long can you store this simple chicken curry in the fridge?
You can keep it covered in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. Then all you need to do is heat it up and serve. Pour it all into a pot and heat it through over a medium heat. If you only have a little to heat up, go ahead and use your microwave oven.
Can you freeze this curry?
Yes and it freezes really well. You can freeze it for up to 6 months and it is so nice to have on hand when you have a last minute curry craving.
To reheat, let it defrost completely and then heat it up in a pan over a medium heat or in your microwave.
If you are freezing the curry, be sure to freeze it in portion sizes that are convenient for you.
Step by step photographs.
If you like this simple chicken curry recipe, you might like t0 try some of these too.
Beef Biryani
Chicken Biryani
Chickpea Biryani
Chicken Karahi
Lamb Korma
Shami Kebab
Aloo Gobi
Lamb Nihari
Chapli Kebabs
Lamb Seekh Kebabs
Staff Chicken Curry
Butter Chicken
Chicken Haleem
Tarka Dal
Pilau Rice
Chicken Tikka Masala
Grilled Lamb Chops
Lamb Tikka
Spicy Kashmiri Lamb Chops
Have you tried this staff chicken curry recipe?
If so, please give it a star rating in the comments below and leave a comment. I love receiving your feedback and I'm sure other readers of my blog do too. Thank you.
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Easy Punjabi Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 12 chicken thighs - skinned and on the bone
- 75ml vegetable oil
- 3 onions - finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons garlic and ginger paste
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/2 cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder (more or less to taste)
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 4 tennis ball sized tomatoes - finely chopped
- 4 tablespoons tomato puree
- 2 tablespoons garam masala
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- In a large saucepan that has a lid, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the cumin seeds, coriander and cinnamon stick and infuse for around 30 seconds. Pour in the chopped onions. Stir continuously so that the onions become soft and translucent. Fry for about 15 minutes ensuring that the onions do not brown or stick to the pan.
- Stir in the garlic and ginger paste, chilli powder and turmeric followed by the chopped tomatoes and allow to sizzle over medium heat for about five minutes. Add about a teaspoon of salt. This will help the onion release moisture into the sauce.
- The onions and tomatoes will begin to break down, turning into a thick sauce. This is a sauce you can use for any restaurant style curry. You may want to leave the chilli powder out though if you’re making mild curries.
- Add the chicken pieces and tomato paste.
- Stir it all up nicely and pour in just enough water or spice stock to cover the chicken.
- Cover the curry and let it simmer for about ten minutes. The sauce will become nice and thick and will stick to the chicken pieces as they cook.
- Remove the lid and stir adding a drop more water if you prefer a thinner sauce or turn up the heat if it is too runny.
- You’ll know when the curry is ready when the oil comes to the top. Simply skim it off.
- Stir in one tablespoon of the garam masala and taste. Add more if needed. I usually use about two tablespoons of garam masala.
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Linda Baird says
This dish is delicious, we love quite a lot of chillies and a naga or two does the job nicely. Prefer to use less fenugreek though.
Thanks for your continued inspiration 🙂
Vicki Beers says
Fab recipe and great to see another fantastic recipe using British cold pressed rapeseed oil
Dan Toombs says
Thanks Vicki. I do love my rapeseed oil!
Jassi says
Why dont you use Ghee or butter. Traditional and healthy Indian fats. Vegetable, sunflower, corn oil are processed oils and seed oils that should be avoided and when heated produce aldehydes that harm heart, cause cancer, etc. Read what Dr. Aseem malhotra., cardiologist says about them. He uses Ghee. Easy to make your own.
Dan Toombs says
Hi Jassi
I use ghee all the time! You could definitely use it in this recipe.
Thanks,
Dan
lisa says
Just made this curry. It was beautiful, cant wait to try some more.
Dan Toombs says
Thank you very Lisa. I'm really glad you liked it. I've got loads more recipes on the way.
Thanks
Dan
Phil Thompson says
Well Dan I think I'll be having a go at this one...
Found you via twitter yesterday and checked out the blog - look forward to following some of your recipes
Can you recommend where to get 'British Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil' in the North East
Dan Toombs says
Hi Phil - Thanks for stopping by. You can get cold pressed rapeseed oil at most good farm shops. It's becoming very popular.
Dan
Lorraine says
Hi Dan.
Have not tried this recipe yet but will try soon.
Just wondering what type of oil is best to use.
Some say use a seasoning oil
What is this
Dan Toombs says
Hi Lorraine
I use rapeseed oil. Seasoned oil is the oil you get when frying onions, like onion bhajis. Use that oil and it's even better.
Thanks,
Dan
Nadia says
Hi, great recipe- can't wait to try it. Question, recipe doesn't say when to add the cumin, coriander powders and the cinnamon, cuminand coriander seeds? Thanks.
Dan Toombs says
Thanks for noticing, I have amended the recipe. Please add these at the very beginning before the onion.
Dan
David says
Made this a couple of weeks ago, first recipe of yours I tried and loved it'
Dan Toombs says
Thank you David. Really glad you liked the recipe! 🙂
Dan
James says
Hi Dan
What exactly do you mean by tomato paste.......tomato purée?
Cheers
Dan Toombs says
Hi James
You really just need a tomato flavour. You could use paste and if it is too strong, add a little water. That or use one part paste mixed with four parts water.
Dan
Ashley says
Can I use canned diced tomato instead of fresh? I have all other ingredients lol just don't want to run to the store
Dan Toombs says
Hi Ashley
Canned tomatoes will do just fine!
Dan
Steve S says
Hi Dan
I made this last night but using pork shoulder and a much longer cook time, what a great flavour from such a straight forward recipe (I did add a small amount of chicken stock to replace the flavour lost from not using boned meat).
Your blog is like the holy grail for curry lovers! Keep up the good work!
cheers
Steve
Dan Toombs says
Hi Steve
Thank you very much for that. Really glad you liked the recipe. Pork sounds like an excellent substitute!
Cheers,
Dan
Rob Wharton says
Hi when you mention veg oil do you mean rape seed oil.
Dan Toombs says
Hi Rob
I use rapeseed oil. Any good vegetable oil will do but I do prefer rapeseed oil.
Thanks,
Dan
Steve Baird says
Hi Dan, ive noticed here aswell as in many other curry recipes that the garam masala gets stirred in at the end. Whats the reason for this instead of frying it with the other spices at the beginning?
Thanks.
Dan Toombs says
Hi Steve
Thanks for getting in touch. Garam masala - especially homemade roasted and ground garam masala adds a really nice flavour to curries. Some of the spices begin to lose their flavour if they cook in a sauce for a long period of time. You sprinkle it in at the end so that you don't lose any flavour.
Thank you.
All the best,
Dan
Colin Lockton says
Hi Dan
Just made this for the family for our Sunday teatime, served with a nice dollop of Yogurt and they cleared their plates.
Thank you for another great recipe.
Col
Dan Toombs says
Thank you Col! Great to hear you and family liked the recipe!
Cheers,
Dan
gina kennett says
What kind of chili powder do you use
Dan Toombs says
Hi Gina
I use Kashmiri chilli powder. I really like the flavour but some people think it is too spicy. You could really use any chilli powder you like but Kashmiri powder is what is most often used at restaurants.
Thanks,
Dan
Larua Thurimella says
I made this curry yesterday - great recipe and not too onerous. I mostly make south indian curries so this was a nice change. Thank you! Only tip I would say is to pay attention to what Dan said about adding Garam Masala and tasting BEFORE adding more. I wait straight ahead and put in two tablespoons and unfortunately it was overpowering. I think it was because mine was a home ground garam masala gifted from a Punjabi neighbour and rather stronger than shop bought versions. 🙂
Sof T says
Gorgeous. Love it when you can cook from a recipe something as good as a restaurant and this was perfect. Thanks for sharing.
Dan Toombs says
Thank you very much Sof.
Marc says
Hi Dan
Is this recipe just as good as if you made a base sauce as per your book?
Thanks
Marc
Dan Toombs says
Hi Marc
This is a homestyle recipe. A version of it will actually be in my next book. The base sauce is used for classic British curry house style curries. You could actually use it in this recipe instead of frying the onions and tomatoes. It would be smoother and different and equally as good. The base sauce was developed for speed, efficiency and economy over the years at curry houses. The sauce in this recipes is just a more traditional way of making a sauce. Hope this helps.
Dan
Marc says
Hi Dan I am going to cook this tomorrow but I was just checking that that’s all the dry spices required just chilli and turmeric for the sauce?
Thanks
Marc
Dan Toombs says
Hi Marc
Sorry for the late reply. There is garam masala in there too. You can add it when you add the other dry spices. I'll check the recipe. You can substitute a good quality curry powder.
Thanks,
Dan
Tim says
As ever i love making these recipes as they give me a taste of home here in Western Australia. . . . I did however substitute the normal chilli for Kashmiri chilli powder and doubled it . It's a great quick and easy dish to make and it freezes brilliantly ,
Dan Toombs says
Hi Tim
That's great to hear. Thank you.
Dan
Andy Hawkins says
Hello Dan
Great stuff as always!
Used many of your recipes!
How many cans of chopped tomatoes would be equal to “4 tennis ball size tomatoes”?
Cheers
Andy
Dan Toombs says
Hi Andy
Thank you. One 400g tin should be enough. You could always add part of or another tin to taste if needed.
Thanks,
Dan
Amrit says
Wow Dan I am Punjabi, I made this and it was better than my mum's (hope she doesn't see this) thank you for this tasty simple recipe!! reminds me of my childhood
Dan Toombs says
Hi Amrit
That's great to hear. Thank you very much. 🙂
Dan
Sukh says
Salivating whilst reading the recipe. And it's on the hob now!
Mikki says
Hi. This looks really good and simple. Can you please explain the garlic and ginger paste? Is this the little tube that you can purchase alongside veggies in the grocery store? Do you mean 1 Tablespoon of each, or 2 of a combined type of paste? I am assuming that it wouldn't make too much of a difference if all of the chicken was boneless. That would make my family happier, although it does explain take-out recipe that we purchased recently.
Thank you. I look forward to exploring your website!
Dan Toombs says
Hi Mikki
Thanks for getting in touch. You can buy jars of garlic and ginger paste in all Asian stores and a lot of supermarkets. Please use 2 tablespoons of combined garlic and ginger paste. If you don't have any you can make your own by blending together garlic and ginger with a little water but it makes it a lot easier if you have a jar on hand and it will last a while. It would make no difference at all if the chicken were boneless.
Dan
jack says
I want to cook this boneless thighs. How much should I use?
Dan Toombs says
I usually use 800 g - 1KG but it is not an exact science.
Thanks
Dan
Kathryn O'Donnell says
Would it be ok to just use chicken breast fillets?
Dan Toombs says
Yes that would be fine.
Thanks
Dan
Darren says
Hi Dan,
If I wanted to scale this curry up to cook for 12 people what would be the ratios of the ingredients to keep it balanced.
I have cooked many BIR style recipes from your books already but would like to make this one in bulk as it sounds delicious.
Any help be much appreciated.
Dan Toombs says
I would more or less just scale everything up except for the hot spices that you would have to be a bit more careful with, add those to taste.
Thanks
Dan
Tori says
I noticed you use veg oil now not rapeseed in this recipe. Which one tastes the best?
Dan Toombs says
Just use whatever one you have, vegetable oil tends to be made with rapeseed oil
Thanks
Dan
Clive Jones says
Tasty and easy to make - I will definitely be cooking this again👍
Dan Toombs says
Thanks very much, glad you enjoyed it.
Dan
Sarah says
Hi Dan, you had another recipe which used coconut milk, double cream, mustard seeds etc.. it was my favourite chicken curry recipe that i've been following for years. I can't find it anymore unfortunately, has it been removed?
Dan Toombs says
Thanks but I can’t think off the top of my head which one you mean. I don’t think any have been removed.
Dan
mick says
Total aroma and flavour envelop!
I used chicken pieces - some wings some legs and some thighs - about 2.2 kgs and adjusted the rest for the added meat.
At writing this I haven't yet tasted but I can smell the result will be fabulous.
I use fresh chillies - 2 large and chicken salt because it was there.
Dan Toombs says
Hi Mick
Thank you for trying the recipe. I'm happy you enjoyed it!
Cheers,
Dan
David says
Perfect please don't change it.
Your recipes are amazing.
Thank you.
Dan Toombs says
Thanks very much, much appreciated.
Dan
Kim says
Yum yum yum! What a fabulous recipe. I made it and froze it ready for a family weekend visit. Everyone loved it. I made it with skinless and boneless thighs and a tin of chopped tomatoes which worked very well. I also used plenty of a good quality Garam Masala - that made it extra special too.
Thanks so much for the recipe. 🙂
Dan Toombs says
You’re very welcome.
Thanks very much and I’m glad it worked so well.
Dan
Tim says
I made this curry this evening.
A lot quicker than our normal currys.
A very good recipe, full of flavour and a nice clean flavour, not too heavy. Didn't add any cream, added a couple of green chillies instead of red powder. Cooked with Garlic rice and a little ghee. The chicken fell off the bone as it should.
Will definitely make this again.
I'm now following on Instagram in the hope of other quality dishes to try.
Thank you
Dan Toombs says
All really good to hear and thanks for the follow on Instagram.
Dan
Ed says
Step 1, should that say coriander 'seeds'?
Step 2, is this where the cumin and coriander get added?
This is a good, easy to follow, starter recipe. Do as it says and you can't go far wrong.
Dan Toombs says
Yes, step 1 should read coriander seeds.
And yes again, the ground cumin and coriander are added in step 2.
I will amend the recipe to make this clearer.
Thanks very much.
Dan
Natalie says
very tasty!
I just wish the instructions told us when to add the dry spices, coriander and cumin
It doesn't say it anywhere in the recipe.
Dan Toombs says
Sorry about that, I will amend. Add them at the end of stage 5
Thanks
Dan