Easy Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk – Learn how to make a basic and easy Indian-style chicken curry with coconut milk and spices. This is a relatively mild chicken curry recipe that’s fabulous because it goes with everything – rice, chapati, pulao, dosa, appam, puttu, etc.
There are so many variations to a coconut milk chicken curry and this is my own. There’s nothing special or majorly different in this recipe than the base of most Indian curries but I do like my chicken curry in a particular way, and this is it.
While generally my Indian non-vegetarian recipes are on the spicier side, both heat-wise and spice-wise, I like to keep coconut based curries on the milder side. That tends to brings out the flavour and sweetness of coconut milk which really should be the star in such recipes. I also like to keep tang to a minimum and so add tomatoes for the colour than for any major flavour.
You can adapt this chicken curry with coconut milk recipe in many different ways to suit your palates and I have mentioned some variations below, while I explain the flow of how I make it. If you use canned or packaged coconut milk, this is a very easy dish to put together in under 30 mins. Making your own coconut milk will obviously elevate the flavour of the curry but it’s not essential in this dish, in my opinion. Since I like the gravy to be a bit on the thicker side, I used ground poppy seed paste, something that is unavailable in Singapore and so more used and appreciated in Sydney 🙂 TH and I have different choices (he’s a vegetarian) and we rarely comment on each other’s choices but after making this chicken curry, I told him for the first time that I wish he could taste it.
I have a few more chicken recipes in the site and my favourites are dry chilli chicken, Kerala chicken curry, and butter chicken masala. Try them! You can also check out how to make coconut milk at home.
- 250 gm of cleaned and cubed chicken pieces
- 1 cup of sliced onions
- 2 tbsp of oil (I use coconut oil)
- ½ tsp of turmeric powder
- 1 tsp of cumin powder
- 2 tsp of coriander powder
- ½ tsp of red chilli powder
- 1" piece of ginger
- 2 green chillies (adjust to taste)
- 2 flakes of garlic
- A few cubes of ripe tomato
- 1 tbsp of poppy seeds, soaked for 15 mins (see notes)
- 2 cups of thin coconut milk (see notes)
- 1 cup of thick coconut milk
- A small bunch of chopped coriander leaves, for garnish
- Heat oil in a wide pan and add the sliced onions. Fry until golden brown
- Grind the green chillies, garlic, and ginger together coarsely
- Add the spice powders – chilli, coriander, cumin, and turmeric – to the fried onions. Saute for 20 seconds
- Now add the ground chilli paste and tomatoes to the above. Fry again for a minute, the mixture will turn fragrant
- Add the cleaned chicken pieces to this, along with the thin coconut milk + 1 more cup of water. Add salt. Bring this to boil
- Meanwhile, grind the soaked poppy seeds in 2-3 tbsp water into a smooth paste. I use the same grinder as I used for chilli paste
- Add poppy seed paste to the curry and when it comes to boil, lower heat and cook closed for 15-20 mins or until the chicken pieces are cooked. The gravy will also thicken a bit
- On low heat, add the thick coconut milk and mix well
- Do not boil for too long after the thick coconut milk is added. If you feel the gravy is too watery, boil the curry in an open pan before adding the thick coconut milk
- Once it’s heated through and just begins to boil, add the chopped coriander leaves, adjust salt, and remove from flame
- Serve hot!
Step by Step Coconut Milk Chicken Curry Recipe
1. Heat oil in a wide pan and add the sliced onions. Fry until golden brown (they need to brown a bit more than in the picture below).
2. Grind the green chillies, garlic, and ginger together coarsely.
3. Add the spice powders – chilli, coriander, cumin, and turmeric – to the fried onions. Saute for 20 seconds.
4. Now add the ground chilli paste and tomatoes to the above. Fry again for a minute, the mixture will turn fragrant.
5. Add the cleaned chicken pieces to this,
along with the thin coconut milk + 1 more cup of water. Add salt. Bring this to boil.
6. Meanwhile, grind the soaked poppy seeds in 2-3 tbsp water into a smooth paste. I use the same grinder as I used for chilli paste.
Add poppy seed paste to the curry and when it comes to boil, lower heat and cook closed for 15-20 mins or until the chicken pieces are cooked. The gravy will also thicken a bit.
7. On low heat, add the thick coconut milk and mix well.
8. Do not boil for too long after the thick coconut milk is added. If you feel the gravy is too watery, boil the curry in an open pan before adding the thick coconut milk. Once it’s heated through and just begins to boil, add the chopped coriander leaves, adjust salt, and remove from flame.
Serve hot!
Variations and Notes:
- You can add more tomatoes if you want or omit it completely
- If you want a ‘whiter’ curry, omit the chilli powder and increase amount of green chillies, to taste
- I use poppy seeds as a gravy thickener. Other options are to use cashew nut paste (soaked cashew nuts ground with water) or more thick coconut milk or coconut cream
- You can use curry leaves as garnish instead of coriander leaves but avoid using both
- You can try this same recipe with chicken pieces with bone. It’s hard for me to find that kind cleaned and prepared so I always opt for chicken breast. Adjust cooking time according to size of chicken pieces
- You can make a vegetarian version of this curry by substituting chicken with soya chunks, potatoes, or a mixture of both. A mix of vegetables may also turn out well
- Regarding thin and thick coconut milk – if using canned coconut milk, buy full cream variety (not the low fat or whatever) and for the 2 cups thin milk, dilute with 1:1 water. When you need to add the thick coconut milk, add it as is. Check this post if making coconut milk at home
For chicken curry with coconut milk recipe in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Kannada, etc, please use Google translate button in the sidebar.
I made this recipe with boneless chicken thighs. I thickened with cashews. It was amazing.
Thank you!😎
I’ve just made it skipping poppyseed, it turned out to be one of the best Currie I ever made
Just made this recipe and it tastes amazing! Just the scent in the kitchen was already making my family salivate.
I just added 2 tbp of cashew butter instead of the paste and it worked wonders.
Thank you
☺️
i am so glad you liked the chicken curry recipe 🙂
I just saw the answer, sorry and thanks
I don’t see it. Can you tell me how much curry to use?
no such thing as “curry” as an ingredient. the recipe is very detailed and step by step, just follow it the way it is.
Hi, I don’t see when to add the curry?
I made this curry today and absolutely love it. I am now a believer of your collection of recipes.
thank you Sheila!
Tried it, loved it. Works with chicken thigh with bone, just need to cook some extra time.
Thank you! 🙂
It’s an amazing dish. I did boil the chicken ( with bones ) in advance and instead of water I used the chicken stock. Also I used just regular coconut tin milk ( less than the mentioned on the recipe) and instead of poppy seeds I grinded regular raw cashews with little coconut milk without soaking in water.
Thank you for the tasty chicken curry. It’s really an amazing dish.
Thank you for the kind words and also adding your tips! Sure to help future cooks of this chicken curry 🙂
MUCHAS GRACIAS DESDE CHILE. EXCELENTES RECETAS, EXQUISITAS
This recipe looks amazing and I’m going to try it asap. So just to be clear on the thick and think coconut milk: 1 cup of full fat coconut milk for the thick, and 1 cup full fat coconut milk mixed with 1 cup of water.. Is that correct?
correct!
Turned out really well… Love the recipe and the variations!
Thank you Angela 🙂
Hi! I tried this last night and it turned out perfect – creamy, thick, and deliciously coconutty. I used cashew paste instead of poppy seeds and fried the chicken for a while before letting it boil in the thin coconut milk. I used local chicken instead of broiler, which takes a longer time to cook. On adding the thin milk, it first looked like it was going to curdle, but turned out absolutely fine later. Thanks for the recipe!
Sounds great! Thank you for leaving a note Priyankee 🙂
Awesome my wife loves it and find poppy seeds work best for thickening, have added both potatoes and chicken and extra tomatoes seeds out and green bell peppers too. I think that by adding the potatoes getting starch as well to help thicken. Thanks so much it is my fav to prepare.
thanks Bill! very kind of you to share your tips too. i love chicken curry with potatoes too. the Malaysian chicken curry is made that way
This is my favourite recipe and have made it several times, varying from poppy seeds to cashews to thicken. I have spiced it up and added both chicken and potatoes and even added extra green peppers not hot. I freeze what we cannot each and is just as good out of the freezer. My wife can hardly wait for dinner when she sees me cooking the chicken curry. It does get more flavourful a day or so in fridge. Thanks for sharing.
Cooked last week and it was lovely. The children joined in with the cooking and we all had fun just making it.
The curry has come out just superbbbbbb. .it's tasting wowwww with rice rotis n parathas. ..Thanku very much for sharing dis recipe
Re: The "Easy Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk – Coconut Milk Chicken Curry" Recipe
Hahaha! Easy? What's so easy about this recipe? The number of ingredients alone means it's not easy and it includes poppy seeds soaked for 15 minutes. Who on earth knows where to buy poppy seeds let alone that a curry recipe would require it?
Thanks for a good laugh this morning!
Best regards.
Aside from the fact that I am glad I brought some joy to you in the morning, I have to say that "easy recipe" is a relative term. If you look up a "proper" chicken curry recipe, you would need to roast and the grind the spices, sometimes separately since many of them roast at different speeds. Poppy seeds are a common Indian ingredient in most parts of India. If you don't have them/know them/use them, you can omit them. Be prepared for a thinner gravy, that's all.
Compared to, say, the Chicken Majestic recipe I have on the site, this one is easy peasy. As I said, it's all relative.
I just realised I have even mentioned substitutes to the poppy seeds in my notes section at the bottom. Come on, stop being pedantic and start cooking!
I am pregnant and sick, and I think this recipe looks easy enough. 😉 and delicious! I'm trying it tonight.
You must be used to chicken nuggets and fries. This recipe is easy, simple and quick if you’re person who knows how to cook with more than salt and pepper. If your looking up Asian recipe you nee to expect something more than ketchup.
🙂
Cleary your no cook thanks for the good laugh this afternoon 😂😂 you can buy poppy seeds in tescos 😂
Just wondering why my chicken curry looks like it has split or curdled I followed the receipe
It seems like you added the thick coconut milk and it got heated. Coconut milk will curdle if boiled or simmered even for a bit. The thinner version is okay to be cooked but no the thicker kind.
Try cashew paste. Soak about 15 cashew nuts in warm water for 30 mins and grind to a smooth paste adding water as you need. This will help thicken the gravy without adding too much additional flavours
What is a good substitute for coconut milk? Non dairy.