Simple Tomato Curry Chicken
This simple curry chicken will warm you up from the inside out. Serve over rice, couscous, or any grain you have on hand. It’s a very simple, forgiving recipe that can handle a lot of swapping if you’re out of certain ingredients.
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 pounds)
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour (gluten free 1:1 flour will work)
- 2 tablespoon curry powder (or garam masala)
- 1 teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt (use half as much of any other brand)
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
For the sauce
- 1 medium white onion (diced)
- 2 green bell pepper (diced)
- 1 tablespoon curry powder (or garam masala)
- 1 can tomato sauce (8 oz)
- 1 can tomato paste (6 oz)
- 2 cups chicken stock (low- or no-sodium)
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro or parsley (chopped, optional for topping)
- 1 teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt (use half as much of any other brand)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Pat the chicken breasts dry and cut into 1" cubes.
- Combine chicken pieces, flour, curry powder, and salt in a large airtight container. Put the lid on and shake to coat the chicken pieces in flour.
- In a large skillet, heat 2-3 tablespoons oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the chicken to the skillet in an even layer using tongs so you don't dump excess flour into the pan.
- Cook the chicken, stirring and turning them until just barely cooked through. They’ll be golden brown on the outside and some of the light breading will start sticking to the bottom of the pan. This can take 5-7 minutes. Remove the cooked chicken to a plate and set aside. They’ll continue cooking as they rest.
- Without cleaning out the skillet, add an additional tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Cook onions and peppers in oil 3-5 minutes until slightly soft. Add curry powder and cook an additional 60 seconds, stirring frequently.
- Add tomato sauce and tomato paste and stir to coat the peppers and onions. Keep stirring as the tomato mixture starts to caramelize slightly on the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil, stirring frequently as it reduces slightly, about 3-5 minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning to taste: add salt, pepper, or more curry powder if needed.
- Add the chicken back to the sauce, reduce heat to low, and simmer an additional 10 minutes.
- Serve over rice, couscous, or any grain of your choosing. Garnish with fresh cilantro if you like it.
The flour from the chicken absorbs a lot of the oil, so you need more than you might think. Add more to the pan if needed.
The chicken should be mostly cooked through, but may not be all the way cooked through. It will continue cooking as it rests, and will finish cooking when you add it back to the sauce. If you're temp-checking it, I usually remove it from the pan when it reaches 150°F.
RECIPE NOTES
- If you don't have "curry powder" you can substitute a blend of spices like turmeric, coriander, cumin, cardamom, paprika, or ginger. When we're out of curry powder, I usually sub in some garam masala or tandoori masala. They're not curry powders, but they share a similar enough flavor profile.
- You can also sub the can of tomato paste, can of tomato sauce, and chicken stock for (1) 28 oz can crushed tomatoes and 2 teaspoons Better than Bouillon. Add water as needed.
- For a bit of heat, replace the bell pepper with poblano pepper.
- If you don't have chicken stock, add 1 teaspoon Better than Bouillon to the skillet when you add the curry powder to the onions and peppers and use water instead of stock.
- If the sauce is too spicy, stir a dollop of sour cream or greek yogurt into the sauce or serve with a dollop of cilantro lime yogurt sauce on the side.
- Store any leftover curry chicken in airtight container for up to a week. Reheat in a pot on the stove or in the microwave in one minute bursts, stirring in between until warmed throughout. Curry chicken is a great freezer meal.
- Add potatoes: Cut a large potato into 1" cubes or cut fingerling potatoes into quarters and cook in generously salted water for 20-30 minutes or until fork-tender. Drain and add to the curry sauce along with the cooked chicken.