Three Chicken Curry Recipes That Will Amaze Your Guests in Under 45 Minutes

If you want to try something new with chicken curry, look no further.

The Curry Guy, aka Dan Toombs, has a new cookbook out, The Curry Guy Chicken (Quadrille), due out September 12. It’s packed with recipes to take a classic chicken curry to the next level.

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Although you might think that making your own curry takes a lot of time and effort, this is certainly not the case with these recipes.

Ready in under 45 minutes, these ideas are perfect for a weeknight meal that makes you feel like you spent hours in the kitchen.

Check out the delicious recipes below that will make your mouth water.

Chicken Karahi with chili peppers and garlic

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Servings: 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Calories: 846
Saturated fat: 11 grams

1 Heat the oil in a karahi or wok over high heat. When bubbling hot, add the chillies and fry for a few minutes or until they start to blister and darken in places. Add the garlic and fry until they start to turn golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chillies and garlic to a plate and set aside.

2 Now add the chicken to the hot oil and cook for about 8 minutes, stirring the chicken in the pan until it is white and just cooked through. Add the tomatoes and push them all the way down into the oil. Put the lid on the pan and simmer on low heat for about 7 minutes. Remove the lid and you will see the skins of the tomatoes start to come off. Remove the skins with your hands – or a pair of tongs, which is much easier. If you are using tongs, give the tomatoes a good squeeze as you remove the skins to help them break up. If the skins don’t come off easily, just keep simmering and it will come through. Push the tomatoes all the way down into the chicken with the back of your spoon.

3 Add the ground spices, chili powder (if using), and garlic and ginger paste. Stir in the water and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir frequently as it is difficult to move everything around in the karahi. If the sauce caramelizes up the sides of the karahi, scrape it all back up for extra flavor.

4 Cover and simmer for a further 5-7 minutes on a low heat, stirring occasionally. Lift the lid and stir in the yoghurt. Turn the heat up to high and continue to stir vigorously to break up and thicken the sauce. Stir in the fried chillies and garlic and continue to simmer and stir until you are happy with the consistency of the sauce. Season with salt and garnish with coriander and julienne of ginger, if desired.

Chicken Samosa Cups

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Servings: 5-10
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Calories: 188
Saturated fat: 3g

For the keema:
*2 tablespoons rapeseed oil or ghee
*1 tsp cumin seeds
*1 medium onion, very finely chopped
*1 level teaspoon salt
*2 tablespoons garlic ginger paste
*3 green chili peppers, finely chopped
*1 medium tomato, finely chopped
*1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder (more or less to taste)
*1 tsp ground coriander
*2 tablespoons ground cumin
*1 tsp garam masala
*500g minced chicken
*3 tablespoons fresh coriander, finely chopped

For the cups
*6 sheets of filo pastry
*3 tablespoons melted butter or ghee

To serve
*3 tablespoons fresh coriander, finely chopped

1 Add the oil or ghee to a pan over medium heat. When it looks glossy, stir in the cumin seeds and let it infuse for 30 seconds. Add the onion and salt and cook for 5 minutes, or until soft and translucent. Stir in the garlic and ginger paste and the chopped chillies and cook for 30 seconds, then add the diced tomatoes and ground spices. Stir.

2 Add the chicken and 250ml water. While the water is boiling, break up the chicken until there are no lumps. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Lift the lid and continue to simmer until the water has evaporated and the chicken is starting to brown. Add the coriander and season with salt, then transfer the filling to a plate while you prepare the wraps.

3 Preheat the oven to 180°C/200°C fan/gas mark 4. Place your filo pastry sheets on a clean surface and brush with melted butter or ghee. Stack the sheets neatly on top of each other so that you have two stacks of three filo sheets. Use a cookie cutter or similar of approximately 10cm in diameter to cut out your samosa cup circles, cutting as many as you can from your filo sheets. The number will depend on the size of your pastry sheets.

4 Lightly brush a cupcake tin with some melted butter or ghee and fill each hole with one of the 3-layer circles. Fill each samosas with the chicken keema and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the samosas look crispy and the meat is hot. Carefully transfer the samosas to a serving plate and garnish each with fresh coriander.

Chicken Rendang

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Servings: 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Calories: 679
Saturated fat: 36 grams

Ingredients:
*70 ml coconut or rapeseed oil
*5cm cinnamon stick
*2 star anise
*4 cloves
*4 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
*2 stalks lemongrass, white part only, thinly sliced
*800 g boneless, skinless and diced chicken thighs
*400 ml thick can of coconut milk
*250 ml water
*5 lime leaves, stemmed and thinly sliced
*6 tablespoons toasted fresh or frozen shredded coconut
*1 1⁄2 tsp tamarind paste
*1 tsp palm sugar or light brown sugar, or more to taste
*Salt, to taste

For the rendang paste:
*6 shallots, coarsely chopped
*6 cloves of garlic, crushed
*2.5 cm piece of galangal, peeled and coarsely chopped
*2 lime leaves, stemmed and coarsely chopped
*2 stalks lemongrass, white part only, thinly sliced
*12 dried red peppers, soaked in water for 20 minutes

Garnish:
*2 red peppers, thinly sliced
*3 spring onions, thinly sliced

Method:

1 For best results, place all the ingredients for the rendang paste in a mortar and pestle and pound until it forms a paste. This can take up to 30 minutes, so you can use a food processor to speed up the process, which is what I usually do. Set aside until you are ready to cook.

2 Heat the oil in a large clay pot, wok or skillet over medium heat. When visibly hot and bubbling, stir in the whole spices and let them infuse the oil for about 30 seconds. Then add the prepared rendang paste and cook for another 30 seconds to cook out the rawness.

3 Add the thinly sliced ​​lemongrass followed by the chicken and stir well to combine. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the chicken is almost cooked through then add the coconut milk and water until coated.

4 Add the lime leaves and bring to the boil. Stir in the toasted coconut, tamarind and sugar, cover the pan and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes or until the sauce has almost dried up and covers the chicken pieces.

5 Taste the dish to see if it is seasoned, add salt to taste and possibly some more sugar. Serve the dish with the sliced ​​red peppers and spring onions.