Home-Style Indian Chicken Curry (Tamatar Murghi)
Raghavan Iyer's everyday chicken curry: onion, garlic and ginger browned in a skillet, a spice blend you grind yourself, tomatoes and a splash of half-and-half blended into a velvety orange sauce, with chicken simmered in it until just done.
In India, "curry" is not one dish. Serious Eats contributor Denise D'silva Sankhé writes that each region, home and religion has its own versions, and that for Indians a curry is fish, meat or vegetables in plenty of gravy for the rice. The English word itself is usually traced to the Tamil kari, a spiced dish eaten with rice, possibly by way of Portuguese or Dutch traders; Hannah Glasse's "The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy" (1747) printed "Currey the India Way", the first known English use (Wikipedia:). Serious Eats' guide to curry powder quotes Madhur Jaffrey calling the term "curry" degrading and saying "the British are responsible for" curry powder, a turmeric-heavy blend British cookbooks leaned on by the 1850s.
Tamatar murghi means tomato chicken. This version is from Raghavan Iyer's "Indian Cooking Unfolded" (Workman, 2013), reprinted by Serious Eats, which calls it a good template: fresh onion, ginger and garlic, a warm blend similar to a Madras curry powder that you grind yourself, tomatoes and a little half-and-half, blended smooth. It is the home-cooked counterpart to the restaurant butter chicken.
🇮🇳 The original
Raghavan Iyer's everyday chicken curry: onion, garlic and ginger browned in a skillet, a spice blend you grind yourself, tomatoes and a splash of half-and-half blended into a velvety orange sauce, with chicken simmered in it until just done.
🇺🇸 The American version
American home cooks made it a one-pot dinner: curry powder from a jar, a can of coconut milk for the sauce and frozen peas stirred in at the end. See the One-Pot Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk and Peas recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Roasting the spices in the onion
10 seconds in the hot oil and aromatics is enough to wake up the ground blend before the tomatoes cool the pan, so the spices taste toasted, not raw.
Blending the sauce
Pureeing the onion, ginger, tomatoes and half-and-half turns a chunky base into a smooth, clinging sauce that coats lean chicken breast.
Step by step
- Step 1
Make the blend: grind the coriander, cumin, mustard seeds, peppercorns, cloves and chiles in a spice grinder until as fine as ground black pepper, about 30 seconds. Stir in the turmeric. Measure out 2 tsp and store the rest airtight, away from light and heat, up to 3 months.
- Step 2
Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, about 2 minutes. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and stir-fry 4 to 5 minutes, until the onion is light caramel brown at the edges.
- Step 3
Sprinkle in the 2 tsp blend and stir for 10 seconds, until the smell changes. Add the tomatoes, lower the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered, stirring now and then, 5 to 7 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and small beads of oil appear at the edge.
- Step 4
Pour in the half-and-half and scrape the bottom of the pan. Transfer to a blender, vent the lid and cover it with a towel, and blend about 1 minute, until smooth and saffron orange.
- Step 5
Return the sauce to the skillet, stir in the chicken and salt, cover and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, 12 to 15 minutes, until the largest cube reads 165°F. If the sauce is very thick, stir in water a little at a time, up to 1/4 cup.
- Step 6
Sprinkle with the cilantro and serve with rice.
Home-Style Indian Chicken Curry (Tamatar Murghi)
Serves 4 · about 5 cups · 40 min total
Raghavan's blend (makes more than you need; store the rest)
- 2 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 2 tsp black or yellow mustard seeds
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1/2 tsp whole cloves
- 12 to 15 dried red chiles such as chiles de árbol, stems removed (use fewer for less heat)
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
Curry
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
- 4 medium garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
- 4 thin coins of fresh ginger (each about the size of a quarter), unpeeled, coarsely chopped
- 2 tsp Raghavan's blend (or store-bought Madras curry powder)
- 1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes with their juice
- 1/2 cup half-and-half
- 1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch cubes
- 1 tsp coarse kosher salt
- Up to 1/4 cup water, if needed
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
Method
- Make the blend: grind the coriander, cumin, mustard seeds, peppercorns, cloves and chiles in a spice grinder until as fine as ground black pepper, about 30 seconds. Stir in the turmeric. Measure out 2 tsp and store the rest airtight, away from light and heat, up to 3 months.
- Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, about 2 minutes. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and stir-fry 4 to 5 minutes, until the onion is light caramel brown at the edges.
- Sprinkle in the 2 tsp blend and stir for 10 seconds, until the smell changes. Add the tomatoes, lower the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered, stirring now and then, 5 to 7 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and small beads of oil appear at the edge.
- Pour in the half-and-half and scrape the bottom of the pan. Transfer to a blender, vent the lid and cover it with a towel, and blend about 1 minute, until smooth and saffron orange.
- Return the sauce to the skillet, stir in the chicken and salt, cover and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, 12 to 15 minutes, until the largest cube reads 165°F. If the sauce is very thick, stir in water a little at a time, up to 1/4 cup.
- Sprinkle with the cilantro and serve with rice.
Adapted from Raghavan Iyer, "Ultimate Chicken Curry (Tamatar Murghi)", from "Indian Cooking Unfolded" (Workman, 2013), reprinted with permission by Serious Eats and introduced by Kate Williams (updated March 3, 2025), serves 4. The spice blend, the 4 to 5 minute browning, the 10-second spice roast, the 5 to 7 minute tomato simmer, blending with half-and-half and the 12 to 15 minute covered simmer are Iyer's. He judges the chicken by color and clear juices; the 165°F check is ours. Thinning the sauce with up to 1/4 cup water is Serious Eats' tweak. Serious Eats. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- Dried chiles vary a lot in heat; Serious Eats readers report anything from too mild to nearly inedible. Start with 4 or 5 chiles in the blend.
- Iyer suggests pork, turkey, tofu or potatoes in place of chicken; bone-in chicken works too but takes longer (Serious Eats).
- A coffee grinder used only for spices works for the blend.
- Don't let the chicken boil hard; a gentle simmer keeps breast meat tender.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- "Curry" is an Indian word for a dish. Disputed: Wikipedia traces it to the Tamil kari through Portuguese or Dutch; Madhur Jaffrey, quoted by Serious Eats, calls the umbrella term degrading, because Indian cooks name dishes individually.
- Curry powder is Indian. Disputed: Madhur Jaffrey says the British are responsible for its creation (via Serious Eats); Indian spice blends (masalas) are much older, and Iyer's blend shows a cook can grind a Madras-style one at home.
- Indian curries need cream. Folklore: this curry uses 1/2 cup half-and-half for four people; restaurant curries abroad often use far more.
- You must grind whole spices. Folklore: Iyer lists store-bought Madras curry powder as the alternative.
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