One-Pot Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk and Peas
Bone-in chicken browned in a Dutch oven, then braised in a curry-powder base of onion, garlic, jalapeño, ginger and tomato paste, and finished with coconut milk, butter, fresh tomatoes and peas: the American home cook's curry, all in one pot.
This is curry as most American home cooks first made it: a jar of curry powder, bone-in chicken and a Dutch oven. Serious Eats' guide to curry powder explains where that jar came from: a British blend of turmeric, coriander, cumin, fenugreek and chile that turned India's many regional spice mixtures into one sprinkle, which spread through British trade to cooks across Africa, the Caribbean and Asia. Curry was already in an American cookbook by 1857 (see our Country Captain Chicken recipe).
America's Test Kitchen's "Indian-style" one-pot curry is the modern version of that idea, and an honest picture of how America cooks curry now. It leans on curry powder and a teaspoon of garam masala, uses rendered chicken fat for flavor, and borrows coconut milk, a Southeast Asian ingredient, for richness. Set it next to our Home-Style Indian Chicken Curry, where the spices are ground fresh and the sauce is tomato and a splash of half-and-half, to see what changed on the way.
🇺🇸 This one is American
Bone-in chicken browned in a Dutch oven, then braised in a curry-powder base of onion, garlic, jalapeño, ginger and tomato paste, and finished with coconut milk, butter, fresh tomatoes and peas: the American home cook's curry, all in one pot.
🇮🇳 The original
In Indian homes chicken curry starts with whole spices, onions cooked down slowly, ginger, garlic and fresh tomatoes, with no coconut milk and no jar of curry powder. See the Home-Style Indian Chicken Curry (Tamatar Murghi) recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Dark meat first
Thighs and drumsticks need longer and a higher final temperature to turn tender, so a 30-minute head start lets every piece finish at the same time without drying out the breasts.
Fresh at the end
Tomatoes, peas, coconut milk and butter go in only for a minute or two, so the thick sauce stays bright, rich and colorful instead of stewed.
Step by step
- Step 1
Pat the chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown half the chicken on both sides, 7 to 10 minutes, and move it to a bowl. Repeat with the remaining oil and chicken.
- Step 2
If more than about 2 tbsp fat remains, pour off the extra. Add the onions and 1/2 tsp salt and cook over medium heat about 5 minutes, until softened.
- Step 3
Stir in the curry powder, garlic, jalapeño, ginger, tomato paste and garam masala and cook about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Slowly stir in the water, scraping up the browned bits.
- Step 4
Nestle in the thighs and drumsticks with any juices. Bring to a simmer, cover, turn the heat to medium-low and simmer 30 minutes.
- Step 5
Add the breast pieces and their juices, cover and simmer 20 to 25 minutes, turning the chicken halfway, until the breasts read 165°F and the thighs and drumsticks 175°F.
- Step 6
Move the chicken to a platter. Stir the tomatoes, peas, coconut milk and butter into the sauce and simmer gently 1 to 2 minutes, until the peas are hot. Stir in the cilantro, season with salt and pepper and spoon the sauce over the chicken. Serve with rice.
One-Pot Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk and Peas
Serves 6 · about 4 lb chicken with sauce · 1 hr 45 min total
Chicken
- 4 lb bone-in chicken pieces (split breasts halved crosswise, plus drumsticks and/or thighs), trimmed
- Salt and black pepper
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
Curry base
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp curry powder
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded and minced
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 cup water
Finish
- 2 plum tomatoes, cored, seeded and finely chopped
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 cup canned coconut milk
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
To serve
- White rice
Method
- Pat the chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown half the chicken on both sides, 7 to 10 minutes, and move it to a bowl. Repeat with the remaining oil and chicken.
- If more than about 2 tbsp fat remains, pour off the extra. Add the onions and 1/2 tsp salt and cook over medium heat about 5 minutes, until softened.
- Stir in the curry powder, garlic, jalapeño, ginger, tomato paste and garam masala and cook about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Slowly stir in the water, scraping up the browned bits.
- Nestle in the thighs and drumsticks with any juices. Bring to a simmer, cover, turn the heat to medium-low and simmer 30 minutes.
- Add the breast pieces and their juices, cover and simmer 20 to 25 minutes, turning the chicken halfway, until the breasts read 165°F and the thighs and drumsticks 175°F.
- Move the chicken to a platter. Stir the tomatoes, peas, coconut milk and butter into the sauce and simmer gently 1 to 2 minutes, until the peas are hot. Stir in the cilantro, season with salt and pepper and spoon the sauce over the chicken. Serve with rice.
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen, "One-Pot Indian-Style Chicken Curry" (published September 11, 2020; no author name shown), serves 4 to 6. Browning in two batches, the curry powder, garam masala and tomato paste base, giving the dark meat a 30-minute head start, adding the breasts for about 20 minutes, and finishing with tomatoes, peas, coconut milk and butter are ATK's. ATK takes breasts to 160°F and dark meat to 175°F; we take breasts to 165°F, which may add a few minutes. Pouring off extra fat after browning is our addition. We count it as 6 servings. America's Test Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- For more heat, mince the jalapeño's ribs and seeds in too (ATK).
- Light coconut milk works; ATK says regular gives a richer sauce.
- All thighs and drumsticks are fine; simmer them 45 to 50 minutes in all and skip the breast step.
- Leftovers taste better the next day; reheat to 165°F.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Curry powder makes a dish "Indian". Disputed: ATK calls this curry "Indian-style"; Madhur Jaffrey, quoted by Serious Eats, says the British are responsible for curry powder.
- Coconut milk belongs in Indian curry. Folklore: some coastal Indian curries are built on coconut (the Goan fish curry Serious Eats publishes is one), but we found no general rule, and the tomato-based curries this one imitates do without it.
- Bone-in chicken makes a better curry. Documented as ATK's reasoning: rendered fat and browned bits flavor the sauce.
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