Chicken chickpea curry. The timeless chicken curry is hard to beat on its own, but it gets even better with the addition of chickpeas. The combo of chicken and chickpeas is match made in heaven, and aromatic spices take it to the next level. Easy, hearty weeknight stunner filled to the brim with equal amounts of nutrition and deliciousness!
‘Healthy eating’ has been one of the most-buzzed word (words) of the past decade. Chic superfoods lining up the supermarket shelves and emergence of new diets were influenced by this trend. So how, exactly, is the right way to eat healthy? In my opinion, the first step to healthy eating is, obviously, transforming everyday meals into nutrition powerhouses.
So, to get you on track to healthy eating and help you keep your New Year resolution, I’ve created an amazing recipe bringing two protein-rich ingredients together - chicken and chickpeas.
Let’s make chicken chickpea curry
First, the chicken. Whether you choose boneless or bone-in, the first step is dicing it into small pieces. For a succulent curry, I prefer to use either chicken thighs or bone-in chicken. And in this recipe, chicken thighs to make the prepping and cooking process much easier.
Transfer this chicken to a heated pan lightly coated with a little oil. The basic idea is to quickly brown them so the juices are sealed in to create succulent pieces of chicken. I also sprinkle them with a few aromatic Indian inspired spice mix comprising of ground turmeric, ground coriander, garam masala and a little red chili powder. The aroma of the spices sautéing in the oil is just incredible.
Next up, slices of onions, cubes of tomatoes, ginger and garlic goes into the pan. Pour in about one cup of water. And don’t forget to season. This chicken chickpea curry now goes on the simmer mode and cooked until the onions and tomatoes break down to create rich flavorful sauce.
Canned chickpeas for easy weeknight dish
The base of the curry is simmering on the stove now. You’ll need to add a few more ingredients to make it super flavorful. This includes chickpeas alongside chopped fresh ginger, sliced green chilies and chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves.
With chickpeas, you have two options - canned or dried. Canned chickpeas need to be drained and rinsed before adding to the curry while dried chickpeas are soaked and cooked separately. Well, I decided to go with the easy option - canned chickpeas.
Final step - simmer everything together for a few minutes. While the curry is simmering, quickly boil some rice or heat up the parathas (or roti) to satisfy your carb cravings.
Few tips?
- For the ultimate flavorful chicken chickpea curry, I highly recommend chicken thighs
- Fresh ginger and garlic brings in another level of flavor
- The initial browning process is a ‘must’ to seal in the juices
More chicken curry recipes:
- Indian Chicken Curry Restaurant Style
- Thai Green Chicken Curry
- Malabar Chicken Curry
- Chicken Dopiaza | Chicken Do Pyaza
- Chicken Jalfrezi
- Chicken Vindaloo
- Chicken Karahi | Kadai Chicken
- Authentic Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe
- Restaurant Style Butter Chicken
- Kashmiri Chicken
- Chettinad Pepper Chicken Roast
- Tawa Chicken
- Chicken Ghee Roast
- Spicy Shredded Chicken
- Indian Chicken Korma
- Chicken Madras
- Kerala Chicken Roast
Ingredients
- ▢ 1 tablespoon oil
- ▢ ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ▢ 500 g chicken diced (I used chicken thighs)
- ▢ ½ teaspoon ground turmeric turmeric powder
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ground coriander coriander powder
- ▢ 2 tablespoons garam masala
- ▢ 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- ▢ 2 large onions sliced
- ▢ 1 large tomato chopped
- ▢ 1 teaspoon minced ginger ginger paste
- ▢ 1 teaspoon minced garlic garlic paste
- ▢ 1 cup water
- ▢ 1 can 400 g chickpeas drained and rinsed
- ▢ ¼ cup chopped coriander cilantro leaves
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ginger cut into sticks
- ▢ 2 green chilies slit
Instructions
- Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat.
- Add cumin seeds. Allow to splutter.
- Add chicken, ground turmeric, ground coriander, 1 tablespoon garam masala and red chili powder. Season with salt. Sauté for 3-4 minutes or until browned.
- Add onions, tomatoes, minced ginger and garlic. Pour in 1 cup water. Season with salt.
- Cook for 10-12 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
- Add chickpeas, coriander (cilantro) leaves, ginger, green chilies and 1 tablespoon garam masala. Stir to combine.
- Increase heat to high. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer 4-5 minutes.
- Garnish with more coriander (cilantro) leaves.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Ingredients
- ▢ 1 tablespoon oil
- ▢ ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ▢ 500 g chicken diced (I used chicken thighs)
- ▢ ½ teaspoon ground turmeric turmeric powder
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ground coriander coriander powder
- ▢ 2 tablespoons garam masala
- ▢ 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- ▢ 2 large onions sliced
- ▢ 1 large tomato chopped
- ▢ 1 teaspoon minced ginger ginger paste
- ▢ 1 teaspoon minced garlic garlic paste
- ▢ 1 cup water
- ▢ 1 can 400 g chickpeas drained and rinsed
- ▢ ¼ cup chopped coriander cilantro leaves
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ginger cut into sticks
- ▢ 2 green chilies slit
Instructions
- Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat.
- Add cumin seeds. Allow to splutter.
- Add chicken, ground turmeric, ground coriander, 1 tablespoon garam masala and red chili powder. Season with salt. Sauté for 3-4 minutes or until browned.
- Add onions, tomatoes, minced ginger and garlic. Pour in 1 cup water. Season with salt.
- Cook for 10-12 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
- Add chickpeas, coriander (cilantro) leaves, ginger, green chilies and 1 tablespoon garam masala. Stir to combine.
- Increase heat to high. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer 4-5 minutes.
- Garnish with more coriander (cilantro) leaves.
