Nawabi chicken curry, a relatively mild Indian recipe with a yoghurt and ghee-rich sauce thickened with cashew nuts, almonds and onions.
My take on this recipe cooks relatively quickly, a little over 35 minutes, but it does benefit from a marinade time of a couple of hours.
Nawabi Murgh
You don't need to scroll around my website for long before you trip over an Indian chicken curry, I have loads of them!
From obvious dishes like chicken tikka masala and butter chicken to lesser-known dishes like chicken rezala and andhra chicken curry.
Yet, there is always room for one more! So here we are, this time out, I have a fantastic nawabi chicken curry.
The word nawabi conveys richness, creaminess or indulgence, and this dish certainly delivers that, but manages to feel "fresh" at the same time.
My take on this recipe combines the traditional cashew and almond thickening agent with dried chillies and coconut flakes.
A turmeric and yoghurt marinade for the chicken gives the dish a beautiful golden colour and an earthy flavour that complements the sour elements perfectly.
And it's all very easy to cook, with a mini-blender doing much of the heavy lifting on the preparation. Aside from marinating the chicken, this dish will take about 45 minutes of your time!
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to marinate the chicken?
Have is a "strong" word, but I think it really does make a difference for this recipe. I usually put the marinade on the night before cooking.
But a couple of hours is the minimum amount of time that I aim for.
Can I use chicken breast?
Yes, you can, although it is not ideal for this recipe, as it can become a little dry. However, as it is only cooked in the sauce and not seared, there is far less risk of that in this dish.
What sort of coconut do you use?
I usually use frozen coconut flakes that I buy from Indian or Chinese/SE Asian stores. But dried coconut flakes from the supermarket work remarkably well, too.
How hot is this curry?
I consider this dish to be a moderately spiced dish; however, everyone's tolerance for chilli spice is very different. If you want to scale the heat back, reduce or completely omit the green chilli peppers.
Can I make this in advance?
Yes, this curry reheats beautifully. If you are making it in advance, skip section 13 and complete this when you are reheating the curry.
But if you want to save any leftovers or scale up this recipe for leftovers, it will be fine in the fridge for 2-3 days and will freeze for up to 3 months.
Serving Suggestions
I've served my nawabi chicken curry with some plain basmati rice and lots of fresh coriander in the photos on this page.
There is plenty of flavour in the sauce to go around, so plain rice is more than enough. However, if you wanted to make a good pilau rice, then that would work just as well.
This curry has loads of sauce, which makes adding flatbread to this curry an easy choice.
I would normally opt for a tandoori-style naan bread with a thicker, richer sauce like this.
But if you want something an awful lot quicker and easier, then knock up some chapatis, they'll do a grand job!
Equipment Used
I only name-check brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Hob/stovetop.
- 28cm or 11" frying pan with a lid.
- Blender.
- Chopping board.
- Kitchen knife.
- Grater.
- A combination of weighing scales, a measuring jug, measuring cups and spoons.
- A kettle.
- Stirring and serving spoons.
Nawabi Chicken Curry Recipe
Ingredients
- 350 g Chicken Thigh Meat 12oz
For the Marinade:
- 15 g Ginger ½ thumb sized piece
- 3 Garlic Cloves
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 75 ml Greek Style Yoghurt ⅓ Cup
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric
For the Almond and Cashew Paste:
- 3 Dried Red Chilli Peppers (I use large Kashmiri peppers)
- 2 tablespoon Cashew Nuts
- 5-6 Blanched almonds
- 2 tablespoon Coconut Flakes
- 125 ml Boiling Water ½ Cup
- 2 Cloves
- 1 Star Anise
- 2 Green Cardamom Pods
- 1 teaspoon Black Peppercorns
For the Curry:
- 3 tablespoon Ghee
- 1 Large Onion 200g
- 1-2 Green Finger Chillies
- 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 2 teaspoon Kashmiri Chilli Powder
- 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
- 125 ml Water ½ Cup
- Salt (if required)
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala
- 1 teaspoon Dried Fenugreek Leaves
- 2 tablespoon Greek Style Yoghurt
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- Peel and grate the ginger for the marinade.
- Peel the garlic, roughly chop it, then sprinkle it with the salt and mash it to a paste.
- Combine the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl, add the chicken and set aside for at least 2 hours.
- Place all of the ingredients for the nut paste into a bowl and allow them to steep for 15 minutes. Then blend to a paste.
- Finely chop the onion for the curry.
- Cut the green chilli peppers into fine rounds.
- Heat two tablespoons of the ghee in a 28cm or 11" frying pan over a medium-high heat, and when it is hot, add the cumin seeds and chilli peppers and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the onions and soften for 6-8 minutes.
- Add the almond and cashew paste, reduce the heat to low-medium, and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the Kashmiri chilli powder and coriander powder.
- Add the marinated chicken and pour in the water for the curry, add a lid, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 18-20 minutes.
- Remove the lid, add the final tablespoon of ghee, garam masala, dried fenugreek leaves and the last of the yoghurt. Stir to combine and serve.
