The chicken masala recipe is a semi-dry and semi gravy chicken curry shared here along with step by step details and a video procedure. It is a chicken curry with delicious gravy into the chicken and is a very popular non-vegetarian dish.
If my blog readers are interested in making many more chicken recipes then do try chicken biryani, chilli chicken, chicken pakora, chicken 65,
About the recipe
It is masala curry made using chicken and the gravy that goes into this curry is of cashews and tomatoes which have been blended into a fine puree and added to make the Indian chicken masala gravy.
It is one of the best chicken recipes apart from chicken without an oven as well as tandoori chicken in the oven on the blog and it can be easily made by available ingredients at home.
This curry can be made for any occasions and it is suitable to be eaten with rice or roti. The gravy also needs onions that have been cooked till brown and adding onions gives a very good flavour to the chicken masala curry.
I would love to make many more chicken recipes on the blog and do give us your feedback on the recipes and if there is any requested recipe then do leave us the request below in the comment box.
I have made many chicken recipes and would love to post many more curry recipes and many more chicken rice recipes that are suitable to be eaten with rotis and also that can be eaten as main course rice for lunch or dinners.
Chicken recipes do not take much time to cook and they are very easy to prepare and also turn very yummy with the end result.
I have slow-cooked the chicken masala and the recipe has turned out amazingly delicious. I would love to share the details of the recipe and also the video procedure for my viewers to understand it even much better.
Ingredients
Oil: This is the main base for Indian curries and any oil can be used which is edible.
Whole spices: I have used cinnamon and cloves but other spices too can be altered as per preference and flavours. I like to keep it a minimum for regular cooking.
Sliced onions: This is the main base of the curry as this gives gravy and the onions have to be roasted well until they turn golden colour which gives the taste to the gravy.
Chicken: Using chicken with bones is preferred but if making the gravy to eat with naan or paratha then boneless chicken too can be used.
Cashew nuts and Tomato: These are the main ingredients for the base other than the onions as these ingredients when pureed and cooked with chicken give the actual restaurant kind of flavour and gravy. It also makes the gravy rich and nutritious.
Dry spices: All the available and basic dry spices such as salt, chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, black pepper powder, coriander powder etc... are added as not adding these spices makes the recipe incomplete.
Coriander leaves: adding cilantro leaves to any curry gives a pleasant aroma to the masala.
Variation: I have not used dried kasoori methi in the end but it can be added and modified which gives great taste to the chicken recipe.
Step by step procedure
Step 1 (Making of puree)
- Take a blending jar, into it add kaju/cashewnuts and make a fine powder of them.
- Into it add chopped tomatoes .
- puree them finely and rest this kaju tomato puree aside for later use.
Step 2 (Making of the curry)
In a wok add oil and heat it.
- Add whole garam masala such as cinnamon sticks and cloves into it.
- Add sliced onions and cook them until soft.
- Add salt as per taste, mix and cook until the onions turn slight brown in color.
- Add ginger garlic paste and saute for few minutes to get rid of raw smell.
- Add the washed chicken .
- roast the chicken until the color of the chicken changes.
- Into it, add salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander seeds powder and mix well.
- Roast the chicken by mixing on medium flame for few minutes.
- Reduce the flame and cook the chicken for few minutes until oil starts separating.
- Into it, add the blended kaju/cashew tomato puree and mix everything.
- mix the masala.
- Add garam masala powder, black pepper powder, mix and cook the chicken gravy for few minutes until oil starts separating on low flame.
- Add freshly chopped coriander leaves and give a mix.
- Cook the chicken until it turns soft for few minutes on low flame.
- Lastly mix the chicken and its done.
- Serve the chicken.
- Enjoy it with rice or roti.
- Watch the video below for clear understanding.
- Note: Stirring the curry masala while cooking is essential as the masala may burn at the bottom if not stirred. Also using a non-stick base is preferred for this gravy.
- If the gravy is thickening a lot then adding ½ a cup of water to give a slight liquid consistency is suggested as cashew usually thickens the gravy.
Video
Recipe
chicken masala recipe, chicken masala gravy spicy curry
Ingredients
- 750 gms chicken cleaned and washed well
- 2 tablespoon oil
- 2 small cinnamon sticks and 2 cloves
- 4 onions (finely sliced)
- salt - to taste
- 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder/haldi
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon roasted coriander seeds powder
- 12-15 kaju/cashewnuts
- 3 tomatoes (chopped)
- ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder
- 2 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
Instructions
Step 1 (Making of puree):
- Take a blending jar, into it add kaju/cashewnuts and make a fine powder of them.
- Into it add chopped tomatoes and puree them finely.
- Rest this kaju tomato puree aside.
Step 2 (Making of the curry):
- In a wok add oil and heat it.
- Add whole garam masala such as cinnamon sticks and cloves into it.
- Add sliced onions and cook them until soft.
- Add salt as per taste, mix and cook until the onions turn slight brown in color.
- Add ginger garlic paste and saute for few minutes to get rid of raw smell.
- Add the washed chicken and roast the chicken until the color of the chicken changes.
- Into it, add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander seeds powder and mix well.
- Roast the chicken by mixing on medium flame for few minutes.
- Reduce the flame and cook the chicken for few minutes until oil starts separating.
- Into it, add the kaju tomato puree, mix well.
- Add garam masala powder, black pepper powder, mix and cook the chicken gravy for few minutes until oil starts separating on low flame.
- Add freshly chopped coriander leaves and give a mix.
- Cook the chicken until it turns soft for few minutes on low flame.
- Lastly mix the chicken and its done.
- Serve the chicken.
- Enjoy it with rice or roti.
Notes
- If one feels that the curry is too dry, then add some water to get a gravy form and cook for few minutes by covering the curry with a lid.
- Adding water turns the dry curry into a gravy curry and it tastes awesome.
- If one wants to make it spicy then add more quantity of black pepper powder while cooking the curry.
Nutrition
Faq's
Yes, they can be replaced with any other masala ingredient such as coconut, almonds etc... but the real taste of chicken masala comes by using a combination of tomato and cashews which give a creamy texture and rich flavor to the gravy.
If cashews are not handy then skip adding cashews and just make a masala gravy of onions and tomatoes.
These both recipes use some common ingredients but the making of both the recipes is quite different.
Tips
- Always slight brown the onions to get a good gravy or separately boil the onion and make a paste.
- Using onion in any of the two ways mentioned above gives a good gravy texture to the gravy. I prefer to brown the onions as it gives a restaurant-style like flavour to the chicken.
- The quality of the chicken should be good without any fat deposits to get the much-needed flavours.
Raj says
very nicely done! and easy to follow recipe.
BuyingBest says
The recipe of chicken masala you shared is of thick gravy. Can you please share recipe which has thin gravy which can be had with rice or roti or parathas?
Asiya says
add water to the thick gravy to make a thin gravy...