Easy Chicken Thigh Curry (2024)

This easy chicken curry recipe has a mild spice, which can be adapted to heat tolerance, making it the perfect curry to serve to multiple people.

Table of Contents

Why this recipe is great

This chicken thigh curry recipe is one of my go to recipes for a number of reasons. Firstly, using on-the-bone chicken thighs not only reduces prep time, as you can just chuck them in the pan, it also provides the most flavoursome chicken.

Most of the cook time is inactive, making it a great weeknight dinner, after a hard day at uni/work.

I also love to meal prep this recipe, as you get 5 freezable servings which are packed with nutrients and flavour that grows over time.

Here are some other tasty chicken curry recipes for you to try after this one: Peanut Butter Chicken Satay Curry, Chicken Katsu Curry and Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients

Chicken Thighs
Bone in, skin on thighs for the most intense chickeny flavour. I remove the excess skin (the skin that isn’t directly attached to any part of the thigh) to reduce the calories/fats slightly.

Try these other recipes using chicken thighs: Lebanese inspired chicken pilaf, Lemon and Thyme Chicken Tray Bakeand Chicken and Cauliflower Tray Bake with Raita Sauce

Ginger, Garlic and Onion
The foundation of our simple curry recipe starts with this beautiful combo.

Fresh Chillies
I use fresh chillies for a well rounded spice flavour. You can keep the seeds in for extra heat or deseed them. I like to deseed the chillies to make the curry mild, and then each person can top with chilli flakes to increase the heat if they want to.

Passata
I wanted a smooth tomato sauce to be added to this curry, which can be achieved in a short time/without blending with passata. You can also use chopped tomatoes/plum tomatoes and then blend, if you don’t have any passata.

Yogurt
A small amount of yogurt goes a long way with this chicken thigh curry. You can add single cream if you want a creamier sauce, but the yogurt adds a tangy creaminess that is *chefs kiss*.

See the recipe card for full information on all ingredients and quantities.

How to make a chicken thigh curry

Start by frying the chicken thighs skin facing down in rapeseed oil on a medium heat for around 10 minutes (Image 1).
After around 10 minutes, the fats from the chicken will start to render and the skin will crisp up nicely. Rotate and cook for another 10 minutes. Season with salt (Image 2).

3. Meanwhile, add the peeled ginger, garlic and chillies to the blender (Image 3).

4. Blend together with a few tbsp of water to form a rough paste (Image 4).

5. Set the crispy chicken thighs aside (they are not fully cooked yet), then to the pan, add the diced onions to sweat until translucent, frying for approx 5 minutes. Season with salt (Image 5).

6. Next, add the paste to the pan along with the curry powder. Fry for a couple of minutes before adding the tomato puree and a splash of stock. Continue to fry until the tomato puree darkens in colour (Image 6).

7. Pour the stock and the passata into the pan and stir, before placing the chicken thighs, skin facing up this time in the pan. Reduce to a low simmer for 20 minutes, then set aside and take the curry off the heat and remove the chicken thighs (Image 7).

8. Add a tbsp of the curry into a bowl with the yogurt to prevent it from splitting then stir to combine and pour the yogurt into the curry (Image 8).

9. Add the spinach to the sauce to wilt in the sauce (Image 9).

10. Then add the chicken thighs back into the pan and top with fresh coriander and lime. Serve with brown rice and an optional portion of green beans (Image 10).

Tips and tricks for the best result

Leave the chicken thighs undisturbed during the 10 minutes of fry time.
When we initially fry the chicken thighs on a medium heat, we want to render all the delicious chicken fats from the skin and allow the skin to crisp up, creating the most delicious flavour.

If we constantly move the chicken thighs, the skin won’t have time to crisp up. Ensure that the heat isn’t too high though, as we dont want the skin to burn.

Season at each stage.
We want each element/ingredient in this chicken thigh curry to be seasoned to ensure all of the flavours are enhanced. So season the chicken thighs in step 1, season the aromatics in step 3 etc. This will provide a better end result than heavily seasoning at the end.

Know your spice level.
This recipe is adaptable to your heat preference, so adjust the chillies and whether you add the seeds or deseed depending on whether you like that heat or not.

What to serve with these curried chicken thighs

I’ve chosen to serve green beans with this curry recipe, as we have our healthy fats, protein and complex carbs (brown rice) provided in the recipe.

All that’s left to make this recipe complete in my mind is some added greens. You could also serve:

Tenderstem broccoli
Grilled aubergine
Edamame beans
Wilted spinach

FAQs

Can I substitute the chicken thighs with chicken breasts?

Yes you can! If you increase the rapeseed oil to 1 tbsp, add thinly sliced chicken breast chunks to the pan in step 1 and fry on a high heat for 5 minutes. Set aside and continue with the steps as normal, adding the chicken breast into the curry for the last 5 minutes of cook time.

Can I make the recipe ahead of time?

Yes! I love making this easy chicken curry recipe for meal prep. Divide into meal prep containers with a serving of brown rice and store the garnishes separately (the coriander and lime wedges). Refrigerate for up to 4-5 days. To reheat, microwave on high for 2-3 minutes.

Can I freeze this recipe?

Yes you can! Freeze for up to 3 months.

Here are some other curry recipes to try : Grilled Aubergine Curry, Simple Prawn Thai Red Curryand Easy Red Lentil Dahl with Coconut Milk

Explore More Recipes

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Healthy Crustless Pizza Bowl

Pink Sauce Pasta (Tiktok Pasta)

Rigatoni Fiorentina (Creamy Chicken Rigatoni)

If you tried this Easy Chicken Thigh Curry recipe, it would be mean so much to me if you could leave a review & a star rating to let me know how you found it! I love hearing about your experiences – it motivates me to keep creating more and more recipes for you guys 💛 Let’s get cooking! – Mimi x

Easy Chicken Thigh Curry

by Mimi Harrison

4.25 from 65 votes

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins

Cook Time: 45 minutes mins

Total Time: 50 minutes mins

£1.32

mains

Indian

Freezable

Servings: 5

MetricUS Standard

This chicken thigh curry is bursting with aromatic flavours, using staple ingredients, making it super easy.

Ingredients

▢ 1 kg chicken thighs, on the bone, skin on (£2.07)
▢ 40 g ginger, peeled (£0.50)
▢ 50 g fresh chillies, seeds removed (if you like it mild) (£0.47)
▢ 4 cloves of garlic (£0.69/3)=(£0.23)
▢ 1 onion, finely diced (£0.09)
▢ 500g passata (£0.45)
▢ 1 bunch of fresh coriander, torn (£1.00/2)=(£0.50)
▢ 180 g green beans, optional, steamed to serve (£0.89)
▢ 250 g brown rice, cooked according to packet instructions (£1.45/4)=(£0.36)
▢ 50 g (2 handfuls) of spinach (£0.85/2)=(£0.43)
▢ 2 tbsp yogurt (£0.85/2)=(£0.43)
▢ 1 lime, cut into wedges to serve (£0.17)

Cupboard Essentials

▢ ½ tbsp rapeseed oil
▢ 1 tbsp mild curry powder
▢ 6 tbsp tomato puree
▢ 600 ml chicken stock

Method

Fry the chicken thighs skin facing down in rapeseed oil on a medium heat. After around 10 minutes, the fats from the chicken will start to render and the skin will crisp up nicely. Rotate and cook for another 10 minutes. Season with salt.
Meanwhile, blend the peeled ginger, garlic and chillies to form a rough paste. To help the blender out, add a tbsp or two of water.
Set the crispy chicken thighs aside (they’re not fully cooked yet, don’t worry). Then to the pan, add the diced onions to sweat until translucent, frying for approx 5 minutes. Season with salt.
Next, add the paste to the pan along with the curry powder. Fry for a couple of minutes before adding the tomato puree and a splash of stock. Continue to fry for around 5 minutes, until the tomato puree darkens in colour.
Pour the stock and the passata into the pan and stir to combine. Place the chicken thighs, skin facing up this time, back into the pan and reduce to a low simmer, setting a timer for 20 minutes. The chicken thighs should be cooked after this time. Set aside and take the curry off the heat. To prevent the yogurt from splitting, add a tbsp of the curry into a bowl with the yogurt. Stir to combine then pour the yogurt into the curry along with the spinach.
Once the spinach has wilted, add the thighs back into the pan and top with fresh coriander and lime. Serve with brown rice and an optional portion of green beans.

Notes

Leave the chicken thighs undisturbed during frying to allow the skin to crisp up and render the chicken fats for delicious flavor.
Adjust the heat to prevent the skin from burning while ensuring it crisps up.
Season each element/ingredient at each stage of the recipe to enhance the flavors and achieve a better end result. Additionally, adjust the spice level according to your preference by adding or reducing chillies and seeds.

Nutrition

Servings: 5 servings

Fat: 34g

Calories: 658kcal

Carbohydrates: 35g

Protein: 43g